I have been asked to give a talk about writing for the Word Festival in Aberdeen. More specifically, the talk is to be about writing a blog. So, in the spirit of research (cloaking nosiness) , I thought I’d turn to the readers of the Misssives (the ones who are also bloggers, that is) and beyond, to get your opinions and personal experience. I have a shedload of material I can say about writing the Misssives, but the whole hour can’t all be about my blog. Can it? No it can't, narcissism or no.
So, over the next couple of months leading up to the talk, I thought I’d do the odd post where I ask you all a question or two about your blog and your blogging habits. I have loads of questions, actually, but I’ll limit them to two or three per post.
Today, I want to concentrate on one thing; how your blog started.
So, I have three questions.
1. What prompted you to start a blog in the first place?
2. What keeps you doing it?
3. Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on?
So, over the next couple of months leading up to the talk, I thought I’d do the odd post where I ask you all a question or two about your blog and your blogging habits. I have loads of questions, actually, but I’ll limit them to two or three per post.
Today, I want to concentrate on one thing; how your blog started.
So, I have three questions.
1. What prompted you to start a blog in the first place?
2. What keeps you doing it?
3. Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on?
Of course, if anyone is too shy to reveal anything in the comments box- email me. All contributions are welcome.
C'mon fellow narcissists, let's talk about you!
Stop Press: Jan 29
Thanks for the responses so far- have had a few via email too.For those of you still ruminating- hurry up and comment as I'm putting up the next three questions very soon, (and to the person who mentioned it- I will start the new post with my answers to my initial 3 questions)
If you've already given me answers to these questions, you can jump straight to my next three questions on blogging here.
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29 comments:
1. What prompted you start a blog in the first place?
First blog was very targeted: Selling your crafts on Etsy. Started it because...well,I was selling on Etsy and figured I could dispense business-related advice. It actually was extremely successful.
2. What keeps you doing it?
After a year, that blog is dying. Hardly no time for crafting, definitely no time to keep up with Etsy changes. And a new blog was born.
That one is purely random, no specific topic, just a mix of me and the world. Which therefore has a higher chance of surviving long-term, since I can always say something about the state f the world; only my focus changes occasionally.
3. Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on?
Well, like I said, it became a completely new bog. Different name, different domain... and hopefully a keeper.
Long story!!
But what keep me going is that I like chattering to people online. I also like that I have regular contact with people from Canada and the States... and I get a taste of their culture. It's made the world a little bit smaller.
Sx
I'll focus this on my personal blog.
1. I started because I had the domain(for the email address!) and thought I might as well put something on it. I'd tried LiveJournal and stuff before but nothing really stuck, until I found blogger.
2. I don't still do it, I deleted my blog a while back. I have a blog format on my other site(s) but they're not what I'd call a blog particularly. I stopped blogging as I was, apparently, spending too much time online. ;oP
3. It evolved from my own site written using dreamweaver/frontpage or something into a blogger published site and then into wordpress, which I now use for almost every site I ever make! Subject-wise it was always personal to me. If someone read it fine, but my blog was never written for a particular audience/readership. I'd write about whatever was in my head, commonly if I'd heard an interesting story in the news that I wanted to comment on or if I had some political annoyance to put right. In the beginning I would write about myself more, this evolved into writing about my views/opinions on other subjects. Strangely as soon as I stopped blogging loads of subject matter started screaming at me. I almost can't turn the radio on in the car now for fear of the "I can't believe they said that, it's going on the blo... oh" effect. I still run my techier blog and I think as a result of deleting my own blog(and bebo,myspace,plurk,meemi,jaiku etc) I now use Twitter as a micro-blog more than an updater.
btk
i started a blog in order to communicate with one particular person - more fun than emailing. Nowadays it is more about being part of a community. It has evolved into a much bigger part of me than i ever imagined.
