I’ve paused on content planning and strict scheduling and even keyword research. The internet that this blog started with in 2017 is gone and SEO and localized search is dead.
My most popular post according to WordPress’s WP Statistics report is a book review about books on grief featuring Edwidge Danticat and Zinzi Clemmons from all the way back to October 2017. I don’t think a real person is reading this so assume it’s being used in AI training somewhere somehow and I have no idea how to stop it. I don’t think the review was even that insightful or impactful but week by week it’s the most popular piece of content on My Jamaican Vignettes. Maybe I should look back on the post and see what about gets the internet AI crawlers so excited but I haven’t revisited the post so there’s that.
What Is Web Hosting Costing Me?
As I am writing this there’s an uproar on social media, to be specific on Meta’s Threads, about Squarespace increasing its web hosting to over USD $340 and I don’t know the details if that’s a monthly payment or annual. But it got me thinking.
How much have put into My Jamaican Vignettes in terms of web hosting fees, domain payment and Canva designs etc and what have gotten from this space.
Community Growth and False Starts
The goal of 2026 was grow and build a community and figure out mailing list. It was initially supposed to be a Substack then I moved to Flodesk which I haven’t been using. I sent one email then disappeared. I have no idea at the time of writing if I still have subscribers or if that list has shrunk or grown.
I am not sure where I am even heading with this post. I guess the ramble is to say the world is on fire, the sense of community never evolved and I no longer know what this space is offering or who it is serving.
This isn’t a goodbye from me and MJV but more of a time of reflection. This blog in its former space as a WordPress blog was a key element in getting me my 2016 dream job as content features writer at YMG. This space showed my creativity, writing skills and blog management capabilities and that was important in my pivot to content marketing in 2016 and 2018. But here and now in 2026 I don’t want to be discovered, I have the experience and skills in editorial project management and as a people manager so where do I go from here. I’ve written about the great millennial career crisis on here and honestly the job market is garbage and with so many companies betting on AI slop and automation to do everything where does a mid-career creative even fit it. Middle management is shrinking and senior leadership feels out of reach and the C-suite isn’t even a part of the conversation.
So do I build and create on my own? Should I wish to be a founder and what do I grow? Where does the money come from? Where’s the support? Am I standing in my own way?
Should I Continue Blogging in 2026 and Beyond
But what is it offering me now? It is 2026 and every other day on Threads someone says we should bring back blogs but blogs exists and so does Medium and Substack and individual websites but we’re all fighting for a very narrow attention. And here’s the thing I have no interest in going viral. I don’t want to be a topic or trending moment on the internet.
So all that is to say what I don’t want. But I am struggling to say and figure out what I actually need from My Jamaican Vignettes blog at this stage of my life.
Thank You For Your Support
Thank you for reading. My friends and colleagues who have been a part of this journey since 2017 through mania riddled stream of consciousness pieces, to detailed book discussions and author interviews and mindfulness advocacy to mental health awareness and career and self-love and self-care posts, thank you. You stuck with me through blog breaks, content shifts and so many life changes.
My Jamaican Vignettes blog is my little slice of the internet and in the coming months the topics may shift again and the post frequency and content schedule might change not sure yet. I’m still pondering.
Thank you for reading. I hope you are well. And if you are questioning, reflecting and figuring things out too, I hope you find the clarity you seek. And also remember and I’m saying this as much to you as myself, you are allowed to change your mind and it’s okay to try and fail and fail fast and learn your lesson so you can reach closer to that success you seek.
Be well my friends.
I hate that AI is taking over and I don’t think it’s a good thing. I hate having to be wondering if something is real or created through AI. I love the organic nature of just being able to read reflections of a real person and I may be biased but I love the fact that I’m able to read and get insight on what your thoughts are at a particular time. I hope this period of reflection unearths what suites you best (and your faithful readers too). I’ll say it, I look forward to seeing what direction MJV takes.
Thanks so much Kimberly. I am figuring out what the next steps are and where the blog will take me. I appreciate you and your ongoing support.
Take the time to reflect. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Thanks for reading Marsha-Gay.