Next of Kin, the WordPress way

It’s raining today, which seems to fit my mood. Having returned from the Bloggy Boot Camp session held yesterday in Philadelphia, I have a bit of thinking to do.

I knew this would happen: I was in a room with women who’ve been blogging a lot longer, who have found their “tribe,” and who seem (“seem” is of course the operative word!) to have it all together, and I felt….well, less than.

I spent some time listening during the sessions and trying to figure out what I wanted to do next with my writing. Did I aspire to develop a huge stable of PR connections, product reviews/giveaways/review? Did I aspire to make millions thousands a few bucks by offering advertising on my page? No, no, no. Many times no.

I decided that what I want to do with this .com is to write. To have a place where I can post my observations, thoughts, ideas, jokes, and practice good writing (or at least not bad writing). I want to have a place that is uniquely and distinctly *me*, where, after I’ve been hit by a bus, people can go to hear my voice when it has faded from the cacophony.

[A post for another time: What is it about this time in history, 2010, where we all feel that we need/deserve to be uniquely heard? Did women in 1950 have that place? In 1980? In 1880? Certainly to “be heard” is a human need, but how do we avoid becoming the ridiculous or irrelevant or overexposed voice, a la Snooki, or a nutty pastor from Florida, or anyone else hogging the cyber limelight? Like I said, another time.]

So — this site is perfectly in line with my desire to Live Forever. I’m fully aware that I will not live forever, but it is a goal so I continue to go to the gym, battle my weight, and look both ways before crossing the street (lest I get hit by that bus, referenced above).

And, as a perfect tool to support my blog AND my Live Forever goal, I found the most amazing plug-in, called (darkly) Next of Kin. According to the plugin’s developers,

Next Of Kin is the plugin we don’t want to install. It handles what happens after we die. It monitors your own visits to your wordpress system, and will send you a warning email after a number of weeks (of your choice) without a visit. If you fail to visit your blog even after that, the system will send an e-mail you wrote to whomever you choose.

Apparently, if you fail to log in, you get a warning email, and then if you fail to respond to that, your Next of Kin gets an email telling them that you’ve disappeared from BlogLand and could they please poke around and tell you to get back over and log in.  Part of me is secretly horrified by this, but a larger part of me is hugely amused — particularly as I get to compose that Next of Kin email.

I figure, should I fall deeper into a funk of blogging ennui, it will get me away from The Price is Right and back to writing. If for no other reason than to avoid the “Alyson appears to have expired, please go crinkle a Cheese Doodle bag near her head and see if she responds” kind of message to my husband, children or mother.

Kludgy Mom
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9 Responses to “Next of Kin, the WordPress way”

  1. Jill Says:

    Nice, Alyson!

    I have not heard of Next of Kin yet. Guess that is kind of the point of this exercise too. 🙂

  2. Emily Says:

    I love that your blog is not over-run with advertising and product giveaways! I personally want to get paid for my writing, not the advertising posted on my blog. I enjoy your candidness and honesty. I can relate with most, and with the rest – well, I learn. Thank you for focusing on your craft and not getting caught up in the blogging “hype”, hopefully I won’t lose my focus either.

    BTW – I LOVE your Freshly Pressed button and your subscription icons. How in the world did you do that?

  3. Cecelia Winesap Says:

    I agree with Emily. I love your writing and the fresh, clean look to your blog. I am not into giveaways and what not. I enjoy hearing people’s stories and relating to them on a personal level. Your blog is great for that!
    Cecelia Winesap recently posted..Assmunch Monday- Dust in the Wind

  4. Lisa @ Grandma's Briefs Says:

    I completely empathize with your feeling “less than.” No matter how great a post, no matter how sky-high the numbers, I still feel like a woman without a tribe … a woman who doesn’t even know how to FIND a tribe to attempt to wiggle my way into. But ultimately, it’s the words that matter. And your words matter to me!
    Lisa @ Grandma’s Briefs recently posted..Not in Grandmas job description

  5. liz Says:

    So, cheese doodles are the way to your heart, eh?
    liz recently posted..Random Happies

    Alyson says:

    You can never go wrong with CheezDoodles, or cheese doodles, or however they’re spelled. That, friends, is a Fundamental Truth.

    (If only I had some.)

  6. Kat Says:

    Lol. That is funny! Your blog is great! Good for you for doing what you want with it!
    Kat recently posted..Back to School Back to Blogging Week 1- Widgets and Plug-ins

  7. Megan (Best of Fates) Says:

    I am so, so, so creeped out by that Plugin.

    And weirdly tempted.

  8. Ainul Says:

    Then we wouldn’t have Colorado, Chicago or other chaos.Black men make them wiuohtt marriage. White men are starting to do that as well. But white men also make them IN marriage and then leave the family and make a new family and forget about the other children from the previous marriage, two, three and four times. Yes, I am saying it. Women can’t raise boys to be men. WIthout men raising men, the next generation will have none.What is happening in the USA? Waiting for the irresponsible men to start making excuses.

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