1. What prompted you to start a blog in the first place?
To be honest it was laziness!! When we first move to Thailand I got really bogged down writing long e-mails to friends and family back home about what we were doing (even cut and paste seemed to take forever) so I decided to start a blog. That way I could let everyone know what we were doing, they could comment and I could easily share photos.
2. What keeps you doing it?
Ha, the main one is that I get stroppy e-mails from friends when I've not blogged for a while asking if I'm still alive.
3. Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on?
Hmmm....Yes and No. We're now back in the UK and I'm still blogging about what we're doing (this time so our Thai friends can keep up with us...and our family since we've not moved back to Scotland) but it's changed too. I now feel part of an online community. I have found that I have gravitated towards people who think a lot like me and I have made some amazing friends (Some I've met in real life and some that I've not yet but am planning to). The other thing that came as quite a surprise for me was the support I get from my online friends. I draw and the people I have round me on a day to day basis don't always understand the angst that the creative process can sometimes cause.
I've only ever had one unpleasant experience from blogging (I am actually going through it now) but overall I love it and would miss it, and the people I have met through it, dreadfully if I stopped.
C x
Too shy? Bloggers? Bwah-ha-ha!
I stumbled on a blog on our local newspaper written by a guy at work. I asked him how he managed to do this awesomely wonderful thing of writing whatever he wanted all over the internet. He told me and I was up and running the same day.
I keep at it because I have a zillion things parading through my head all day and all night long and spewing it out in writing keeps me sane. Also, I love writing. It's excellent practice for my other writing and I adore the conversations I have with people all over the world on my blog.
It has evolved and revolved 180 degrees. I started out doing a social conscience kind of blog, talking about urban infrastructure, environmental and health issues, pedestrian vs car-centred lifestyle and that sort of stuff. Then I did a NaBloPoMo month where my theme was Qs & As inviting readers to send me questions. My readership soard 800%and the blog was suddenly silly, funny, crazy, and just plain stupid depending on the question. This all threw me for a loop and I quit blogging for a few months while I sorted out if I still wanted to do this and why. I couldn't stay away and I came back with a whole new format and now I talk about silly, funny, crazy and just plain stupid stuff all the time. It's fun and people seem to enjoy it.
Many were inspired to start a blog by this guy. Still the most popular humorous blog that I know.
1. What prompted you start a blog in the first place?
I always thought blogging was for shut-ins/wackos/Trekkies. But a friend said I had an interesting life why didn't
I write one. So I did.
2. What keeps you doing it?
A sort of addiction to the attention. Also it has definately made me more open, less introspective, generally happier.
It is free therapy.
3. Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on?
Yes at the beginning it was all about my past and funny stories about that. Now it is just the detrius that lurks at the back of my brain.
1. I read a great book and the author listed her blog address on the back page. I had no idea what a blog was, but I investigated and loved the concept. That's how my blog was born.
2. I love the sense of community in the blogging world. I've learned so many things and have a much better understanding or other cultures, especially American and British. I'm a health and weight loss blogger, so the support has been invaluable. I'm not going through this on my own!
3. It's pretty much what I envisioned it to be, but initially I was going more for quantity than quality. Now, I don't mind missing a day here and there...
1. What prompted you to start a blog in the first place? I started reading blogs, then started commenting and it just seemed a natural progression from there. Oh, and it was about 1am and I was slightly drunk when I actually got round to setting it up! It is as good as a diary as a forum for setting down stuff I don't want to forget (mostly to do with the kids) but mostly it's a way to write loosely and creatively which I don't get in my day job.
2. What keeps you doing it? The interactivity. The fact you can comment on blogs and other bloggers comment on yours so you make connections with people all over the world, people you almost certainly would not hook up with in real life. You get a really good insight into other people's lives. And there is not quicker way to get advice on anything from your child-rearing problems to the best way to cook spinach.
3. Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on? Nope. It started out as aimless witterings and has steered a straight course ever since.
i love answering questions especially when they're about ME, so send 'em on!
