Hello, hej!

Musings on new beginnings by a late adapter.

How techno stress led me to embrace Substack

In 2013, I started my blog, Rain or Shine Mamma, to inspire parents and other caregivers to get outside with their kids every day, regardless of the weather. I was late on the ball. At that time, blogs had been popular for a decade and the digital media landscape was changing quickly. But I prevailed, over time building up a loyal community of readers as well as an archive of hundreds of articles on outdoor play, open-air life and nature connection. At the same time, social media exploded, with different apps rapidly rising and falling in popularity and the notoriously finicky algorithms constantly changing.

For a while, I scheduled posts on Facebook and Pinterest four times per day to have a chance of at least one of them being seen by my most enthusiastic followers. I did LinkedIn, Google+ (RIP), Twitter, Instagram and probably a handful others that I’ve forgotten. Then, everybody said video was the future, so I started experimenting with YouTube, Snapchat and even TikTok. It didn’t take me long to figure out that I’d probably never become the brightest shining star in the short-format video space. Not that it really mattered, because at that point, the world had moved on podcasts. Now I wasn’t just late on the ball. I. Could. Not. Keep. Up.

Social media overwhelm

I love being connected with the outdoor community and hope my social media presence can help me be a force of change, even if it’s just in a small way. I just feel overwhelmed by the ever-changing trends of these apps and get frustrated when they suck up too much of my time. As a writer, I crave depth. I want context. I enjoy longer formats. And, honestly, I want less techno stress and more time to be outside.

Which brings me to Substack. I get the irony that this too is a form of social media. But it’s the first platform I’ve found that seems geared to writers and might actually help me connect with my community in a more profound way. While I’ve run a newsletter through my blog for years, the recent changes to Google’s algorithms have made it harder for people to find it. Authentic blogs are now competing with AI-generated content and it feels like we’re fighting a losing battle. At the same time, the newsletter service that I pay for is prohibitively expensive, a cost that is hard to justify. The final icing on the cake is that both my blog and newsletter service have experienced horrendous tech issues the past year, including a bad virus that took me months to get rid of and brought me to the brink of shutting down the entire sitte.

A Substack for nature lovers

That was a long lead-up to why I’m here. Now, let’s dive into what’s in it for you. The Open-Air Life is a space where I aim to inspire you and your family to live your best outdoor life. It’s based on the Nordic outdoor tradition of friluftsliv and geared to nature lovers of all walks of life, whether you have children or not. It’s a place where I’ll share my thoughts on current research, personal stories from the outdoors, ideas for things to do outside, some gear and skill-building tips, camping recipes and links to interesting articles, books and podcasts. My hope is that this won’t be a one-way street, but a community where we can all learn from each other’s wins and mistakes.

Initially, you can expect to receive a letter a month(ish), but if there’s enough interest, I’d love to pick up the pace. My posts are free, but if you’d like to support my writing, please make a pledge to become a paid subscriber. With your support, I’ll be able to develop my Substack and share even more helpful resources with you.

‘Nuf said, let’s do this!

See you outside!
Linda

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