Happy 2nd Blogoversary to TGAM

Photo by libriarianjill.

Today marks two years since I started this blog.

My original purpose was to create a place to store my growing knowledge about gerontology while I was working on a master's degree in Aging Studies.

My blog was a hypertext version of my class notes. I was the primary audience.

If I was going to document my journey into a new vocation, I might as well tell others about my blog.

So I started sharing links on my personal Facebook page.

For my 2nd blogoversary, I like to share the updated version of my All-Time Top 10 Posts below. These are the posts that have secured the most views over the last two years (highest views listed first):

1. Films About Aging A-L (#1 on my 1st blogoversary)
2. Label Clothing for Nursing Home Residents (#4 on my 1st blogoversary)
3. Books on Aging (#3 on my 1st blogoversary)
4. The Donut Hole Is Closing 
5. Adjusting to Bifocals
6. More Seniors than Ever: Population Pyramids (#2 on my 1st blogoversary)
7. Movies Depicting Alzheimer's Disease
8. Age-related Risks for Dehydration
9. Movies about Love & Sex for People 50 Plus
10. Hospital-Induced Delirium

In June of 2012, I created my Twitter account @TheGenAboveMe.

In October of 2012, I created a Facebook account The Generation Above Me affiliated with my blog.

By sharing my blog more broadly by my first blogoversary, the year 2013 showed me how my blog serves a greater variety of purposes:

• Storing links to high quality blogs on each topic so that I don't have to reinvent the wheel if I return to a topic of interest.
• Preserving my first impressions of aging issues so that I can better empathize with people who are just starting to think about aging.
• Sharing my feelings--even the troublesome ones--so that others don't feel so alone while they wrestle with the challenges of midlife and the challenges of supporting aging parents. H/T St. Augustine.
• Condensing my observations into writing so that I can share what I'm learning in more efficiently than trying to talk to 300 people a day about aging. 
• Demonstrating my growing skill set as a developing expert on aging to potential future employers.
• Demonstrating my skill set in communications (reading, synthesizing information, critical thinking, writing) for potential future employers.
• Connecting with new people over shared interests of managing midlife and supporting aging parents.

Connecting with others is my favorite aspect of blogging, now that I'm using social media more. Thank you all for the support, encouragement, and validation. And thanks for sharing your own expertise and  insight. 

I recently shared the 2013 Top 10 Posts from my blog. That list was restricted to posts written in 2013 so that we could better see the "rising stars."   

Fred Flintstone wishing Wilma "Happy Anniversary" with a little help from Barney & other friends. (22 seconds)

Looking ahead, I can honestly say that I don't have really specific expectations for my blog. If the last two years have taught me anything, it's to expect the unexpected. I'm eager to see where the open road takes my blog.

In the mean time, expect these topics to be part (but certainly not all) of the mix:

• Death and Dying (since I'm teaching a class on this topic Jan to April)
• Life Span Development with an Emphasis on Late Life (another class!)
• Spirituality and Aging (since my statistics show this is an oft-searched topic)
• Book Reviews
• Movie Reviews
• Bone Health (since I have osteopenia)
• Elder Care Services (since I am networking in person with people from my city's aging network)

May you all enjoy a peaceful and prosperous 2014!

Related:

Generational Perspective: Why This Blog?
Happy 1st Blogoversary to TGAM!