1. What prompted you to start a blog in the first place?
mostly, I was hoping that it would be theraputic which most of the time it is. i can do all the venting i want to do here. i also love to tell stories, any stories but mostly about my family growing up. although i am a beginner i also enjoy writing so this is my way of practicing. i love to find out about others and find other peoples lives to be intriguing so i like the idea of sharing amongst blogs.
2. What keeps you doing it?
pressure mostly keeps me doing it. particially kidding here. but i am a person that likes lists so that i can get stuff out of my mind and onto paper so that i no longer have to think about it. i kinda see my thoughts and stories to be the same. i like to tell the story. get it out there. some may get a kick out of them and that's a bonus but i no longer have to think about these things. another thing that keeps me coming back is something that i did not expect happened. my family reads my blog and can relive the stories.
3. Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on? no i can't think that it's evolved into anything that i had not expected. i have made some 'blog friends' though. i had not expected that.
Thanks for the responses so far- have had a couple via email too. Who knew it, some bloggers are shy, XUP!
For those of you still ruminating- hurry up and comment as I'm putting up the next three questions very soon, (and to the person who mentionied it- I will start the new post with my answers to my initial 3 questions)
MM
1. What prompted you to start a blog in the first place?
I got into building websites around 1996, was mucking about with the idea of a personal website and started writing stuff, largely just to have content for the website (I was more interested in the geeky code bit). It was a pain in the ass writing it all by hand though, so when Blogger came along I jumped on that and got hooked.
2. What keeps you doing it?
Enjoyment. I enjoy the process of writing as it helps clear my mind. I've worked out some personal issues through my blog, and over the years have built a small but wonderful set of friends who I can rely on to give me balanced feedback. The community side of it takes a while but it is the main reason I still blog, that and that I love writing.
3. Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on?
It has gone through some iterations yes but the premise is the same. My blog is, and always has been, a mish-mash of whatever grabs my attention that day.
1. What prompted you to start a blog in the first place?
Heard about Wife in the North and decided perhaps it would be a good compliment to writing books
2. What keeps you doing it?
It's turned out to be like a global writer's group - the immediacy of publication vs waiting interminably for contracts, and the immediate feedback
3. Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on?
Yes - rather than just wittering on started the daily writers prompts which people seem to like. Also as get more 'techie' the posts are more multimedia - vids, podcasts etc etc
Oh - and there's an award for you over at mine ;) x
1 - A mixture of wanting to record what was happening, and Having A Go.
2 - Community. I didn't realise how much of an exercise in friendship it would be. And it makes me happy - formerly I belonged to a web forum for parents which left me feeling kind of lost in a sea of people, who were all complaining about one thing or another: blog posts at their best are like getting a cheerful letter from a friend.
3 - Yes, sort of - I had an idea it would be my record of books read and some bits and bobs. Reading other blogs has prompted me to take photos - something I never thought I'd do - and to widen its scope.
1. What prompted you to start a blog in the first place?
I was sending loads of daft e-mails to my pals with the usual range of attachments, jokes and pictures, and I heard about something called Tumblr on a Technology podcast. I started one of them to hold all the daft videos and pictures etc. I soon started writing stories and anecdotes on it too but the format didn't suit, so I found Blogger, which ticked all my boxes.
2. What keeps you doing it?
I enjoy voicing my opinion and at the same time, hearing others through the comments. It has taught me to be more tolerant and open minded than I thought I could ever be. There are some things though that no commenter will ever change my mind on.
3. Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on?
I started writing kind of articles on technology and gadgets as well as my usual jokes and anecdotes, but I found that proper tech blogs were doing it so much better than I was, so I ditched that angle, and stuck to aspects of my life that I thought were unique, funny and interesting, if only to me, and nobody else. I don't really give a monkeys if no-one reads it, it's for me first and others second. I think of it as therapy.
1. My mum ordered me to do it.
2. People read it, so being the total attention whore that I am, I got hooked. Fast!
3. My English blog is only four months old, and is still all over the place, much like my head. I kind of like it that way.
