I started blogging due to my love of writing, and desire to be a journalist. It seemed an easy way to start out in the field of features and reporting, gaining experience but in my own time and without having to intern in an expensive city and earn no money. Everything I do comes from my core values – communication, connection, curiosity and creativity. And So She Thinks is me, my passions, my skills, and my plans; a place to share my thoughts and the things that I discover.

Blogging is mainstream

Now, everyone is a blogger. And the growth of blogging has been blamed with bottoming out the journalism industry, due to the plethora of people willing to write, and often for free. Disparate social media means that creating and publishing is now open to all, user generated content allows people to publish on mainstream sites, and constant communication and commentary is available to everyone. There’s something democratic about this, but can also mean that there’s a lot of bad writing, boring ideas and poor quality content out there. That’s before we even mention fake news. With news writing bots and the prolific rise of automated listicles, bloggers could see their work being pushed aside, and lamenting the good old days just like the journalists do. I hope that good quality content that has longevity will again be considered to be more valuable that low quality, click bait Buzzfeed style pieces that spark only a brief moment of interest before becoming out of date.

Bloggers as brands

Blogging for most remains a hobby, but for some, it’s a lucrative career. However, rather than to share their views, report on issues or comment on ideas, it’s to sell. Blogs and social media are a brand package and many businesses and corporations are factoring them into their content creation plans. As a result bloggers as brands will continue to grow as another marketing channel, moving away from their roots as a personal journals to lifestyle branding outlets. Like Priya Dabak who blogs at Tabula Rasa, I believe that ‘A blog is a wonderful platform to interact with like-minded folk and gives one the luxury to carve out a new virtual identity.’ Also like Dabak, it’s true that the increased appeal of blogging is its commercialisation and monetisation. Once money starts to talk loudest, it’s pretty difficult for things to shift, and I don’t see the blurring of blogging and branding leaving anytime soon.

Multimedia

Words are still the pillar of blogging, but recordings, videos and images becoming more and more significant and present. As we walk away from desktops and big screens to consuming content on mobiles, and with apps increasingly being the portal through which we do so, a responsive and dynamic presentation matters even further. It’s no longer about writing articles and features, and in the disparate media landscape ‘Instead of blogging, people are posting to Tumblr, tweeting, pinning things to their board, posting to Reddit, Snapchatting, updating Facebook statuses, Instagramming’ as Jason Kottke says. Whatever the medium and whatever the channel, it will have to look good, and user experience and maximising the interface will become something that all bloggers have to understand.

Data delivery

More people will learn how to use data and analytics, with off the shelf drag and drop options becoming more sophisticated. Posts will be able to automatically reshaped and re-shared when search statistics reach a particular level, or targeted as with social media advertising. Algorithms will allow for localised delivery, or personalised design.

A return to authenticity

Although I’ve lamented the loss of authenticity above, elsewhere in the world there’s been a real yearning for it. Over the last few years there’s been a shift from worrying about ‘what’ you do to ‘why.’ It’s no longer about being the most successful or glamourous but getting back to basics. Just think of the growth of home baking, craft clubs and gardening amongst all ages. The blogging landscape is now saturated by people who don’t love to write, but instead feel that they ‘should’ have a blog in order to sell themselves. I hope that blogging follows the fashion of seeking sincerity and simplicity, and that the sphere is again run by people who just love to communicate. Who love to tell stories. Who love words.

Perhaps that’s just a wishful thinking. But that’s why I set up my blog. A place to share my thoughts.

What makes people happy? What is happiness? Can happiness be found from people, places and things around us, or is it purely internal – a reflection and result of our own thoughts, feelings, attitude and mindset? Can we really be as happy as we want to be?

With many of the contributions reflecting the diverse backgrounds and cultures of the writers, in HAPPY there are 129 contributions from 60 writers in 21 countries: Antigua, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, England, France, Greece, Indonesia, Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Puerto Rica, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uganda, USA and Vietnam, all exploring themes of happiness and being happy.

