5/31/2025

Check your work, people

So, about those website updates I made last month...Yep, I made some mistakes.And the website was down for probably 3 weeks before I caught it.And once it went up after a few DNS setting fixes, I didn't realize I was linking to the wrong bonus content section.You see, back in October, I switched mailing list providers in a bid to save a bit of money every month. With the service I was using, you had to be on a paid tier to send automated emails and with the one I switched to, they let you set up a simple, one email automation (in my case and probably most cases, it's a welcome email) on their free tier. They also let you use their address to meet CAN-SPAM requirements which meant I didn't have to pay for a P.O. Box anymore, either.The new service is admittedly a little more difficult for me to use but free is free. I suppose having to pay for the privilege was an additional incentive to send an email every month, too, you know, get my money's worth. Anyway, that's not the point. What is the point, is about 2 weeks ago, a week or so after I fixed my website, I got an email from my old service provider saying I had new subscribers.That shouldn't have been possible. I switched my mailing list integration at bookfunnel to the new service. And yet, it happened anyway. I was busy and chalked it up to some sort of glitch.Did I troubleshoot it then?Nope.Should I have?You bet your ass.Fingers crossed, it all should be fixed now.Here's what happened: in an effort to make the switch as easy as possible, I duplicated a bunch of stuff. Landing pages for the bonus content on book funnel, one linking to the old list and another linking to the new one. The bonus content section on my website, one linking to the old BF landing pages, the other the new. The website itself when updating the page, the new one published to a test domain and the old the regular one until it was time to make the switch.Once it was time and I hit that button, though, there was a cascade of failures. Ones I should have caught that same day had I not gotten distracted by some other task and closed out of the host dashboard. Ones that shouldn't have been made in the first place if I followed proper testing procedures.So yeah, now everything should be fixed, I've got a whole pan full of over-easy egg (my favorite) on my face, and once again, I've faced the consequences for not seeing a task through to completion verification.Thanks, ADHD, I blame you. Because you're me and I'm just blaming myself. Because it's 100% my fault.You'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now, but it'll happen again. And again and again. But next time, I'll at least double check that the domain initialized.

4/13/2025

So I guess I'm blogging now

The internet as it is now is hardly recognizable from how it used to be.And I hate it.Social media is pushing away from text and static images towards video. Bots are everywhere, copying and reposting content or generating it with AI. The Dead Internet Theory doesn't seem to be as much a theory as it is an inevitability.And it's all a game. Following and being followed. That light feeling you get when someone's liked your content. The sinking one when you get a negative comment or lose a follower.Chasing the highs. The comparisons. Are you inspired? Jealous? Better?Why is this person more successful? Is it because they're attractive and attractive people have a calculable advantage or is it because of their content? If I posted pictures of myself, would the response be positive or would I just feel worse about myself?What about what I do post? Is it often enough? Engaging enough? Am I boring? Too negative? Using the wrong words and images because I'm not up to date on current trends? Does this post come off as bragging or am I just sharing my wins?And for the people I follow, do I not interact with their content enough? Am I supposed to just like everything I see? Or only the things I resonate with? Comment when I have something interesting to add or on anything and everything? What are the unspoken rules? What am I doing wrong?Why did that post get pushed by the algorithm and not this other one? Who sees my content and why? Is it being pushed to people I don't want it to be? Or more likely, not being pushed at all?Should I just delete this or not post it at all? What does putting it out there accomplish? Who's it even for?I'm tired of thinking about all the variables. A lot of it doesn't make sense to me. I can read 'how to find success on social media' articles all day long, but when I can't bring myself to follow the suggestions because they make me so damn uncomfortable, what's the point?As the type of person to agonize for hours over picking the right background music for a post that won't be seen by more than a handful of people, how is that a good use of my time? What am I supposed to do? Just pick a random one? But it's not the right one. Won't everyone know?This might be a little easier on my anxiety. Just a wall of text, maybe a picture, and no like or share button.Will anyone read it?Does it matter?At least I have control over it unlike a social media account.