1.My friend Neil said he thought I might be able to write something, so as he is a blogger and I enjoy his I thought I'd have a go. 2 years on I would rather give up anything than this (excepting the weans)
2. I live in a house full of demented weans, only some of whom are mine, on a good day it resembles a 6th form common room, on a bad day a zoo. My blog is the only place people hear me (and don't demand their tea, lifts to rugby practice, help to find their skinny jeans etc etc etc)
3. Nope it is still all about my very middle aged life, my weans and my inability to understand the world and my immense failure as a grown up.
1. I first wrote a blog when I went to China for three weeks, to teach English as a foreign language to school children. This was my 50th birthday pressie to me, as I did not want a party. It meant I could write each day, and not forget the details of what I saw and where I'd been. Priceless.
2. The people I have 'met' in blogland - comments can be discussions, or praise or just 'Hi.' Or, mainly I can just lurk, and have company.
3. Yes, it has changed. It is more of a diary now - one that I can write what I like, swear words and all and, as I keep it fairly anonymous, can spit about people and they don't know, and it won't hurt them. I also tend to follow a lot more of the craft blogs now, as I'm interested in crafting, and get loads of ideas from others, as well as a bit of praise, sometimes!
It all started after reading an autobiography about a young, Brazilian call girl. She mentioned starting a blog back in the days when that was something new. I decided I could do the same, detailing my adventures online in chat rooms and story sites.
I like to keep doing it because of the very nature of the blog. It's about erotic encounters with people from all over the world. Plus, I write erotic and share my fiction. I'd always wanted to make someone's day after reading one of my story.
The blog has changed slightly because I'm not going to social gatherings and revealing the sexy goings-on like I planned to. That is all about to change in 2009 and I will start that up soon, hopefully. I'm separated now, and will give my accounts of meeting women.
1. What prompted you to start a blog in the first place?
I started my blog as a place to ruminate about my psychotherapy training experience - the rich ideas and experiences it was bringing up for me. Part notepad, part showing off space, part lab for toying with ideas.
2. What keeps you doing it?
The friends I've made. They are so funny and warm and so very very good at keeping in contact. It is a rich experience dipping in and out of their lives, and have them around in mine.
3. Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on?
Very much. It went from serious psychotherapy blog, to fun psychotherapy blog, to love affair blog, to random life blog. It's a bit squeezed right now, with so many commitments stacked up, but it will flourish again when I'm freer. {Right, back to my masters assignment!}
1. What prompted you to start a blog in the first place? i actually got started because a friend from the UK told me i should blog because there were some interesting people in the blog network he belonged to whom he thought i would get on well with...and he was right...
2. What keeps you doing it? this is hard to answer actually...there are times i only feel like posting jokes or cute pics because releasing "me" at those times is not desirable...for me...however, i do have times where i just want to say something or i have remembered something or just need to write and i find it comforting to have those i have developed relationships with and feel safe with...read my writing and help me through the process...i'm not looking so much for advice...just a ear that i know is not going to turn into a knife...
3. Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on? yes, unfortunately some people at work found my blog and i had to privatize it because of some issues...and i never wanted it to be private...however, now that it is...i seem to feel more comfortable with those i have chosen to share and i have noticed that many of my deep emotions have come out in writing which would have not happened with an open blog.
Hi there Missy
1. I started cos my computer-geeky mates were doing it; they suggested that I start cos they knew I loved having a good old faff and the odd furtle on the interwebs.
2. I do it for myself, like a diary which you can look back on and laugh at :-) it also seems to be quite therapeutic at times. It also had the advantage that I can type a lot faster than I can write, so has some convenience for me.
3. I now have two blogs, and my second one is more like a showcase for myself getting involved in the music industry. I think blogs are great for conveying passion in a subject, it shows tenacity and commitment to what you do.
