Stay Tuned . . .

Thanks to all of you that took the time to weigh in on the previous post. I really appreciate the thoughtful feedback as well as the many reminders of why I started this blog in the first place: to be a journal ("[we]b log") of the construction of my layout depicting railroading in the southern Connecticut River Valley during the late 1940s.

While Facebook admittedly (and aggressively/intentionally) makes it super easy to post and get feedback, many of you reminded me of what irritates me most about FB (in addition to the usual complaints :^) - I ultimately do not own or control the content. I'm creating content for FB. Of course, there's some "payback" in the comments, "likes", and the community that it creates - but ultimately it's not designed to be what this blog has been: a documentation of my layout's "journey" (as Marty put it) and a nicely archived encyclopedia of techniques that I can easily find and refer back to.

So, having checked in with the folks here - and again, my sincere "thank you" for the input - I'll be refocusing my efforts here. While I'm tempted follow the example of many in totally getting off FB (even the thought of that makes me smile %^), maintaining the Valley Local group there does have some value (e.g. it's great for posting a quick question during construction and getting instant answers and feedback).

But I'll be posting here primarily going forward, so stay tuned for more content coming your way. Hopefully it doesn't become too much - but as some others commented, the blog should ultimately be for my benefit and archive. If others get some value out of it, that's awesome but not necessary.

And it looks like I have a lot to catch up on - I can't believe that my last substantive layout-related post was about layout skirting way back on August 28(!). And for those of you who aren't on FB, you may be surprised at the amount of progress I've made (heh - and the rabbit holes I've gone down) over the past couple of months.

I'm looking forward to sharing it here with anybody that's willing to come along for the ride!

Thoughtful Thursday: Continue with the Blog?

First and foremost, I want to make it clear that this post isn't some lame trolling for compliments. I'm sincerely interested in some honest (even brutally honest) feedback and (hopefully constructive) criticism.

The combination of a few things have caused me to reassess whether to continue with this blog. In no particular order:

• Google is making some changes that will require me to revamp/rework things
• Blogger no longer appears to be sending out email notifications to folks that have "subscribed" to this blog (notices of new posts used to be sent out & aren't any longer)
• As much as I hate to admit it, Facebook is a much more convenient platform to post on - and posts there receive exponentially more feedback & comments than posts here. Unfortunately, there are a lot of folks that will never get on FB - even to follow the Valley Local %^) - and, frankly, if I didn't have the Valley Local FB group I'd likely delete my personal account and interaction with FB entirely.
• While I continue to maintain the Valley Local website, Google will be shutting down that platform soon so I'll have to rebuild the site somewhere else.

So all together, I'm feeling a lot of headwind. Even the blogs over at Model Railroad Hobbyist (heh, you may not even know that I have a presence there too) have become pretty cumbersome to use, IMO.

Anybody that's done a blog will typically tell you two things: 1) it requires work, and 2) the work is worth it if you're getting responses and feedback. With Blogger no longer sending out email notices, folks need to remember to check in here on their own and - with all the other things competing for time - that can sometimes be a heavy lift. I get it. There are a lot of layout blogs I forget to check in on - especially if those layouts are on FB. It's just easier to subscribe and get the notices pushed to your FB feed.

But if folks aren't checking in & leaving comments/feedback, there's no way to know they're out there. You start to wonder if there's anyone left reading what you're posting & whether your time is better spent doing something else.

So if you're still here and are willing to take the time, let me know - even just to say "hey! I'm still here!" :^) And if you have a little more time, let me know whether the blog is helpful, something you'd like to see continue, or if you're getting your content elsewhere. I've read in a bunch of places that blogs are becoming a thing of the past. Maybe it's time for this one to close up.

As I said at the top - any/all feedback/criticism/suggestions are welcome and will be super helpful in evaluating next steps.

Thanks much for reading this far - and here's hoping you have some fun modeling planned!

First Time Here? Then click here for the Valley Local website and more information!

Welcome!
Click Here for the Website

I hope you enjoy exploring the site and will provide some feedback. To help you on your way, here are some quick tips/info to get you started...

• Be sure to check out the website - here you'll find a full track plan as well as additional info on the layout, construction particulars, prototype information, modeling projects, and LOTS of photos. Blog posts are automatically posted on the website homepage as well, so you won't miss anything if you bookmark the website and start there.
• Speaking of photos, click here for the quickest way to get a feel for what I'm trying to accomplish. There you'll find photos comparing real life scenes to how they're modeled.
• Check out the "About" links for more detailed information about the Valley Local project, and a bit about why I'm even doing this.
• The website is where the best content is most organized, but you can find a list of topics here on the blog by checking out "Topics" on the right hand side of the screen.
• Speaking of finding content, you can also search the blog by entering your search terms in the Blogger/Google search box at the top left corner of the screen.
• Finally, consider subscribing to the blog by entering your email address in the "Receive Posts Automatically" box on the upper left part of the screen - that way you'll be notified whenever there's something new.
• Don't forget to check out the other great blogs that are listed on the left side of the page. There are a lot of talented folks there that you're sure to find informative as well as entertaining.

Thanks for taking the time to look around - and let me know if there's anything you'd like to see more of and especially let me know if you have any information or photos that will help make this project better. Thanks again for stopping by!