From Drublood’s “about me” page

Drublood asked people to submit interview questions to her for her “about me” page and I liked the questions so much that I swiped them.

1. as precisely as you can tell it, the story of how you got started
blogging, including date and how you felt when you started [nervous,
shy, etc.]

I started blogging in January 2000, I think. I had been reading some online journals — one by Phoenix Amon in particular — and admired the writers’ ability to be totally honest about themselves in this very public way. These were not blogs, they were very much journals, without much hyperlinking or discussion of events beyond the writers’ own lives. Those early journals didn’t have comments either but they were dynamic in a way that paper journals aren’t because they did have email contacts and sometimes the writers responded to a discussion. It was clear, too, that they were building a community although it seemed a fragile one since the journals would get abandoned or moved or shut down pretty often.

What impressed me though was the performance art aspect of those journals. They hung there in space becoming more than the sum of their parts. They grew organically.

Then I started reading What’s in Rebecca’s Pocket and Follow Me Here. I wanted to do a blog like that but after one entry, knew I wasn’t cut out for it.

I originally hand-coded my blog, didn’t use any blogging software, and refused to have comments. I tried to remember to update once a week. I had my web site address in my email .sig although the blog itself was hidden on my links page. Still, people started reading it. I remember getting very excited when I realized that I was getting 20 unique views a day.

I moved to Movable Type specifically to have comments. I liked being able to comment on other people’s blogs and I decided that it was selfish not to have them myself. I was very worried about opening myself up that way but (knock wood) I haven’t had much trouble with anyone. I also wanted comments because I knew that they would dictate the way my blog grew and I wanted to see how that would work.

2. how blogging has changed your writing

I’m much more comfortable writing now; I feel the way that I used to when I wrote all of the time in high school. Like Dru, my paper journal has suffered but on the other hand, my paper journal wasn’t very useful when it came to journaling — it’s a fine thing for working out an essay or working on a decision but there was nothing holding me to writing every day. I can write on demand now, the way I could 15 years ago.

I have more confidence as a writer because of the feedback I get on here; I’ve got a better idea of my weaknesses and also of my strengths.

3. how you perceive your audience – what you have in common, etc.

I think my audience varies. I know that there are people who read me because I’m infertile, because I’m adopting, because I’m homeschooling, because I’m a feminist and that those different threads bring in different kinds of people. I know that some of my readers are more conservative than I am and that there are some who are less. I do notice that my readers come and go in waves. There are some people who have been reading me since I was on .kjsl (I know my friend B. has ‘cuz she told me and I know that Jennifer has been, too.) If you read through the comments being left a year ago, it’s not the same people who comment now. I don’t track IP addresses of my visitors so I don’t know if some of those same people from last year still check in or not. I only have my comments to go by.

I do know that there are people who are likely reading me specifically to see how this adoption turns out. And if I do continue blogging once we get a baby (still not sure about that), I think that I’ll lose those readers because the story — for them — has ended.

4. how much of you online is you, and how much of you online
is “virtual you” – do you feel that you have an “online persona”?

I don’t know. I’d have to ask B. or some other in real life friend to answer that. I know that my virtual self is not as well-rounded as my real life self but other than that, I think they’re similar. I talk more about adoption on here than I do in real life, except with my friend, L., who is a good listener. I gossip more in real life but think that’s inappropriate to do on a blog. It’s probably inappropriate to do in real life, too, but I haven’t let that stop me yet.

5. what is the post you are proudest of?

The one about V. It’s the one that most needed to get written.

6. what is the post you regret the most?

I don’t regret any.

7. your “gained friends via this blog” to “lost friends via this blog”
ratio

I’ve made a lot of virtual friends and one in real life friend (B.), which is just grand. I’ve met some other virtual people but they don’t live close enough to be counted as in real life friends; they are still mostly virtual friends. I haven’t lost any friends, thank goodness. There was one post that pissed off a number of people who thought it was about them but it wasn’t about any of the people who reacted defensively. I won’t link to that now. No need to open that discussion back up!

8. do you feel a part of “blog culture” at all? for instance, how
much have you partied in person at blog-meetups with people you met
online, do you find yourself blogging more than you talk on the phone,
have you caught yourself adopting “blog lingo” in everyday speech, etc.

I don’t do any blog-meetups. I haven’t timed my blog time vs. phone. I write really quickly so blogging isn’t the time suck — keeping up on other bloggers is (as any blogger knows).

The only thing that I do in real life as far as “blog lingo” is refer to J. as “J.” instead of by her name. The name she uses doesn’t even begin with J. so I generally use that one when talking with friends and family but sometimes I slip and use “J.”

9. are people you meet online disappointing in person?

No, the ones I’ve met are better in person.

10. what is the number one thing you’d like people to “get” from your
blog?

This blog is really for me so I don’t have goals for what others should take away. I try to be honest about my emotions because I do hope that if someone is going through something I’ve gone through that they’ll find comfort or at least companionship. But for the most part, my blog has become an exercise in digging deeper without losing the thread of my thought. I am consciously trying to do something with many (not all) of my entries and I do try to experiment with a thought or idea when I get the urge to do so. I don’t spend time on editing so the focus is on getting it right the first time and walking away instead of getting hung up on perfection. I don’t always succeed in what I want to do each time but it’s become a terrific writing exercise.

I also want to record some things for my kids.

Possibly related posts:

1. Swiped from Miz Abby
2. The story of my (blogging) life
3. So it’s Tuesday
4. A blog PSA
5. I’m going to be bitchy here