ARI HERZOG

My Personal Blog

How Our Coronavirus Normalcy is Redefined

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Three months ago on this day, I resurrected my 13-year-old blog with a focus on our global landscape as humanity went to war with a germ. I wrote the headline, “The Coronavirus is Here and Our New Normal Begins.”

Anonymous data from Google Analytics tells me that nearly 2,400 people visited my blog. Thank you for coming and I hope that you come back.

I see that 68% of my visitors are based in the United States, 67% use an iOS mobile device, 44% arrived from social media links, and 32% came here directly. I presume, though I’m not certain, that direct visitors subscribe to my email list and only visit the blog when the email doesn’t display content or when they want to add a comment.

The coronavirus is still with us — and by epidemiological indications, it will be here for a long time. We are adjusting our lives (albeit some people more quickly than others) to live with the virus and to not let it control us.

According to every critical analysis and tweet that I’ve seen from virologists, immunologists, infectious disease specialists, and biostatisticians, we are still within the first wave and they believe that Vice President Pence is wrong. He wants us to believe the current normalcy is bad and that we should not be concerned about what some call a hoax. There’s nothing bad nor good about the virus. I’m a realist and I view our lives for what they are.

The new normal is an inadequate term. I used it because I’d encountered it everywhere, from news headlines to casual conversations. But, we’re not living in a new normal anymore. Not really.

“Pedants might be quick to point out that it’s simply a paradox. If something is new, can it really be considered totally normal? And can normal things be brand new? Perhaps more fundamentally, the phrase assumes there’s such a thing as normal in the first place—a sort of blanket status quo: parameters outside of which everything is a bit strange.”

Source: Josie Cox, April 22, 2020.

What do we call this present era of humanity other than a continuation of the past? This is life. Despite many aspects of our life different than our past experiences, it’s unclear when (if ever) society will evolve to a non-pandemic landscape. When up to 25% of the population is adamant that they will not self-vaccinate against COVID-19, I’m increasingly skeptical if the pandemic will ever end. Instead, as I’ve read from numerous medical doctors, we will likely treat this coronavirus strain as we treat the common flu — with annual optional shots to prevent infection.

As I wrote three months ago when I started this creative endeavor:

“I anticipate embedding videos, linking to fun websites, and telling cool stories. I will probably not write about politics, but I will definitely have ideas about our new economy. I want to profile movers and shakers in the viral fight. I want to share their stories and motivations. I want to write about stuff that’s happening around the world, not just in my state or country. Along the way, you may see me update old blog posts with fresher content.”

I’m happy to share that I’ve done most of that.

I haven’t written as much about the world but that will change over time.

I also haven’t profiled anyone. I’ve been thinking about either edited written interviews (as you’d see in a newspaper) or non-edited videos. I haven’t figured out who to approach. Maybe healthcare professionals. Maybe other bloggers. Maybe musicians or authors. Maybe everyday people around the world. Thoughts? Add a comment below.

I’ve also branched out my writing from the singular topic of the coronavirus into broader categories such as politics, racism, and the media. I anticipate writing more about these important subjects in the coming weeks and months.

Also, I’m thinking of starting a complement to my blog in the form of either a daily 4-5 minute YouTube video or a weekly longer podcast. In fact, the podcast could be the location for my profiles. What do you think?

Thanks again for reading my thoughts about the coronavirus as we bop around in this not-new normal. Here’s to whatever comes next.

P.S. If you know anyone who might enjoy reading my blog, please share this blog post with them or ask them to click and subscribe.

Happy 13th Birthday to My Blog

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I started blogging on May 14, 2007 on the 12th anniversary of my father’s death. I’ve written about him many times, including this homage. 

My blog has seen four URLs and many layouts. You can visit the archive and read my early posts about apartment life, later posts about digital marketing, and ultimately about minimalism and productivity. 

This is my 1,566th blog post since that day in 2007. This is also my 37th post since writing about coronavirus-related topics in March.

Here’s to another year.

This Is My Last Post of 2018

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I tallied the number of blog posts I wrote this year, compared it to last year, then the prior year, and all the way back to 2007 when I started blogging. The farther back I went correlated to an increased sensation of depression that I don’t write as much now as I wrote then.

