This is the 250th post here at Tumblemoose.com.  Wow.  Lots o’ water under the bridge, for sure.  I was thinking about all of the things that I’ve learned through the writing of these posts.  What I can say is that school has definitely been in session.

Here is what I learned:

• There is no substitute for good writing.  My most popular posts were the ones that come from the heart.
• People come and people go.  It’s cyclic and changes much like the seasons.  The commenting community stays relatively the same for months and then generally evolves into a new set of commentors.  Some come back eventually while others never return.
• Looking constantly at traffic numbers is a heart breaker and a motivation killer.  I’ve learned to not look and focus on the content – not the numbers
• Internet Explorer sucks as a browser.  Firefox has been my friend and the addons have allowed me to do things with my blog that otherwise would be cumbersome tasks.
• It’s okay to change the theme around every once in a while.  For me, the freshness helps to keep me motivated.
• Posting every day is a challenge and not for the faint of heart.  I don’t believe there is a rigid, perfect posting schedule.
• No way will I ever get rich blogging.
• Even though there were times when I thought I would run out of material, I never really do.  Something always comes along.
• If you post a series that includes a meditation theme, prepare to be lonesome for a while.
• It takes a while to find the right sidebar balance of advertising and white space.
• The importance of great titling cannot be overstated.
• Proofing and editing before publishing saves a lot of embarrassment and headache.
• I don’t like in-text advertising on my blog.
• It’s okay to write a draft post and never publish it.
• Longevity counts in the blogging world.  I’ve seen a lot come and go in the last two years.
• Whenever I have a great idea for a post I write the first few sentences in a draft post so’s I don’t forget.

And here’s the stuff that makes absolutely no sense:

• With very rare exceptions, guest posts are flops.  Traffic and commenting numbers drop drastically, even when the post appears to be timely and informative.
• I’ve given up trying to figure out which posts will skyrocket.  I’ve written beauties that I was sure would end up on the first page of Digg or something and they’ve tanked.  Other, more mundane ho-hummers get 50 c0mments and 75 tweets.

All in all, it’s been a fine ride.  Hope to see you folks for the next 250

Cheers

George