People read blogs a ton of different ways.  In almost every industry, mobile-first is considered a must-have.  If your website is not mobile, or at least mobile responsive, you’re dangerously behind.  This is because millennials and Gen Z, the biggest current and up-and-coming generations, are used to turning to their phones first, for everything.  I’m on the cusp of the two generations, and this is definitely true for me.  If I have a question about anything, Google is the first place I turn.  Social media apps take up most of my monthly cell data usage.  My husband is considered a power-user, which means he uses his smartphone heavily and especially for things that take a lot of power and data, such as YouTube videos.  We are definitely of the mobile-first generation.

That said, I prefer reading blogs on a desktop.  Like most of us here, I’m guessing, I use the WordPress Reader and follow WordPress blogs.  But instead of clicking on the posts within the reader, where I’ll just get the text and photos, I like to open posts in a new tab where they’ll be displayed within the blogger’s site, with the format and theme that the blogger chose.

I do this because I think the way we design our blogs says more about us than just our words.  Reading someone’s post within the WP Reader is like reading a Facebook post — I get information from it, but there’s a lot left to be desired.  Reading from someone’s website, though, is like visiting their home for a cup of coffee and a chat.  It’s more personal.  I learn about them by the things they choose to display as well as the things they say.

Because I see blogs as our online “homes,” it’s extremely important to me that I love mine.  And lately, I’ve been a bit dissatisfied with it.  I don’t know how you read blogs, but if you go to the blogger’s actual site like me, you may have noticed that I’ve changed my blog header several times in the past few months.  I’ve been antsy for a change lately, and now it’s time for that.

I’ve been blogging on this site since 2012.  I’ve had my current theme for the majority of that time, since I adopted the title Mission:Incomplete.  If you’re curious, it’s WordPress’s Lovecraft theme, and I have absolutely loved it.  But I’m ready for my content to be displayed differently, and I’m finally ready to commit to more photos.  While words have always been my forte, I’m adopting a new layout that will both show more content on the main page and make my blog more aesthetically pleasing.

But that isn’t the big change.  The big change is that I’m officially changing my title.

I thought a lot about this, and I hope I don’t regret my decision.  I’m still a bit unsure.  But it’s time, I think.  When I named this space Mission:Incomplete and began blogging consistently, I was in high school.  The title Mission:Incomplete was based on a Richard Bach quote:

Here’s the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: if you’re alive, it isn’t.

When I used that quote as blog title inspo, I was a practicing but naive Christian who believed everyone had a God-given purpose, and I was ready at that point to look for mine.  Life took me in a different direction, and while that quote still holds meaning for me, I don’t think it encompasses who I am now or what I want this blog to portray.

I don’t expect to quit blogging anytime soon.  It has become my favorite pasttime, and though I sometimes feel like a dweeb for caring this much about a blog, it’s really a huge part of my identity.  I’ve learned so much through this community and through writing out my thoughts.  Blogging has honestly helped make me a better person.  Since I plan on continuing to write for the forseeable future, I need a name that can grow with me.

Thus, NerdyWordyBirdy is born.  It’s been my online persona for years, and though it might be a bit childish, it pretty well captures who I am here.  None of my content will change; just the name and look.  I’m sad to see Mission:Incomplete go; I think it was unique, and I believe I’m risking becoming a bit more generic with the name change.  But it’s time.

Welcome to my revamped home!!