Antwerp Calling: counting down to 500,000

Within a couple of weeks (somewhere early Dec), this blog will have reached 500,000 readers. A joyous moment I will celebrate by over-dosing on Belgian chocolates, an experience you can share by mailing me a print-screen if you happen to be reader #500,000.

Nevertheless, I”m experiencing the slow but persistent emergence of doubt about the value of personal “user generated content” (like in blogging) from the viewpoint of me, the author. After two years I often feel like I’ve become an unpaid copywriter & photographer.

Not that I ever wanted or needed to earn one cent through blogging, but still, being an inspired author covering a multitude of subjects regarding Antwerp, I used to put in a lot of time and effort, with currently only rising numbers of anonymous drive-by visitors in return.  Visitors who just devour my content and click “next blog” 20 seconds later.

Many bloggers with a consumptive audience have already switched to alternative and more personal, more interactive social media like Facebook, with blogging slowly becoming a one way street I’m increasingly uncomfortable with. [Check the 1/10/100 rule]

At present I’m taking a yet undefined break – I’m still pondering the issue, looking at the options and will decide how to proceed when I return (“an Antwerp picture blog” was suggested, as I own thousands of shots), but I do wonder if anyone feels or has felt the same.

Is Facebook killing off your blog too?

Much like in “Video killed the radio star”, Facebook (and Twitter, and all the other Web 2 networking sites) has been killing off countless local Antwerp blogs this year. I was stunned counting the sheer number of fellow bloggers who no longer bother to post, since Facebook is a much easier medium, providing a personalized, targeted audience, fast comments & lots of interaction.  Are you still blogging?

If you are, do check my visitor counter: when it reaches 500,000 make sure to mail me a print-screen. I still got some chocolates left and I’m looking forward to join you in celebrating having been read by half a million visitors.

Thank you for loving me again ;-)

With Facebook & Twitter unfortunately luring away most of my readers, I wonder what I said to please you today

Free Belgian beer for everyone!

bollekesfeest beer festival Antwerp, Belgium - Aug 21, 2009

The annual Antwerp “bollekes” beer festival (http://www.bollekesfeest.be) was celebrated this year by a crowd of 100,000 during a three day weekend at the end of August 2009. The opening on Friday Aug 21 featured free beer, along with the entire city council and Mayor throwing chocolates in the form of small hands, an ancient tradition.

But before I happily continue posting more stories, I feel it’s time for a blog format make-over. Like Bob Dylan once said, “The Times They Are a-Changin’ “, with an ever increasing number of former regular readers exclusively focusing on social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter. I know, my hit-rate is still high at 300-400 daily visitors, with a blog counter almost reaching half a million uniques, but after three years it’s time for a format change. There’s no stopping Facebook, is there?

Parts of Antwerp Calling will be relocated to a Belgian network I’m already posting on for ages (in Dutch, the language spoken by my close friends & relatives), while I will focus on covering predominantly visual local stories at Antwerp Calling in English, whenever I find the time. I’ll make sure you will enjoy the updated format. See You Later, Alligator

The 2009 Antwerp Summer Break

Much like these tempting women (actually, they’re male) below, shot last weekend in front of the Antwerp riverbank “steen” castle (thanks guys, your free posing provided me with a much appreciated and popular online photo session), don’t we all need our summer break?

Well, I sure do. So while I’m off to work on my tan and muscles in a cheap cabin along the rainy Belgian coast on a secluded island resort in the South China Sea, rest assured that I will keep you posted 24/7 via WiFi whenever any worthwhile news breaks in sleepy Antwerp this summer. But please, do err on the side of caution and skip checking CNN first – I’m convinced you know who to trust when reliable coverage of Antwerp, Belgium is vital

Enjoy the summer of 2009, wherever you may be.

