Blogging

Why blog?

Posted by Nat on Aug 10, 2010 | 6 comments

(Side note:  this is part of my 31DBB Challenge- we’re supposed to write an opinion post.  I’m way behind, but better late than never…{I want to win a free camera} So here’s my opinion.  If you’re new, yes, this is a crafty blog, but I have something to say that has nothing to do with crafting- hope you like it!)

I have lots of friends in my “real world” (as opposed to my blog world) asking me about blogging in the last few weeks.  It’s interesting to see the reaction people have to why a person blogs.  As someone who became an avid blogger (via my family blog) and general internet nerd during my year leave of absence from teaching (ah, that was such a nice year), I can see how people who work full-time, or even part time, sometimes look at blogging as, well, rather strange.  When you take a step back and look at what blogging is, it’s overwhelming.  If I take too much time to think about hundreds of people hopefully/possibly reading about me, what I do, or what I think, it’s kind of crazy.

There seem to be lots of opinions out there, and most of them are strong.  Here are some of the vibes I get from various people I have spoken to about blogging, and also my response to those opinions.  No one has ever outright said these things to me- they are just vibes I pick up on from time to time.

“It’s dumb.” (or any other negative adjective you’d like to insert- stupid, useless, waste of time, etc.)

What I think: It’s not dumb.  Perhaps if you find a blog you don’t relate to it might seem dumb or irrelevant, but it’s only irrelevant to you- it might be someone else’s inspiration.

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“You can’t really make a living blogging.”

What I think: Heh.  Oh really?   Oh reeeeallllly?  Then why does Darren exist?  Why does Dooce exist?  You can make a living blogging.  But it’s something you have to work your arse off doing.  Is it a living you’d choose?  Most likely not since you don’t think it’s possible.  But hey- to each his/her own, I say.  I’ve spent a lot of time on my blog this summer and hardly anyone is looking at it….yet.  I hope that will change, but even if it doesn’t it will make me happy to leave a mark in this huge cyber-world.  If it makes me happy, what do I have to lose?

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“You have too much time on your hands.”

What I think: Nope. I definitely don’t have too much time on my hands.  I have two children, I hope to have a third in the near future, I’m going to be teaching in a few weeks, I’d like to workout on a regular basis, I have a house to organize and keep clean, and I also have this little thing called a relationship with my husband.  I’ve got plenty to do.  But I like blogging.  So sue me.

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“You’re addicted to the internet and social media.”

What I think: Hell, yeah, I’m addicted to the internet and social media!  I love it!  If you don’t, more power to ya.  I still get out of the house, I have a social life, I have friends (hi, friends!) and I think I’m doing okay balancing my life as best I can.  But I love Facebook for the way it allows me to keep up with old friends and new, I love Twitter even though I have yet to fully grasp it, and I love blogging because without it I would never have found inspiration to start sewing and keep making stuff I like.

I’ve often seen comments on friend’s Facebook status that make fun of people who take the status update to an extreme.  Sometimes, being the rather sensitive person I am, I’ve wondered if they are commenting about me (then I remember that I rarely post about going to the bathroom or what I just ate- unless I’m out to dinner and having something ridiculously delicious- then I share).  But at the finish of this post I shall worry no longer.  I’m going to own my blogging and social media loving self and live. it. up.  I think it will be advantageous when my kids are older- when they are talking about the latest and greatest things on the internet I may actually know what they are talking about.  And I will meet so many people on this journey of mine that I can’t possibly sit around and wonder if everyone approves or disapproves.  It’s official: I don’t care.

What is blogging to me?  It’s a way to record my journey and to share it with other people.   It’s a way to reach out across the country and the world to say, “Hey!  Check this out!”  I have so many friends who blog not for the recognition but to just write, get their thoughts out, and have a place to reflect on their life.  Blogging is the new form of a diary for so many people.  It will track my children’s lives, it will track my learning process, it will keep me sane in many ways.  I have so many things I think about- blogging is where I process and manipulate my brain.

So, what interesting comments have you received about the blogging world?  Do you care what your friends/family/colleagues thing about your blog?  Your interest in social media?  I’d love to hear from you!

Shhhh… I’m trying to concentrate.

Posted by Nat on Aug 10, 2010 | Comments Off on Shhhh… I’m trying to concentrate.

Well, the time has come.  I have gotten as far as I can on my own, so the next couple of days are going to be spent two places.

Here, because I need to get crackin’ on some projects:

And here, because I need to get some schooling on the innards of my blog:

I love WordPress.  But I do not know WordPress well enough.  We shall see if this book can change that.  Time will tell.  Wish me luck!

Day 7 of 31DBB: aaaarrrggghhh!

Posted by Nat on Jul 25, 2010 | 3 comments

I am so overwhelmed.  I think my brain has hit its capacity.  Between figuring out Twitter, managing followers and somehow adding followers, joining BlogFrog, committing to the challenge, trying to craft/sew, evaluating my blog and where it’s going, completing the tasks in the challenge and wanting to accomplish EVERYTHING I am, well, overwhelmed (oh- and remaining a decent mother & wife, to boot.  And friend.).  You know that feeling you get when you’re reaaaaallly excited for an upcoming, happy event?  Like your wedding day, or the birth of a child (yours or someone else’s), or a big party or something like that.  You get that build up, that “something big is coming feeling,” or that, “crap- I have so much to do I hope I get it all done” feeling.  That’s me.  There’s so much I want to do, so much I want to accomplish.

