I have a blog. I know a few tech jargons. I think I understand what they mean and what they are meant to do. But, I am never quite sure. It’s a maze. It’s a little hazy. I am hesitant. I am cautious. Afraid to try or give it a go in case I do irreversible damage. Not a bull in a China shop, not me. Not when it concerns my laptop, iPad or mobile phone.

After managing my blog for over a year, I am still quite clueless about how it works. The only part that I feel I am in control of is the writing. I generally know how that works. A topic pops up in my head. I think about a possible angle, and write whatever comes to mind. When I am on a roll, the flow is natural. Otherwise, a bit of effort is required. I enjoy the process. I also like that sometimes I start with one angle or idea and finish with something that is totally different. It’s fun. No rules. No editors’ to please. Now, it’s my views and experiences. No references or footnotes. No need for verification but no fake information, either. It is easy writing compared with the business stories that I used to churn out.

My blog runs on WordPress, one of the most powerful blogging platforms in the world. What that means is my blog is built using WordPress’ tools that are available, free to all. To identify my blog, I have a domain name. I chose Golly Molly Aiyoh.  A domain name is a must-have. Particularly so when there are more than 76 million blogs worldwide that run on WordPress. And, 17 new posts are published on WordPress sites every second[1]. Another must-have is a hosting plan. My host is Bluehost. It stores my blog and enables it to be viewed on the internet. Without a host, my blog cannot be accessed by netizens. In my case, family and friends, who might want to read what I have written. That’s the short explanation. It’s a lot more complex. And, I don’t know the half of it.

I also bought a custom theme, Rosalie. WordPress offers many hundreds of free themes but I chose Rosalie for its straightforward layout, which I thought would suit my simple blog. The name sounded pleasant as well. For back-ups and security, I purchased a Jetpack personal plan. I have also subscribed to some free plugins. I call them add-ons that make the blog look nicer, more efficient and better protected. I also have plugins that I haven’t activated yet. Mainly, marketing ones.  

Despite actually using WordPress, installing the Rosalie theme, selecting plugins and adding a few codes (yes, really), I still don’t have a grasp of what I am doing. I feel like an imposter a lot of the times. To be honest, I didn’t know what WordPress was until recently. I Googled the definitions of some of the terms above. I still don’t have the confidence to speak about and/or write about the technical aspect of my blog or any blog. I can manage the admin dashboard. I understand the functions on the control panel, and use mostly Posts, Media and Jetpack. The rest I use on a need for basis. What I don’t like are updates. Especially updates to WordPress that come with a standard warning, which is a little scary. The advice or instruction is to perform a back-up first, just in case something unfortunate happens during or after the WordPress update installation. Unfortunate means the blog could get broken and can’t be pieced back again. Certainly, not by me. Just like Humpty Dumpty. Ouch.

I do my back-ups diligently. From outright fear of the unfortunate and unknown. Unknown to me, that is. I have no idea how to fix mistakes, wrongly inserted codes or a broken blog. Therein lies my problem. No real understanding and no confidence to try and sort the aftermath of any tech related problem. I realise my brain does not compute most tech issues. I am now telling myself – my brain must compute. My brain and I must get on the program. Make one mistake. Make several mistakes. Learn to repair them. Live with the damage. Repair them again. That’s the only way to learn and be comfortable dealing with technology. I hope I will listen to my own advice, and practise it.