[Update July 11th: returned from the beaches in Zeeland, Holland, only a 1h drive from Antwerp, yet so different. Hottest day of the year (33°C/92°F) July 2nd, but we're back enjoying the chilly Belgian rain. Tempted to fly off to the Med. Happy birthday Belgium!]l

Antwerp’s unofficial 2009 Summer Season Opening

Yes folks, it’s that time of year again: open-air pools, BBQs, the upcoming yearly one/two week vacation along the Med, long evening nights and obviously, somewhat less time spent in front of computer screens. But don’t run away now, I’ll make sure sure to keep on posting [disclaimer: intentional statement], even if the temps break the 100°F/37°C limit. To be totally honest, the chance of that happening is as remote as winning the Belgian state lottery in this rainy country by the sea

2008/2009 has been a pivotal year for both this blog and for myself.  Antwerp Calling dropped from 1,000 hits a day to a more modest 300 daily readers, predominantly caused by the massive success of social networking sites like Facebook and the multitude of Web 2.0 “I must be on it” applications like Twitter. Several of my once most loyal readers closed down their own blogs, one realizing a Pulitzer was beyond her reach, some just faded away or started financially more lucrative endeavours, with people I’ve never met in real life still leaving their much appreciated comments.  My personal life became a bumpy ride for a while, but at present I’m back in the driving seat.

Today showed the halmarks of an enjoyable Belgian summer’s day: 25°C/80°F on a leisurely Sunday spent at Antwerp’s left-bank beach and open-air pool. [My photo: an ice-cream stand on the historic Antwerp "plage" (French for "beach") at 4 pm]. I haven’t got a clue what the end of May felt like in your part of the world, but feel free to share.

Not available on Twitter, Facebook or WordPress

“Sure”, my dearest family members just told me over the phone, “feel free to use the pictures of Reinhartstein castle, the family reunion trip to the Robertville lake & dam and every shot you took during our three day weekend. But not on Twitter, Facebook or WordPress.” Since they managed to get their face on virtually all shots worth posting, I have to leave you with these rather generic images, pictures that hardly manage to evoke the atmosphere in eastern Belgium last weekend.

Privacy, it’s a weird issue, isn’t it? “Personal photo blogging is like leaving your home front door wide open while shouting “just drive in”: you lose all control”, my brother mentioned ever so polite. “Twitter? That’s like texting to the whole world. Facebook? Did you ever check how some of these ‘500-friend’ users handle their accounts?” Oh well, enjoy these first generic shots How do you feel about online privacy?

Reach out and touch an Antwerp local

I’d love to meet you. Don’t run now: it’s all quite simple and I’d like to explain.

When I started this blog way back in 2006 I basically jumped on the blogging bandwagon because “all my friends were doing it”: it seemed a natural and easy way to share a small part of my life. Although I spent virtually all of my free time with my diving buddies in those days, I actually met several expats (notably from the US and NZ)  living in Antwerp through blogging – empathic people who invited me into their homes and who became acquaintances. Unfortunately most expats have an embedded social expiry date by nature. 2007 turned into a pivotal year: no longer being able to dive after an injury, my longstanding close diving friendships faded surprisingly fast, with my last family members moving out of Antwerp in 2008.

A US expat once elaborately explained how hard it was to bond with locals in Antwerp, being a new face in town. But trust me, at times it’s just as complex for many who were born in this place. Dutch speaking Belgians have a reputation to keep their distance, with an Antwerp urban setting anno 2009 further complicating building new social contacts with relative strangers. While it’s great knowing I have some close friends and family to share my most personal emotions with, meeting some of the Antwerp inhabitants who actually read this blog could be a delightful experience. I’ve met amazing people through blogging and I’d love to repeat the experience.

So if you’ve been reading this blog and feel we might put a smile on each other’s face, don’t hesitate: reach out and touch an empathic Antwerp local. There’s no need to rush   Contact information can be found at “about the author”.

How safe is your ‘free’ blog during the recession?

I received an unpleasant note this morning: one of my Belgian “free” hosts is calling it quits, unable to handle the financial problems due to the drop in online advertising during what has become a full-blown recession. Sure, I can switch hosts, but this will entail re-processing over 1,000 pictures, recoding and putting in more hours than I can possibly spare.

Which bring me to my real concern: how financially sound is wordpress.com as a blog host in these troubled times? Automattic, owner of wordpress.com appears to have quite a stable foundation, but with giants like Microsoft announcing cutbacks, I’m slightly concerned about the long-time financial stability of several ‘free’ blog platforms. I tried Googling the financial results for Automattic Inc [profile], but I didn’t find too much relevant information. [Financial update from Jan 2008 about Automattic from the WSJ].

Thank you for loving me again ;-)

I’m not sure why, but hardly posting anything seems to make this blog much more popular. It may be a subtle hint