Blahgging

Here is the blogging meme that has been posted by Chilihead at Don't Try This at Home. Click this link if you would like to read others who have answered the same questions.

How did you start blogging?
I started blogging not too long after my friend Maureen sent all of her friends an e-mail telling us of her blog. She said something like "I wanted you all to know that I have a weblog." I wish I was kidding when I say this, but my immediate thought was A weblog? Is it serious? Is it fatal?

Then she went on to explain what it was, and I felt really stupid. I read her blog every day after that and eventually decided that I would start one of my own.

Did you intend to be a blog with a following? If so, how did you go about it?
I have never sought out a following for my blog. I don't participate in many carnivals or take many opportunities to promote my blog. I am not against a larger readership, but what I really want is readers who participate - people who are willing to share their thoughts and get to know me (and I them.) Aside from the fact that this is hard to do with a large number of people, my experience has been that the majority of people just don't want to participate in this way. So I am not actively seeking tons of readers - I'd rather have a few readers who talk back to me than a thousand who never say a word.

What do you hope to achieve or accomplish with your blog? Have you been successful? If not, do you have a plan to achieve those goals?
I have never clearly defined a goal for my blog and I'm not sure that I could. I often feel conflicted about what I want to accomplish through my blogging.

Recently I have had a desire to encourage deeper thinking on some harder issues, particularly as they relate to the Christian worldview. But these are the very issues which garner the least discussion (in my experience) and discussion is a big reason that I blog in the first place. Also a serious debate in my mind right now is whether putting those ideas out there "for the whole world to see" is as effective as addressing those things within my own, real world, sphere of influence. Add to this some uncertainty about what qualifies me to speak to these issues, and you have one PEZmama with a whole lot of bloggy angst.

That being said, I also have a great desire make people laugh, both in real life and on the blog. Unfortunately, I don't always have the verbal skillz that are required to finely craft the humorous post. I do think I make people laugh as a commenter though, but sometimes it's hard to tell if I am even doing that.

As for a plan, I don't know. I have seriously considered the plan called "stop blogging." (No comments, please.) I say this because, again, I am wondering if this medium is as effective as addressing people personally. Plus, being able to hear someone laugh or sitting down and having a real conversation are always so much more rewarding. Selfish, perhaps, but true.

Has the focus of your blog changed since you started blogging? How?
Absolutely.

Honestly, I think I started my blog because I was looking for validation from others who would say "you are so funny" or "you are so smart." (I didn't know it at the time, but when I started blogging, I was in the midst of a bout with depression that was going to get worse before it got better.) The validation really didn't come, so it was a hard time blog-wise because I wasn't really getting what I wanted out of it (and I shouldn't have) yet I kept trying. Eventually I got so sick of it that I took a very long break. (Quit is more like it. I had no intention of returning.)

When I came back from the break, my blogging perspective had changed. I began treatment for my depression soon after and I think that my perspective continued to change until I found the "voice" that I'm developing now. This voice is a much better reflection of the real me, and it's the voice that talks a little more about those deeper issues I mentioned above.

What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?
How to use the period correctly.

My thoughts kept trailing......

But bloggers in the know are So. Much. Cooler.

Do you make money with your blog?
The last time I made money was when they paid me ten dollars for reporting to jury duty.

In 2001.

Does your immediate or extended family know about your blog? If so, do they read it? If not, why?
From my immediate family, my mom reads consistently and my husband has read it all (I think.) My sisters have stopped by a few times. I think my sister-in-law and a neice and nephew read sporadically.

As for "why?" I can't speak to that other than to say that my mom likes to see pictures of her grandchildren. I'll never know why more people don't consistently read this blog. It's funny, it's challenging, and it has PEZ dispensers. Who wouldn't want to read that?

What two pieces of advice would you give to a new blogger?
I offer this bit of advice, learned from admittedly painful experience, to the one other person in the universe who would do this: Blogs are not a good replacement for three-dimensional people. You can make friends as a blogger, but it can be difficult and sometimes impossible (especially if you want to be friends with MEGAblogger who has 500 other readers who also want to be her friend. And sometimes even the minibloggers just aren't up for starting new online friendships.) If your primary goal is to start a friendship, you might have a better chance if you go find a real life person and spend some time with them.

And this piece of advice, learned from a bit of serendipity, to anyone who wants to increase traffic on their blog: Quote Toto lyrics.

Ever since my Africa post, I think I show up daily on search results for lyrics to that song. Better yet, you might want to try slighly MISquoting the lyrics, because I get even more hits from people searching for the phrase "there is nothing 100 men on mars could not do."

I'm serious. Look.

Then again, I also show up in search results for "how to make an oreo McFlurry at home," so, maybe this advice is not for you after all.

Unless "clueless people" is, like, your target audience.

For real....