Millennials… “Digital natives”? I think not… A blooper reel.

A laughable and honest run-through of the blunders, mishaps, and slip-ups experienced by this newbie blogger as she navigates the world of online blogging and social media marketing.

"Rocking the 90s baby fashions and hairstyles."

Millennials, the digital natives?

I was born in 1990, a millennial. I am part of the last generation of people who grew up doing dumb stuff without it being recorded and blasted all over the internet.

We were exposed to earlier technologies. We spent our evenings after school on Bebo and MySpace, chatting on MSN Messenger, asking strangers for their “ASL” (blissfully unaware of just how sketchy this truly was). When Mum wanted to use the house phone, she would give us one warning, and if we didn't get off the computer there and then, she would lift the handset of the corded phone and start dialling, instantly disconnecting us from the painfully slow dial-up internet connection.

"Not the exact computer we had but similar"
Stock image from Unsplash

Our first phones were the BT Cellnet and Nokia 3310. We made our own ringtones, played Snake as much as we could, and we were charged 10p a text. We used LimeWire, blank discs, and a whole lot of patience to download an unwatchable copy of something we prayed was what we went looking for.

We thought we were the s**t.

We have seen the evolution and advancement of desktop computers into sleek, wireless laptops and tablets, and chunky mobile phones with antennas into ultra-thin touchscreen devices that feature cameras, music players, unlimited storage, and immediate internet access. We have witnessed the invention of smart watches and in-home smart devices to control every aspect of daily living—but this doesn't mean that we understand it all.

I am 34 years of age and I'm clueless about the vast majority of tech available to me now. I am good at using my personal social media for scrolling and messaging, posting and sharing. I can do basic searches on Google and can upload documents and files when required. That's it. I've never accessed dating apps or explored those sites that are just big discussion pages. I have no desire to start a TikTok (much to the annoyance of many a friend and family member), and the most recent things I've discovered are that I don't have an ounce of knowledge or skill to make reels, no matter how many "gentle nudges" to create them that  meta serve me with.  So now you're quite possibly questioning why on earth I would start something like a blog?

"My very first mobile phone. I'm sure the same year I got this my mum upgraded me to the Nokia 3310"

What was I thinking?

I want to write—plain and simple. I want to share my writing with others. I didn't consider that I would need to share those articles to get them read, and that meant having social media platforms. I had no clue the social media platforms would get you to complete weekly progress tasks, which include making and sharing reels.
I was naive. I was overexcited. And in the wake of my eagerness, I steamrolled my way into a world I didn't fully understand. I don't think I'll ever fully have the hang of it, to be honest.

I may not have the capabilities of others my age, and I absolutely do not have the skills and talents of the younger generations. However, I will not let it stop me… for longer than the amount of time it takes for me to find a tutorial, and then figure out the tutorial, to figure out my problem—or have my girls attempt to teach me (which often leaves them frustrated and confused as to how I still don't get it after the sixth or seventh explanation).

This has led me to share with you my blooper reel—a list of all the times I've managed to screw up and, thankfully, recover from at warp speed… so far.

Overenthusiastic.

• I didn't research the platform that would suit me best, and I'm now discovering this site may not be right for me long-term. One day, I’ll need to move my entire blog to a new platform or my own website.

• I registered the blog account using my personal email address because I apparently don't have the ability of forward planning.

• In my eagerness to play about, I hit “create” and the site went live six weeks earlier than I wanted. Looking back, I should have just had the site say “under construction” instead of going with it.

• I used my mobile to play with the design and setup of the blog site. Turns out that needs to be done through a desktop browser.

Definitely let my neurospicy self take control.

• I'd read I would need an editorial calendar, so I downloaded Google Sheets and a crazy template and spent eight hours trying to figure that out. Google Calendar works just as well—maybe better.

• I downloaded Trello and spent days making lists, including a technical jargon list without any descriptions (just words), and a list of apps and sites I may need one day. Never looked at them again.

• Downloaded Canva and made an entire blog diary—never used it.

"I love making lists, never used them though."

That all?

• Never thought that I'd need to have social media for the blog so I could share stuff.

• Made Facebook and Instagram pages. Had my personal Facebook connected to the blog Instagram for about a week and didn't know how to fix it.

• Got the Buffer app so I could schedule my social media posts and free up my days. Proudly scheduled two weeks' worth of posts in one go. Three days later? Not one of them posted to Instagram. "Buffer, sort it out, yeah?"

• Saw the light and switched to the Meta Business Suite app. Now my scheduled posts actually post. That one was a win but now Instagram keeps disconnecting from the app and it won't schedule my posts, Again. 

That's not so bad, right?

• Whilst creating my scheduled posts, I have accidentally posted and revealed:
• 2 upcoming weeks' worth of articles,
• 1 reel for the following week, and
• 1 post that was half-done (although Kyla likes to come wind me up when scheduling posts).

And finally…

"My first first article"

My latest blunder of epic proportions was whilst I was attempting to tackle another first for me in the big world of the internet: Pinterest. 

After reading multiple help pages for bloggers and seeing what an amazing tool Pinterest could be for getting the blog out there, I decided to give it a shot—with no actual understanding of how it works. Because that’s worked so well for me in the past.

I created my account and gave it a name and my logo. Then I ran into a problem, linking Instagram. I hit “claim,” and it took me to Instagram’s login page. I entered the username and password—incorrect password. So after two failed attempts, I clicked the “forgot password” button, got the reset email, and put in my new password… only to be told “you can't use your old password as your new password.” Infuriating! I was putting in the correct password all along and now I was forced to change it.

Finally though—we were all connected.

I started making boards, giving them titles like “Honest Parenting Stories” and “The Empty Nest and Beyond.” As I felt happy with the boards, I started to add in my articles. I decided to go with “Parenting Fails I Shouldn't Be Proud Of” first. I typed in the title, added a photo of the article, and made the pin.

Woohoo... 

but wait.

Oh my God. 

How? Why? 

HELP.

There on the screen was 1,437 pins—my entire photo library.
I was in complete panic mode. How does this happen? I selected every clickable item I could on screen but there was no undo or delete button that I could see. 

I quickly searched Google, YouTube, and even Pinterest’s help pages but found no solution.

In my panic, I hit:
Settings → Account → Delete Data and Deactivate.

I was officially petrified of Pinterest. The page was no longer visible online, and in 7 days, it would be non-existent, thankfully.

I gave my eldest daughter Amy (17) a quick message knowing she would find this hilarious, and bless that beautiful, brainy child of mine—she sent me a screen recording of her using Pinterest so I could follow along if I ever felt brave enough to try again.

I did try again and I now think I'm getting the hang of it, maybe. 

The bottom line?

I’ve been overenthusiastic in my entrance into the world of online blogging—but I don’t care. I'm learning something new every day. I'm navigating some really confusing stuff like coding and robots.txt, headers and website design. I've taken on a new challenge and interest as I grow closer to my empty nest, and I'm learning new skills and gaining new experiences for my own personal growth.

Who knows what I’ll learn next? 

Who knows what the next completely avoidable—but definitely inbound—mistake will be?

Keep reading the blog to find out.

In the meantime, if anyone is a total social media guru and fancies helping a girl out in exchange for coffee, leave me a comment. I beg of you.