This is Zoya Tosca. Isn't it so pretty? It really glows in the sun. But, I can't distract you with pretty polish this entire post. I wish I could, but there's something you need to know before we get much further - Manifest Destany's days are numbered. Soon, she will cease to be.
When I originally started blogging, under Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom, I never dreamed my blog would become what it is - a beauty blog. I thought I'd write and have fun and show off pretty polish. I met other nice bloggers and even went to Vegas to Cosmoprof and met some in person! When I was there, I was so taken with the idea of opening up my blog beyond nails...so I did it.
And as I was thinking about it, both a fellow blogger AND my husband jokingly called it Manifest Destany, which to me did not harbor any ill will or intentions, nor did it ever cross my mind that it meant (to anyone) anything other than what it meant to me...
Man·i·fest Des·ti·ny
noun
1. the 19th-century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable.
Expansion. I was bringing my blog from a nails-only state to a full-blown beauty blog. Bonus for a pun with my name. We purchased the manifestdestany.com domain just after Cosmoprof in 2012. I didn't fully start to use the name until my recent rebranding. I decided it was confusing to have my blog name and my domain be so vastly different. In all the rebranding, I changed all my social media and informed all the companies I was working with. Not a one of them raised any type of red flag about anything. They congratulated me on advancing with my blog, and all decided to keep working with me.
So I was convinced - best course of action. I rebranded and celebrated my 3-year blogaversary with many giveaways, some sponsored by the companies I work with, some purchased by me. I continued blogging - a lot actually. I was posting at least 6 times per week, and I was enjoying myself. Then I started to get busy. And things snowballed.
I started feeling guilt if I couldn't post my usual 6 days per week. I started getting up early each morning to attempt a post. That didn't always work out, and it started to get to me. I'm a very involved individual. Very involved with my church, the community, my son's school. I'd simply taken on too much to be as effective with blogging as I had been in the past. I hated the guilt and the nervousness I felt.
And then it happened. I received my first very real complaint. About the name of my blog of all things.
I'd had hate message before - I routinely get them about how ugly my lips are (haha!), so I was used to them. But this one was different. This person was offended by my blog name, and they simply could not believe what a horrible person I was for blogging under this name. At first I sort of laughed it off. It is a cute play on words having to do with manis and my name. Right? No one EVER mentioned anything like this to me before, and I had talked about my rebranding for MONTHS before I actually did it. No one else raised any type of objection or said a word. Apparently, the term is also associated with mass genocide and Indian slaughter - something I knew NOTHING about.
I've always been a big believer in doing what you want with what you've got. So I decided "Whatever, my blog, my rules." If this person didn't like it, they are more than welcome to unlike, unfollow, not read, etc. But then, this person took it a step further. I received more and more messages from this person. My blogger friends started receiving messages. This person also claims to have contacted companies that I've worked HARD building a relationship with! Not to mention the fact that I started receiving messages from OTHER people in regards to this issue, spurred by the original complainer. I even had one person say "I imagine soon, several people are going to be working on getting you banned."
I was floored. I couldn't believe someone was working THIS HARD against me. And why, after months of talking about my rebranding, did no one else say anything at all? Why wasn't anyone else offended at any time? At first, I was mad. Then I was scared. Then I was sick to my stomach.
So I decided to quit blogging.
And everything got calm.
I can't quit entirely. Not yet. I still have stuff to post about. But eventually, this domain will not host a beauty blog. I still own it for another couple years, so no one else can have it either. Maybe I'll auction it off to the highest bidder - maybe I'll let it die a long, painful death. Maybe I'll set up shop somewhere else in a few months and redirect everything. Who knows. I enjoyed blogging. I love beauty blogging. I do own other domains.
But one thing's for sure: I need a break. Not a huge one, not a complete one. I'll still be posting a few times per week. but I know I need to move on because every time I post something, my stomach is in knots waiting for this person (or someone else) to message me again, to say something. This is no way to blog. So, I'll be sticking around for a while, posting what I've got when I get it... and then we'll see.
