Important News About The 2013 Pagan Blog Project!
2012 has been an interesting year so far. It unnerves me slightly to think that we’re already in October and that Samhain (or Beltane depending on where you are) is around the corner. I know that on a personal level this has been a very heavy year with lots of introspection, self-discovery, and big changes…and they aren’t over yet, which is something else that unnerves me! But even with a few months left in 2012 I’ve been getting questions for a while now about what will happen with the Pagan Blog Project in 2013. Even though it’s a bit early I wanted to answer some of the many questions I’ve been getting about the future of the PBP and the possibility of a 2013 round of the Project.
Will there be a Pagan Blog Project 2013?
Yes! Originally the answer was going to be “no” but after some thought and playing around with ideas for how to make it happen more smoothly I’ve decided on going forward with a 2013 PBP! For those that have had some concerns and criticisms about the PBP this year, there are few things to keep in mind. The first and most important is that this was the first time trying to do this, so naturally there were going to be some bumps in the road and things to work out. Like many people who started the Project and then quit after a few months once finding it to be too much to take on, I also found that some of what I had envisioned to be more than I could handle. Or, more to the point, the systems I originally created and planned to keep in place for the year ended up not being the best with my other work and projects.
Just like those of you that are blogging away each week I have my own things to do for this as well in the background each week and, while I haven’t always been perfect, I am glad that I’ve managed to keep it rolling for 9 months. I’m confident that with the things that I’ve learned this year will be able to make doing a 2013 Pagan Blog Project better, smoother, and more productive for everyone! And hopefully with the 2013 PBP I’ll be able to blog with everyone!
What’s going to change?
There are a few changes to the way the Pagan Blog Project 2013 that will make things a bit more inclusive for everyone and that will hopefully help with one element that I really wanted to foster this year which is community.
1. The website will stay the same.
You’ll still have a place to post your weekly posts and a place to post your blog address in a directory. The blog URL will stay the same but there will be some tweaks and changes to the site layout at the end of this year to accommodate the changes coming for the 2013 Project. For example, at the end of December the 2012 PBP directory will be archived and a 2013 directory will open up. This means that all the blog links posted will still be listed for that year but nothing will be able to be added and instead we’ll have a new directory for 2013.
2. All link pages will be scheduled ahead of time, including ALL seasonal/sabbat posts, so there will no longer be lag times in being able to share your links.
I know this has been a sore spot for some people who want to get in and get their links posted as soon as Friday comes. There were a few changes and updates in WordPress and with some of the behind the scenes components that causes a problem with the posts that had been scheduled so they needed to be redone and I’m still working on getting the next couple of months, along with Samhain/Beltane and Yule/Litha scheduled. For 2013 this shouldn’t't be a problem since I’ve gotten rid of the things that caused the problem and I’ll be prepping the whole year’s link posts ahead of time, including all 8 sabbats for each hemisphere, so you’ll never miss a chance to share a post again!
3. There wont be a newsletter anymore but there will be an announcement section on the blog with all the weekly details.
In order to make it a little easier to ensure that everyone has access to the necessary information for the weekly rounds, I’m going to stop sending out a weekly newsletter and instead there will be prompts posted on Monday each week on the blog so you will know what the letter is for the week along with some suggested topics. Anyone can subscribe to the RSS feed for the blog to keep on top of the updates. I’ll also be setting up email subscriptions for it for those that really don’t want to forget; with an email subscription you’ll get all posts that I make to the site, both weekly prompts and weekly linking posts, right to your email with a link back to the page. A lot of people were confused about the newsletter, many people saying they never got it or that it would go in their Spam folder, and they didn’t know how to stop that from happening. So instead I’ll make things a little easier by just putting everything up on the website and give you options as to how you want to get the information each week.
4. The Facebook community will close and a forum section will be opened on the website.
This was a big issue for a lot of people and I wanted to make this more user friendly for everyone that wants to participate. A lot of people that were trying to participate in the Project wanted to be part of the community aspect but weren’t members of Facebook and had no desire to sign up for Facebook. Some of these people felt that by having a Facebook community that it was a little unfair for those who don’t wish to be members of that site, which I can certainly understand. I’ll be adding this soon in order to make sure that it’s working properly and that everyone is comfortable with it so that if there are questions or concerns they can be addressed before the 2013 PBP starts.
At the end of the day it’s all about streamlining for 2013. This will make it easier for you and me! That’s why I’ve decided to do everything in a single place for next year. You’ll have your posts, your directory, your weekly prompts, and your community space all on one website where you can subscribe by RSS and email for updates as you like.
The 2013 Pagan Blog Project will have its first post of the year on January 4, 2013! I hope to see many of you return for a second year or come back and give it another go. I know that, for me, it was hard to keep up with the posts this year but I enjoyed the few months that I was blogging each week and that’s why I’ll be starting over again in 2013 with excitement and enthusiasm! I hope you will too!
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please don’t hesitate to contact me! Simply drop me an email at rowan@rowanpendragon.com and let me know what’s on your mind.
Happy Blogging!
Rowan