It's that time of the year again when I write another article to pat myself on the back for sticking to the blog and to thank you for reading it. Last year I wrote a post about my thoughts on blogging and since then I think things got even worse in the world of the Internet.
The past twelve months have been the quietest here in seven years. Between working full-time on Delicious Dublin Tours and doing a masters I didn't really have much energy for anything else. I tried to keep at it when I had big crushes on some new places like Alma or Bread 41 which really made me want to write here but I couldn't keep to a regular schedule.
Some great things happened in the past year such as contributing to several books and being invited to become a member of the Irish Food Writers' Guild. I consider myself a food tourism business owner above anything else but I guess those little achievements allowed me to move from the 'blogger' to the 'food writer' category. Of course, these opportunities would have never happened without FFID in the first place.
I thought of stopping 'French Foodie in Dublin' more than once in the past year. Maybe because I think blogging is slowly dying with the rise of Instagram and people's attention spans getting shorter. It became a bit disheartening to see so much blogger bashing online and witnessing some individuals taking the easy route by buying a fake following. There's also the fact that I'm getting older and that my life is evolving in other directions. I've been thinking that the blog should also reflect this in a way but I don't quite see how just yet.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that even though overall this blog has brought me joy over the past seven years and I'm always keeping it positive, it hasn't all been sunshine and rainbows. There are a few reasons that somehow pushed me to come back here from time to time though. There were some lovely readers who thanked me for the blog when they bumped into me in real life over the last few months, that certainly boosted my motivation. I tell my food tours guests that I have a website filled with my food recommendations and I almost feel like I've got a civic duty to update it for them. Finally, there's Mr. FFID who's always here to remind me why I started and how it remains a big part of who I am.
Will FFID survive the 'seven-year itch'? I'd like to think so. Having completed my studies I'm slowly starting to give this space a little bit more attention. I enjoy writing here and keeping this a hobby, not doing it for virtual fame, likes or money.
Voilà, I just wanted to say thank you again to those who've been supporting the blog for the past seven years. I may have never met most of you in real life but you're definitely the main reason why FFID has lasted that long.
Love,
FFID