About being a blogger on a small island
I was talking to someone the other day who mentioned that someone mentioned our blog to her. And it was in a “not very nice” sort of way. She said it was because I posted a “not very favorable” review of a certain restaurant. Funny! But the funniest thing is that the next time we went to this restaurant we were treated “like royalty”, and I wrote about that in my next review.
The person who told me about the “complainer” thought that maybe we were “treated like royalty” because of the blog. So I say to that, “Way cool, but why wouldn’t they treat everyone nice the first time and not need to be ’spurred on’ by the fact that I might write a ‘not very favorable’ review?” Why not strive for excellence in your chosen occupation, whatever it is and with whomever you’re dealing? I think I do. Well, okay, sometimes I’m not as patient as I should be with some people who call or e-mail with schtupid questions, but I would really like to have the patience of Michael. They still get a really good massage and I haven’t yet begun to charge a “stupidity fee”. So see, I’m striving.
I think it was Wreggie, a while back, who asked if our blog brought us any more business. Good question! But I think it hasn’t, and in fact, it may have had the opposite effect. People make assumptions about us after reading things we’ve written, and if they disagree with us, we probably won’t ever see their business. For example, read the comments on Michael’s post Rejected Again. There are people who despise us because our opinions differ from theirs. But we do try to make coherent sense and base our arguments on honest research. Maybe they’re just jealous because they can’t do that.
Someone told me recently that she feels like she knows me really well because she reads our blog all the time. Very interesting! Maybe it’s easier to get a massage from someone you don’t know very well if you’re not a regular client of theirs, because you don’t know about their personal faults. Especially if you don’t live here. When I massage a visitor, most of the time I will be asked lots of questions about what it’s like to live on an island. People who have read the blog already know much of my side of it.
We have met fun new people in the last few weeks who found us through our blog, and it’s okay that they didn’t get massages from us. It was fun just meeting them and hanging out and showing them some of the things we love about living here.
I guess when I first started blogging, I thought I’d write about only the good stuff to make St. Croix sound oh-so-perfect, but that’s what people read in tourism ads. No place is perfect, and people need to know that. I’m not perfect, I have some dumb ideas and opinions, but I’m a damned good massage therapist…. and I don’t do the “hard sell” thing, either. 
May 4th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
well i write an almost daily thread about life here on the island and i could truly give a shit about what people say about it,good or bad, i write for myself not others, i admire you 2 alot and the only thing we tend to disagree on is developement, but i think it is important that people read our stories and realize that on our “bad” days is that st.croix is “just another shithole with better weather”. i write under a differnet name because too many people know me and i want the privacy of using an assumed name so i do not have to censor myself in any way.
May 4th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Hey, Ladlie, I’m with you, and I’m using someone else’s words here, “At my age, I don’t care what people think about me”, otherwise I would just say namby pamby things about our island.
It’s still better here in most ways than anywhere I’ve lived before and I guess I’m naive, but I can’t stop believing that we could actually be a model for the world in so many aspects. We need a comprehensive land and water use plan; and WAPA as an example of alternative energy for the masses. We need an educated electorate. We need more people to go out on a limb for the good of the whole rather than just trying to save their own sorry butts. Etc. I see it happening little by little. I hear about it more and more each day and I will remain as optimistic as I can and continue to work toward this.
May 5th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Hi Terry, it is so true that the more things change, the more they stay the same, especially on St. Croix. I can assure you that the positive things/events you blog about, are just like in the “old days”, 70s-90s when I lived there, great people, wonderful places to go, things to do, but really the people as they become your family. The negative things, the way the government is run (like getting your drivers license, all too familiar), the roads, and the way some people react to criticism is also the same. Your observations are honest, and that is all one can expect from anyone. Keep on keeping on! It is fun, and interesting to see it all unfold in your blogs. I am so glad that Kelly Yoder Smith turned me on to you.
May 5th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Trudi~ After the post about Llewellyn’s heart attack, and all the comments we got from his friends and family far and wide, I started to realize the scope of the “blog-o-sphere”.
I am still amazed and baffled by it every day. And impressed and frightened. And, although I have kept trying to live a “simpler life” down here, I can’t escape. My business has become dependent on being internet-user-friendly.
A few years ago, before Michael and I got together and I thought all I’d ever need was an e-mail address, people who’d gotten massages from me would ask me if I had a website. I couldn’t understand why. I’d already gotten their business, why on earth would I need a website? It would just complicate my life. And it has, but as I’ve begun to see, in this world today, it’s really important for every business (especially tourism related ones), to have a damned website.
And now the blog brings us a LOT more internet hits than I ever thought possible. But still not much more business from what I’ve seen. Blog readers aren’t necessarily massage getters. They just like free info, and that’s fine, too.
I can consider it part of my “community service” or “volunteer hours”.
Oh, and by the way, nice website
!
May 5th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Thanks for the compliment, Terry. It was a struggle to put my site together. Like you, I fought getting a website, I did not want to be bothered by faceless inquires. Fortunately for me, that has not happened, the site is more of a tool for my art galleries to use to help show the range of my work and who I am. I rely on them to promote my work to real people! After all, I live in bum-_uck Ennis, Montana! This place is pretty quiet for 6 months then the fly fishermen swoop down upon us! Speaking of a simpler life, I just planted by cold weather veggies today, spinach, lettuce, peas, beets, radish, can’t wait for the little guys to poke their heads through the soil. Our garden is such great therapy. Trudi