Since it is still technically Fan Month, it’d probably be more accurate to say “Fan Two Weeks” or “Two Weeks as a Fan.” But those take long...

Fan Month: My Time in Fanland

Alexa Mintah

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Since it is still technically Fan Month, it’d probably be more accurate to say “Fan Two Weeks” or “Two Weeks as a Fan.” But those take longer to say and they don’t sound as interesting, so I’m afraid accuracy will just have to go and sit in the corner for a bit.

Anyway.

If you hadn’t heard, I spent the last two weeks doing Heather’s Fan Month linkup, in which you spend the month (or however much time you can manage) being a fan.

For me, that meant the daily thirty minutes I’d normally spend writing my own blog posts were spent reading other people’s posts. In the interest of full disclosure, my original reason for participating was that I was really behind on my blog subscriptions and I thought, “what better way to take some time off and catch up?” (in case you’re wondering, I’m actually still behind because, let me tell you, thirty minutes a day for two weeks? Not nearly as much time as I thought it would be).

When I started Fan Month, I thought I’d reach around 200 posts before my two weeks was over. I even considered making that my goal, but in the end, decided against it. I honestly don’t remember why I chose not to, but I’m glad I did because I wouldn’t have reached that goal. Which would’ve made me sad and stressed, which is more or less not the point of Fan Month.

By the end, I’d only read about 100 posts. I grossly underestimated the amount of time I would spend reading each post, thinking about my comment for each post, and then actually commenting on each post. Who knew being a fan was so time-consuming? lol

But anyway, I’m still proud of myself for taking the time out to do it, even if I didn’t read quite as much as I wanted to. Maybe I’ll do it again sometime and go for an hour or so each day.

Now I seem to recall making up some rules when I started this whole thing, so let’s see how much of a rebel I turned out to be.

1. I shall visit at least ten blogs this month: This was more of a goal than a rule, but I’m proud to say that I actually surpassed it. I visited fourteen different blogs (thirteen old, one new), which I know isn’t anything record-breaking. But like I said, Fan Month for me was basically playing catchup and being the fan I should’ve been months before (yes, months. I was that behind).
2. I shall comment on every post I read: This one, I actually made a rule. And, though I followed it most of the time, I did break it every once in a while. Sometimes, as hard as I thought, I couldn’t come up with anything to say about the post. Other times, I was so quick to read everything else on my list that I forgot. Which, I know, kind of defeats the purpose of Fan Month, but I’m not perfect, and it didn’t happen often. I’d say I commented on at least 90% of the posts I read, maybe more.
3. Except for the posts sharing other people’s posts, I won’t do anything new on Summer Snowflakes: This one was also a rule and this one I also followed. All the March posts on Summer Snowflakes have been about Fan Month and Fan Month alone.

Well, would you look at that? I followed two rules out of three. Guess I’m not as much of a rebel as I thought.

And finally, what I learned from being a fan: That I need to spend more time being one. It’s easy to get caught up in your own little building in BlogVille, but you’re missing most of the fun if you’re not commenting on other blogs and interacting with other bloggers. Blogging isn’t just about making your voice heard (which is what I’ve been using it for); it’s about hearing other people, too. And not just hearing, but truly listening, commenting back, and starting conversations, and meeting people, and making friends, and fangirling, and having fun, and generally interacting with the rest of the blogging world.

If you want to have fans, be a fan. Not to say that that’s the only reason you should be a fan (if you missed it, see a paragraph up for more great reasons). But if you’re not interacting with anyone, no one’s going to visit your lonely little corner in BlogVille. No one’s going to hear your voice. Plus, you miss out on half the brilliance of being a blogger if you’re just being a blogger and not a reader too.

I don’t intend to miss out on that anymore. From here on out, every month is Fan Month for me. Which is why every Saturday, I’m going to share my new Posts of the Week! post where I will link to my favorite blogs from the week before, just like I’ve been doing all March.

There’s about two weeks left in the official Fan Month, guys. Let’s get out there and be fans.

Alexa, out.

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