Hello, I must be going...

This is my first blog post following my two weeks of self-imposed exile from blogging and other social media. I promised I would report back on a life more ordinary. So, what have I discovered?

I’ve discovered I am a compulsive sharer. The lure of social media in the last 14 days has been strongest when I’ve really had something to say but no one to say it to. It is uncanny how turning to Twitter has become second nature, and to not have that outlet was, at times, frustrating.

I’ve confirmed to myself that I use social media for affirmation and acceptance. Sharing is good, but for me the motivation to share comes from the feedback. I guess that is why some people join networks. In the last fortnight the only thing more frustrating than not being able to share is knowing what I had was gold dust and no one would ever see it.

I’ve surprised myself at the isolation I’ve felt not communicating with regular followers. I didn’t expect that. Given the points above, I thought my networking was quite selfish – maybe it is – but this fast has proved you’re not all ciphers.

Finally, I’ve realised that I don’t want to blog anymore. It is the one thing I haven’t missed. I wrote one draft piece while I was disconnected, just to see if the faculties were still operative (they were). Other than that I haven’t felt the pull of the blog at all.

So after this post I’m closing The Blog Up North for good.

Last summer I re-evaluated what my blog meant to me and what I wanted to use it for. Despite that – and despite myself – the pull was too great, I relapsed into old ways, and the love/hate relationship resumed.

Well, no more. The past 14 days have proved to me the only way to get a monkey off your back is to get clean and stay clean. Perhaps that’s something else I’ve learned; I don’t have the willpower to control it entirely on my own terms.

Anyway, I’m back on Twitter. According to stats, your average tweeter tweets 15 times a day, so I make that over 234,000 tweets I’ve missed in the last two weeks. I have some catching up to do! I’m also back on Facebook (for what it’s worth – ie Words With Friends) and I will be continuing to explore the new sharing network called bo.lt. I will trawl, I will share, I will continue to be the pain in the arse I always was.

Admit it, neither you nor me would want it any other way…