P80624.jpgThis autumn, it would have been twenty years that I have been writing my weekly gardening column for the Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, affectionately known as SVCN. It would have been excellent if it had lasted that long, but it was discontinued a few months ago. There was no warning, although we all know the direction that such media is going nowadays, and that such changes are abrupt. Nothing is like it was nearly twenty years ago.

My weekly gardening columns will continue for the other newspapers that still use it, even if they do not use it for their print versions. Again, due to the way such media operates nowadays, I have no idea of which newspapers who have access to it actually use it, or if they use it for their print versions or merely their online versions.

I could elaborate on the history of my garden column and its inclusion into the various other newspapers that continue to use it, but that can just as easily be another topic for another time. Perhaps I will merely put a bit of that information in my ‘About’ section if I ever get around to updating it. I have another topic to discuss now.

I would like to upgrade this blog. I would like to make it as fancy and user-friendly as some of the other blogs that are out there. I know that the last thing I need right now is more work, but I also want to maintain this as an venue for my weekly gardening column, particularly if other newspapers are likely to discontinue using it in the future.

Upgrading will include selling add space, or at least making add space available to advertisers who can use it. Newspapers pay very minimally for my weekly gardening column, and the newspaper group that payed the most for it no longer uses it. Advertisements might help to justify the work that goes into writing a new gardening article weekly. Hopefully, no one will be to bothered by these changes. I have enjoyed writing my weekly gardening column for almost twenty years, and would like to be able to continue doing so for a while longer.

 

24 thoughts on “Upgrade”

  2. I hope it works out as well….and hope you find a way to make the ads as unobtrusive as possible. The sites and blogs I don’t read are those that are so busy it’s hard to see the words and pictures.

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    1. I find that to be very annoying as well, so do not intend to let it happen. One of the worst things that happened in my career, and really, the lowest point of my career was when a ‘manager’ developed a web site for ‘me’ but then used my notoriety to market his products. (I was still a respected horticulturist back then.) Not only did I get nothing out of it, but it seriously damaged my reputation.

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  3. Your blog posts are interesting and informative. You’ll find a way to make it work. Our small local newspaper was recently bought by a much larger group and the content has declined dramatically. Local news gets reported after it has happened, but the editorial page is schizophrenic as content is bought from other sources.

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  4. Tony , I’m glad to know you’re going to continue your posts . Your expertise and entrepreneurial spirit are encouraging to those of us who absorb every word.

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    1. Ha! I completely lack entrepreneurial spirit. If I had a scrap of that, I would have gone along with the crowd years ago, and done what is most profitable. I just can not sell junk. It is not horticulturally correct.

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    1. The content will not be as difficult as the formatting. I really do not know how to feel about this project now. I know I need to do something new to justify my writing, and I want to continue writing for the newspapers that still use it as long as possible.

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  6. Glad that you plan to keep posting. I’ve enjoyed reading your informative posts and getting to know you a bit via our short discussions in the comments section. I have learned a lot about botany through your articles.

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  7. Sad to see the rapid demise of the newspaper industry. My son was the 6th or 7th generation (can’t remember which) of a newspaper family chain in Ohio and Kentucky… and they just sold it all. Sad day. Much good luck with your quest.

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    1. Thank you. I got into writing rather late in the game, but might have been the last of the columnists in that group. I do not know who the new ‘writers’ are, but they are not local.

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  12. I hope this works out for you! I enjoy reading your posts and since I’m just getting into flowers I like to read as much as I can about them including information for other regions and climates. I think opening your blog to advertising makes sense!

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    1. Thank you. I am not so keen on the concept yet, but I intend to follow through with it anyway. I am not doing it right away, and may wait until halfway through July . . . or even longer. I will continue to write my weekly gardening column as long as possible, so like you say, maintaining a blog as well makes sense.

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