I don’t need to tell you that social media is more prominent these days and there’s less of a motivation for me to write a long-form post such as this.

Which is to not say that I don’t want to write long-form, because I do, but because it’s silly to write out a rambling brainstorm such as this sentence instead of chopping my thoughts into bite-size portions on Twitter and other media.

This got me thinking that I want to write more and keep people here. I suppose I should also incorporate grammatical structures that WordPress allows and that social media does not.

For instance…

Wouldn’t you rather read a simple block of text on your mobile phone via your favorite social media platform than scrolling down a blog post to ascertain if the person has a point?

What if I wrote in bold letters?

What if I underlined my words?

What if I wrote in italics?

Would your attention span increase? I’m not going to write in bold or other formats merely to increase your attention because that’s a silly reason for me to write and for you to follow along.

  • Ditto for bullet lists.
  • There is a reason for using bullets.
  • This example is not that reason.

I’ll use lists to make a point, not for the sake of using them.

This is what I know for 2019…

I’ll write more.

I’ll write with a purpose.

I’ll incorporate visual features to capture your attention.

And I’ll end my posts with a request for comments, social shares, and/or mental memories to return here for more.

Goodbye Feedblitz, Hello WordPress Feed

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If you want to read many blogs and don’t want to remember to manually bookmark and visit them in a browser, you can opt to subscribe via email or RSS.

Subscribing by email is easy: You submit a form with your email address, confirm you want to opt in, and you will receive an email message every time your favorite blogger publishes a new post.

Subscribing by RSS is different: You use a web application and add the blog’s feed to your app. Here’s a 2018 Wired article about RSS readers.

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Here on AriHerzog.com, over 500 people choose to receive my posts by email. Here’s a link to the signup form.

Another 500 receive my posts by RSS. I wrote in 2011 about paying Feedblitz to deliver my posts to your preferred reader. But, due to that company now charging pricing tiers that don’t fit my needs, and cognizant that WordPress has a built-in feed address, I’m leaving Feedblitz and you can add this feed instead.

I’m guessing the majority of you reading this sentence would prefer an email subscription. But, if you’re into RSS and feed reading that way, you now have a new feed. Thanks again for participating in my online community.

Do You Read Blogs in 2018?

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This is my first blog post of 2018.

Are you still reading blogs? If so, who writes them and what are they about?

I started blogging in 2004; and I launched this blog in 2007. Here’s a look back at why I did it.

During the years, I strived to publish articles several times a week. That was A LOT of preparing, writing, culling, promoting, and maintaining. With the rise in social networking, I wrote every few weeks. If that. Last year, I churned out about a dozen posts. Eek.

This year, I intend to write much more than last year but not as much as the early years. Maybe a few posts a month. I think that’s an achievable goal.

Anyway, I am here. Are you?

Beginning in 2009 and several times since, I invited my blog readers to delurk and add a comment.

The idea was people could come out of the shadows, whether or not they followed my blog, to add a comment and say hi.

In my first blog post of 2018, can you say hi?

Delurk

If you choose to delurk and add a comment below, don’t think of it as a favor to me but as a favor to everyone else. See, as much as I enjoy reading a comment, I can assure you many comments are added as a direct result of other comments preceding them.

Why I Blog – and Happy 10th Birthday

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Here is Dad with other attorneys.May 2017 marks the 10th birthday of my blog!

It’s seen four URLs and numerous layouts. You can visit the archive and read my initial blog posts about apartment life, later posts about digital marketing, and ultimately about minimalism and productivity. For instance, here’s a piece from May 2007 critiquing a website. Today, I’d write that differently and include screenshots or a video.

You may not know that the first day of my blogging on May 14, 2007 was also the 18th anniversary of my father’s death.

Dad died on May 14, 1995.

He was 46. He had a heart attack.

This photo was taken that year. He sits in the middle, flanked by other attorneys in the law office he founded south of Boston.

Over the years, I blogged about him many times. A notable post is when I elaborated our connection to technology and why Dad’s the reason you’re reading this sentence.

He would be 69 today. I think about my father every time I write a new blog post. He is the reason I blog.

Thanks for continuing to visit, comment, and share.