Hello, Is There Anybody Out There?

Starting this blog has been an interesting and enjoyable venture, even though the blogging process is not always as easy as I once imagined.  It was when I went about creating this one that I learned otherwise.  The preparation took much longer than I thought:  for example, deciding on just the right template design, deciding what to write for the first post, deciphering how to set up a blog site including tweaking the templates, html's and layout settings, feeling unsure about sending posts into cyberspace for anyone to see, deciding to go for it anyway, being ready to push "publish post" but having to tweak the template settings yet again because the layout doesn't look quite like I want it to, being ready to publish after that, but the feeling of trepidation creeps back in, ignoring it and telling myself "just do it already!" and finally, clicking "publish post" in relief.  Only to realize that in spite of all my efforts, my blog may not really be out there after all.  Well, it is out there, but there may not be anyone actually reading it.

Okay, I realize anativeinthesun hasn't even been in cyberspace one week yet.  However, I just assumed that any information sent out via the net is automatically everywhere, ready for the world to see.  What I have learned is that unless you are CNN, if you want readers, you have to put some effort into attracting them to your blog.  Although important, it takes more than a terrific template and pithy posts to attract an audience.  For all the large, well-known websites out there, there are probably many others that are more obscure.  Such as this one.  Unless you have a hit counter in your blog page, (and I don't  yet), then you don't know how many readers you have had for sure.  And readers don't always leave comments, which is fine.  Regardless of all that, however, one thing I do know is that lots of readers or not, I am having a good time with this.  I've mentioned this before, but it is important for me to venture out of my comfort zone every so often and challenge myself.  Last year's venture was to run a half marathon, which was fun, but I must say, this blog is also fun and certainly much less tiring!

So, what I am wondering today is this:

Is there anybody out there?