So… things are changing around here, in case you hadn’t noticed.
I’d like to think those changes are going to happen/have happened in some sort of orderly and seamless manner, and that I’ll not lose a single one of you, or leave anyone confused.
… kind of like my approach to parenting.
The reality is, I’ve been sitting on this new URL and mulling over this move for almost a year, now, and it’s not like some miraculous window of time has opened up wherein I can concentrate on one thing for any length of time.
So … screw orderly and seamless. I’m just going to go for it. If you’re a subscriber, this might be the last post you get in your inbox unless you click through to the article, where – if all goes well – you’ll be re-directed to the new site and you can re-subscribe there (look for the widget that promises FREE PRIZES, because I’m all about over-promising and the upsell you know).
If you follow this blog on social media, you will eventually get a notice on Facebook that I’ve changed the name of the page. Twitter will stay the same (I think). Instagram I’ve already changed. Pinterest is something I haven’t figured out yet. I think it’s been nearly a year since I’ve updated anything on Pinterest. Pinterest mostly exhausts me so I try not to think about it. But something will eventually happen. Maybe.
So, yeah, you can see the social media plan I’ve crafted isn’t exactly orderly or seamless, so why should the rest of this be?
Why the change? A few reasons:
- I wouldn’t mind a little distance from the “Mommy Blog” label, and a rebrand seems like a way to do that. My kids are older and not hanging off us any more. Even though they’re still good for a fair amount of nonsense I can share with you all, it’s been a while since their foibles – and my questionable ability to hang on to my sanity in light of their antics – have been a focus of this blog.
- I’ve never been completely happy with the “Manic Mumbling” moniker. When this blog started, it was a personal record of our travels and various other stories. We were the Manic Markleys. Back then, I wanted another name under which, if we weren’t completely anonymous, our specific identities were a little obscured. Other bloggers completely change the names of their kids and call their spouses “Hubs,” or “Wifey.” I can’t always recall the real names of my kids, so I thought this would get too confusing too fast. The bottom line is: I came up with “Manic Mumbling” in about seven seconds. Never thinking how it would sound to tell someone I was an aspiring serious travel writer and doing a little write-up on their hotel or restaurant they would want to watch for in my next entry. Manic Mumbling is most assuredly not the name of a serious travel blog – even one with a good sprinkling of humor.
- I have on occasion attracted readers who have apparently landed on my blog after a keyword search on mental health issues or resources. While no one has ever told me they felt slighted or marginalized by my use of the term “manic,” I’d hate to think that might be a possibility.
With this name change, I enlisted Mike’s help, because he’s one of the funniest, most creative word-nerds I know, next to me. Plus, if we landed on a name that ultimately flopped for whatever reason, I could hold him responsible.
The content will be the same: a focus on parenting teens who will probably become adults in the lifetime of this blog, and have plenty of ridiculousness to share with the world, yet. I’m also going to be reaching a benchmark age that rhymes with “nifty” in not too many more months. That’s probably worth a post or two. There’ll be more travel, more completely worthless advice about running, and whatever else I think of.
So … probably in some sort of cloud of confusing haphazardry (spell check is telling me “haphazardry” is not a word, but spell check KNOWS NOTHING about my life, I think haphazardry absolutely should be a word), Manic Mumbling – Musings of a Mediocre Mom, has changed to “Midlife Sentence.”
Whaddaya think? Still working on the tagline. And the blog design.
It’s probably going to be a bumpy ride for a few weeks, but if you’re a Manic Mumbling fan/stalker/ridiculer, that’s what you’ve come to expect, right?
Ohmygod I’ve never been so nervous about something so inconsequential since we pondered the whole lost-tooth-in-the-glass-versus-under-the-pillow thing.
Stick with me. We’re going to have fun.
3 comments
I love the clean look and the new name. Go forth.
Thanks Alan!
I think this is absolutely refreshing and am behind you one hundred percent. Hooray! I look forward to seeing what unfolds here and yes, I have subscribed. I grinned when I read your admission that you’d not thought about how “Manic Mumbling” might translate to the folks you were trying to impress.