1. What prompted you to start a blog in the first place?
I read my friend Eric's at www.straightwhiteguy.com, and it inspired me to start my own. I was also inspired by blogs far less magnificent that Eric's that made me think "I could do better than that".
2. What keeps you doing it?
I don't want to get left behind on the blogosphere - fail to post for a few days and my traffic plummets. I suppose it's a craving for attention!
3. Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on?
Initially, it was my thoughts on various things, but as time has become less plentiful, I tend to post more lists and funny pictures, which I don't even consider real blogging. I just wish I could make my blog naturally entertaining.
What prompted you to start a blog in the first place?
I wanted somewhere to keep stuff - thoughts, recipes, books, songs, photos and other stupid lists. My blog is cross between my handbag and a filing cabinet. I also wanted to play with the techie side of things. I know a teeny bit of code now. I do, honest. I’m so chuffed.
I happily blog with only 3 readers. Whilst – perhaps - I’d like more folk to read it, I’m not comfy about shouting about it. (I think I can do better, when I do I will be shouting. Quite loudly I suspect).
The community side of blogworld fascinates me, but I just hang around without – usually – joining in. Lurking I think it’s called.
What keeps you doing it?
I like doing it. It really is that simple. It beats the telly.
Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on?
No, not really.
1. What prompted you to start a blog in the first place?
I'd been reading Non-Working Monkey's blog and felt that I could identify with some of her posts. Plus she told me to stop leaving stupid comments and get my own fucking blog.
2. What keeps you doing it?
TV is crap.
Also, the feedback. It's partly like keeping a journal but also very much like a conversation where everyone politely waits until you've finished speaking before making their own point.
3. Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on?
Up to a point. I still write the same random nonsense, but I find that readers tend to come back for regular themes like my educational series on Scottish language and culture, computer terms for the uninitiated and my diagrammatic musical quiz.
1. I keep three blogs. One is about my writing. One is a family communication blog. And the third is a sort of natural history blog I keep about a patch of forested land I own. I started with the family blog because my techno-savvy daughter set me up. She then realized that I could combine blogging with my love of my forest. I began my writing blog when I thought I could carry on the conversation online about the writing I've been doing for years.
2. I keep at it because I've always been a writer, so there is an ease to it. I like the conversational aspect of it. Plus I think it can be habit forming.
3. I never anticipated the informal community that has developed with other bloggers. As for content, I don't think that I've changed my substance or approach. I think I continue to write what interests me. I do get some technical comments on my forest blog -- some fact of science I've gotten wrong for example -- but that's about the only change I can see.
1. What prompted you to start a blog in the first place?
I had a Myspace page with a thing that pretends to be a blog. I got very upset with the inflexible nature of Myspace blogging and went and did some research on blogging. I ignored most of the common wisdom about blogging and set up a Blogspot and for around two years had fun and sometimes got very upset with the inflexible nature of Blogspot blogging. Then I got my own domain and set up a Wordpress blog and am still discovering the magic.
At first I didn't think about anyone else reading what I wrote, it was just cool to have a space to put things. It's a sort of motivator to have something to put out there.
2. What keeps you doing it?
It's fun and it's also whatever I want it to be, even if that is silent for a while.
3. Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on?
I'm more inclined to cut off my right hand and have a camera fitted in its place as my photography muscle has developed alongside my blog. I now have a personal aspiration to only use images that I have taken or made myself. My blog is always evolving because I don't want it to be defined as one thing "photoblog" or whatever. It's .me :)
1. What prompted you to start a blog in the first place?
I saw Almax's blog (sadly now private because of his high profile job although I am fortunate to be in the "inner sanctum") and enjoyed it so much I started my own.
2. What keeps you doing it?
I thoroughly enjoy it. It's an outlet for creativity which can be tailored to ones own needs and the time available (or even not available)I thrive on comments received of course.
3. Has it evolved into anything different as time has gone on?
No it's pretty much a hotch-potch of stuff reflecting my muddled personality.
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