HAPPY is a unique collection of poetry and short prose from some of the most talented and inspirational writers around the world. Compiled by Robin Barratt with… Aarati Salian, Abigail George, Alan Murphy, Amanda Earthwren, Andy Find, Barbara E Robinson, Bee Parkinson, Bernadette Perez, Bryan Ng Sze Cher, Clare Roslington, Clement Clark, Courtney Speedy, Cynthia Morrison, David Hollywood, David Watt, David Whitaker, Francesca Baker, Gayathri Viswanath, Grant M King, Heidi Al Khajah, Jenna Rainey, Jennifer Riggs, John Karl Stokes, John Tunaley , Kapardeli Eftichia, Kariuki Wa Nyamu, Kathleen Boyle, Kev Milsom, Kimmy Alan, Kirsty A Niven, Kritika Chawla, Lee Williams, Linda M Crate, LindaAnn Lo Schiavo, Lynette Cupido, Madhavi Tiwary, Madhumitha Murali, Maire Malone, Mandee C Harris, Manu Menard, Margaret Clifford, Martin Redfern, Michael Ihenacho, Michael Thwaites, Mimi Martin, Nilanjana Bose, Pamela Scott, Pat Smekal, Philip Kobylarz, Ray Ward, Rifat Najam, Rohini Sunderam, Rosie Mapplebeck, Ruth M Edwards, Sandra T Adeyeye, S’busiso Manqa, Sergio A Ortiz, S R Sullivan, Tracy Davidson and Zahra Zuhair.

Part of the nationwide Undivided platform, which seeks to help young people have their voices heard in a post referendum Europe. We were keen that the event wasn’t seen as either pro or anti Europe – just acknowledging that things are changing, and we have an opportunity to be involved in that. And a fun way to do so would be through art and creativity. Hosted at the Bauhaus Café, a venue and project run by Betsy, who really lives out her passions and belief in creating change through connection and creation, it was a day of celebration.

Those who attended really embraced the concept, speaking out to explore positive ways to improve their experience of Ashford and life. Everyone was encouraged to say and share what would make their town better, be that health, art, employment, environmental issues, accessibility, infrastructure, education – and all of these and more came up!

Chris Buckett from Kent Urban Sketchers sat down with a group to draw their ideal streets, an activity that showed just how important the idea of community space, green areas and lively streets are for people. Natasha Boardman-Steer, as self defined urban innovator, asked people where they wanted to explore in Europe and why, demonstrating a continued connection with the continent, helped people make badges to show what they are proud of about Ashford, and captured it all on video.

Postcards from the ideal Ashford of the future were a great way to imagine how the town could look, and cut up and black out poetry ideal ways to recycle words to make statements of positivity. Slogans on t-shirts have always been important for activism, and designer and bespoke dressmaker Caroline Bruce worked with us to upcycle old material and wear our message with pride, whilst also sparking conversations about sustainability and the environment.

The Boss(y) Girls Project ran a workshop on gender and relationships between men and women, which saw people of both sexes fired up about inequality, and Kent Refugee Action Network and Ashford BME Association were on hand to speak to attendees.

We were thrilled that MP Damian Green came along for a discussion about his role as MP for Ashford in all of this and what politicians can do for us. In an energetic conversation amongst young and old, right and left, those who grew up in Ashford and those who moved here, we discussed the importance of being part of your community, thinking critically about politics, taking part in discussions about issues facing you and your area, and being a doer and not just a complainer.

We hoped that people would leave feeling excited and empowered, regardless of political affiliation, creative confidence or experience, and that new friendships and partnerships would be formed as a result. More than 150 ideas were generated and sent to Undivided, who will now put those forward to Parliament. As the evening closed and faces left as bright as the canvases and crafts across the room, there was definitely a sense of hope that in this community change could happen – and people could make it.

https://www.facebook.com/AshUnCCC/videos/282235732191316/