I just finished reading Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull. I loved it! So interesting and inspiring. One thing Ed said that really stuck with me (among many others) was when he talked about sharing your work with others. He said: Don’t wait for things to be perfect before you share them with others. Show early and show often. It’ll be pretty when we get there, but it won’t be pretty along the way — and that’s as it should be.

There’s one challenge most bloggers face: discovering their unique voice. And honestly, the only real way to find it is to just keep blogging. With a bit of luck (and a lot of writing), we’ll get there eventually. But keeping that voice alive? That can be just as tricky. It’s easy to get distracted by the glow of upvote buttons and traffic stats. That’s one of the reasons I really like the no likes, no stats approach.

I really appreciate the new features available on this fresh little blog home of mine. I like how easy it is to create photo albums and track books. And I love that I can publish blog posts straight from my favorite text editor (iA Writer). I also appreciate not having some of the usual features. For instance, there’s no built-in analytics by default. Sure, you can use a third-party tool if you want to, but I’ve chosen not to.

I just read the post Thank you for being you by Ruben Verweij. He writes that his blog has just celebrated its one-year anniversary. Happy blogbirthday! 🥳 I think many bloggers can relate to that kind of joy. I know I can. A blog isn’t just a digital platform. It’s more like an entity — a close friend, a family member, even our better half. A blog is a buddy.

I heard on the Swedish news that our dear neighbors in Norway had a bit of a bummer the other day. About 40,000 Norwegians received an official message from Eurojackpot (a big lottery game across Europe) saying they were millionaires. Turns out, there was a sliiight miscalculation. The winnings had been calculated 10,000 times too high. Some people posted their million-dollar smiles on social media, only to be told later that they’d actually won just $11.

With this new home for my blog, I’m still on the limited Micro.one $1/month plan. It’s a surprisingly generous setup, with neat features like book tracking and photo collections. Coming from Bear Blog — a wonderful platform in its own minimalistic “bear necessities” kind of way — this feels like a whole new world. Honestly, it’s a bit overwhelming, and very easy to get carried away. That’s exactly what I think has happened to me lately.

Junited 2025 is over, which means it’s time for JulyReply 2025! If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might remember I did this last year too. Can we get even more participants this time? Let’s make it happen! 🤩 The idea is simple — and no, it’s not a contest or anything too demanding. It’s all about encouraging bloggers to interact by replying to each other’s posts.

I’ve been blogging for about 20 years now — give or take a couple of breaks along the way — and I can honestly say it’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever stuck with. Blogging has been a creative outlet, a tech playground, and, most importantly, a way to connect with people I might never have met otherwise. There are several reasons why I continue to love it, and each one has grown in meaning over time.

I recently listened to a documentary about the artist Charli XCX. It featured, among others, the Swedish songwriter, producer, and friend Noonie Bao, who’s been with her since the very beginning. Noonie shared how happy and moved she feels seeing Charli’s success. Having witnessed all the hard work and dedication firsthand, she talked about how Charli stood her ground when others doubted her, always trusting her own intuition. As Noonie wisely put it: