E is for Expectations and Evolution

E

Funny thing, expectations.  There are certain areas of my life where expectations are, (and forgive the clunky phrasing) expected.  Directing a show or running a class depend on expectations being  understood by both parties.

The cast or students have an expectation that they will learn something.  I have the expectation that they will allow themselves to learn.  Regardless of how that actually works out, there is a contract of sorts in those expectations.

Then there are things like this blog.  Since that is pure self-indulgence, I didn't really have any expectations.  I'm often far more lucid on paper (or screen) than I am in the flesh, so it seemed like a decent idea to write stuff down as I thought of it.  It started as a kind of tracking exercise for myself to follow the cycle of putting together shows - and as a useful reminder of the highs and lows of the process.

My expectations did include finding an audience of some kind.  Few of us blog in a deliberate vacuum after all.  We all want to share our special snowflake status.  With that, comes evolution. 

I love this chart.  All those branching lines and strange developments.  I can look at it for hours.

Where my expectations fell down was the non-predictability of that evolution.  How many A-Zers out there have found their conversation with readers changing as they develop their bloggy voice?

I'm sure this is an ongoing and familiar process to a lot of you, but it's new to me.  It was brought home by a two things in the last few days.

Jeremy at Geeky Tendencies handed me an award for Versatile Blogging - which I'm chuffed to bits about - and I hit 10,000 page views.  Amazing.  That is by far the largest audience I've ever had or would ever expect to have.  Expectations have changed due to evolution. 

See, there was a point to this post :)

For my next trick, evolve gills.