So I just came 6th in a best beauty blog pagent thing. AWESOME…..

Ok so maybe I shouldn’t have told the guy who emailed me about my little achievement that awards are not really my thing but I did already.  Finding out I am 6th most popular Beauty Blog in Australia by whatever criteria they have thought to apply is interesting to a point I guess but to be honest I’m not exactly overwhelmed.

I blog because I like writing and it helps make me a better chemist and teacher.

I guess that lists are good for people who want to know where to start when it comes to blogs to read but only if they want to read what is popular. I don’t give a shit about what’s popular to be honest (sorry for the swearing word there BTW) – chemistry was NEVER popular at school and even at uni we struggled to get enough of a cohort together to fill the average bar counter – so I’m unaccustomed to being or caring about popularity and am deeply skeptical about what that means about the quality or relevance of my content.

My blog is and always has been about digging around in the muck to find gold.  My writing has meandered along with me on my consulting journey over the last ten years and as I’ve grown in my lab and practical experience, my writing has grown too. I can dig deeper than before, pursue avenues that I didn’t realise existed before and have access to conclusions and evidence that eluded me in the beginning.  How does one meaningfully rank that exactly?

If the truth be known I rank myself on my ability to connect with and serve my customers.  I delight in the conversations we have, the projects I’m privy to, the evidence I can generate for them and the questions I can help answer.  I feel most accomplished when I can put my years of practice to good use and help a client see their situation in a different light, empower them to move beyond where they are now, where they are stuck, to encourage them and support their growth.  As a consultant and even as a writer so much of that remains hidden from public view. My professional day-to-day looks to be laid bare on Instagram, Facebook or this blog but the reality is you see next to nothing. Customers are protected by confidentiality agreements, I protect myself by knowing the value of what I bring to clients while sharing just enough in public, here, to give those that have their eyes wide open a thread to follow.  The main people who matter in terms of blog loving are you, the readers that get here and take the time to really see, hear and feel what I’m saying and not an algorithm or panel of people who may or may not be qualified to make such a judgement.  Does it matter if there are 10, 100 or 1000 of you here a day (for the record there are between 400-600 of you just so you know – that’s a lot of science nerds) just as long as what you get here is nourishment and thought-provoking value?

 

So yes, that’s that really. You are officially reading the 6th best beauty blog in Australia and I bloody well hope you like reading it as much as I like writing it.

And as for me, well I’ll try not to let this ‘success’ go to my head.

Onwards and upwards.

Amanda