A year ago, Strawberry Singh came up with the “Why do I blog?” meme, which I answered out of boredom. In the end I enjoyed it a lot, so that’s why I’m up to answer part deux: My Blogging Journey Challenge. It’s not as interesting as the previous one –well, my answers are not– but here I go…<
- Which electronic devices do you use to blog with?
I use a PC, if that’s what interests you. When natural light goes dim I use a lamp… not to type the post of course, but to help avoid some eye strain. That will only count as an electric device, right? Ok, then, it’s just a PC. Sometimes it runs on Windows, other times it’s Linux… Say that my computer is “bi” and leave it at that. - Do you have a mission statement for your blog, if so, what is it?
Mission, vision, goals, etc., most of the time I don’t understand why people care for such esoteric statements. It’s as if they needed a profound motive to do things in life. The first reason I blog is because I want to, plain and simple. When you blog so sporadically as I do there’s really no mission statement of any value. If you instead ask me why I blog, then I’ll point you to this page. You’d probably find an answer there. - How do you feel about blogs that use their platforms to spread negativity?
As everything in life, “negativity” is a relative term, and as with anything that depends on subjective views, I’m of the opinion that we are entitle to do as we please (as long as we’re responsible and face the consequences). I’m also of the opinion that even things that I don’t like must have a raison d’être, and more importantly, they must be the result of a point of view that doesn’t respond to my –or someone else’s– trend. Because of that, they are worth analyzing and be taken into account. I may not agree on the way that “negativity” is expressed (that’s why we disagree I guess), but there may be some truth to it worth considering. - Are you a grammar junkie? Do you thoroughly check your blog for errors before posting and/or do you judge other people’s posts if they contain errors?
Me a grammar junkie? Ha, probably far from that: I’m more of a “typo junkie”. Grammar serves as a foundation to help spread the “word” coherently, so as to guarantee someone else will follow our reasoning without too much hassle. From that standpoint, I do try to avoid that kind of linguistic accident, sure I do, but I don’t die of shame if they show up as frequently as they do in my writing. A grammar junkie is an elitist bitch if you go judging beyond yourself. It is a lot more interesting to come by a grammatical “error” and try to understand why it happened, than going through an essay of perfection all the time. Suppositions like those expressed in question #4 also suggest someone may be assuming all of us are native speakers of a certain language, when the truth is a lot of us are not. It’s also a mistake to think most of us are monolinguals (hence absolute masters of our “mother tongue”) and isolated from language contact situations. There are so many advantages to being polyglotte that I wonder why a lot of people prefer to skip such cultural dimensions. Whoever is blessed with the gift of knowing more than one language is by default prone to create linguistic interactions that trigger a wealth of fascinating grammatical twists that simply enrich (not deteriorate) our communication skills. So no: I’m not a grammar junkie and I don’t judge other people’s posts if they contain grammatical “innovations”. - If you could switch blogs with another blogger who would it be?
Why would I like to do that? I don’t want to become someone else. I do admire other people, but that’s about it. I may not be a good blogger, or someone may be better than me. So what? - Has your blog/blogging style evolved over the year(s)? How?
When we do something for a certain period, a change over that time occurs, either consciously or unconsciously, either because some learning has taken place or we grow tired of it. There’s no escape to that. How has my blogging changed?I think it’s been mainly the theme I write about. Originally I was going to strictly write about landscaping.A quick look at the archives showed I’ve always blogged about different subjects, so my previous statement is false. Well, I think it has evolved, primarily the way it looks, but beyond that I’m not sure (or maybe I don’t care). - What is the most extraordinary thing that has happened to you because of blogging?
The most extraordinary thing that has happened to me because of blogging is to know a lot of wonderful people that have become my friends over the years. Kind of cheesy, I know, but it’s true. - When it comes to Second Life blogs, there are different styles: Fashion bloggers, Lifestyle & Travel bloggers, Informative bloggers, and more. Which style do you prefer and where do you feel your blog fits in?
I’m a freestyle blogger, and I don’t care where my blog fits in. Sorry. - What has blogging taught you?
Blogging has taught me a lot, actually, from improving my writings skills (which are far from being outstanding), to learning a little bit of different topics. Writing –and hence blogging– entails necessarily a research process, be it simple or detailed, unless you’re a petty [censored] and don’t care about what you’re going to say. - Share your top 3 tips for new bloggers.
(a) Don’t be a slave to your blog: the best thing to do is to blog when you can, don’t worry about keeping a strict schedule, and forget about stats: don’t become obsessed with how many visitors you get. (b) Follow your style: there’s no need to imitate others. (c) Blog what you want: you will enjoy it more than doing it on “commission”.