Add to that the fact that I have just a few weeks left of summer and then I begin my final year of teaching.  I am dreading that on many levels.  I don’t want to teach anymore, but we need me to teach just one more year.  I am sure it will all be fine, everything will work out, and one year from now I will look at this post and laugh.  Hard.  But right now I am so excited, stressed, and, oddly happy about this summer.  I’m achieving so much, yet have so much more to do.  The best part is that I’m really excited about blogging.  True to my header, I really have no idea what I’m doing in several areas, but I love it.

That, my friends, is rad.

Whew!  Thanks for the vent.  On to Day 8!

p.s.  If you’re wondering what I did on Day 6- we had a ton of reading.  If you’re wondering what I did for today, Day 7, click here. Or look up above and note the new pages I’ve added to this here blog.  🙂

Day 5 of 31DBB: A Blog Confessional of Sorts

Posted by Nat on Jul 23, 2010 | 4 comments

This blog challenge is great- it’s really helping me, step-by-step, understand this new world of blogging.  In my family blog I post about things mainly to help my distant family, both extended and immediate, keep up with what’s going on.  I also have a wonderful group of mommy friends who blog (check out my blog roll on my family blog).  We all read each other’s blogs, and I think (and hope) it will keep us in touch when all of our kids are in school and our lives get even crazier.

But this blog is different, and I want to make something of it.  And blogging to achieve and audience and perhaps, someday make some money off of it is a completely different ballgame.

Today’s task in the 31 Days to a Better Blog Challenge is simple:  email someone who comments on your blog.  It also talks about the importance of communicating with readers and writers of blogs you like.  Here’s where my confession comes in….

I’m a lurker.  (Is that a word?)  I lurk.

I LOVE to read blogs.  I LOVE to get ideas from them.  I LOVE to laugh at witty remarks and stories, to ache for bloggers who are going through hard times, to wonder at other people’s lives.  But I rarely comment.  I think this parallels my social life, too.  I’m really shy in situations where I don’t know people in gatherings.  I’ve had to work hard to extend a greeting or introduce myself to someone I don’t know.  My friend of 10+ years, Jane, is the exact opposite.  She doesn’t know a stranger.  I’ve benefitted from that for quite some time- 10 years in fact (thanks, Jane!).

When I read someone’s blog I am often in awe- there are so many wonderful writers.  And even some who don’t write well, necessarily, but their lives captivate me in a beautiful way.  I have a hard time thinking that my comment would add anything to their world.  I think I’m wrong, though.

So my confession is also going to turn into a conversion, I guess.  I need to start commenting more.  I started when I got into SITS a while back, and try to remember, but my new credo is going to be that if I visit a blog, I shall comment upon it.  It might be short and sweet (I really love the word “rad”!), but at least I’ll leave a comment.  When I think about it, it’s rather silly to want people to comment on my blog and not expect to comment on others in return.  What goes around comes around, right?  So here I go- off to comment.

I’m off to dig through my comments and email some peeps, because it truly is nice to receive comments on your blog.  You spend time putting it together, and when someone takes the time to read it’s amazing.

31DBB Day 3: Promote your Post

Posted by missmusic1976 on Jul 21, 2010 | Comments Off on 31DBB Day 3: Promote your Post

I am so excited about this challenge.  Excited and overwhelmed.  I really want to make the most of it, which is why I decided to write a new post for the Day 3 task.  My list post was okay, but didn’t really relate to Crafting Crazy very well, so I’m choosing to promote my preceding post instead.  I just finished signing up for Digg, and posted my article there.  I’m curious to see what happens- if I get more hits, etc.  I’m also going to see if I can convince a few blogging friends to link to me.  I need to try link parties, too- haven’t had the brain power to figure them out yet.

Go 31DBB!

What’s in YOUR Bookmark Bar?

Posted by missmusic1976 on Jul 20, 2010 | 3 comments

This is Day #2 of the 31DBB challenge (see the button on the right to get more info!).

I’ve been wracking my brain with this one, trying to think of a list that I could share that would be helpful and worthy of someone else’s eyes and time.  Something that came to mind is what I have in my bookmark bar in my browser.  This is such a useful tool that, until recently, I didn’t realize could be so helpful in my day-to-day technological life.  So while this may not be a crafty post, it certainly keeps my crafty self a bit more organized.

If you’re a new techie and don’t know what the bookmark bar is, there is a bar that runs across the top of your browser window to which you can add the places you most commonly visit on a daily basis online.  If you’re a tab-o-holic like me, I like to have several tabs open at once, and these buttons make it easier to jump from place to place with less typing and more surfing.

Here’s a screenshot of my bookmark bar, in case you still aren’t sure where to look:

So, you’ll see a few of mine listed above, but I’ll go ahead and list all of my bookmarks here.  I’ve linked them up if necessary/helpful, and given them a description in case you aren’t familiar with them.

1. Yahoo:  About once or twice a day I click on Yahoo to mentally check out of  my world and see what’s happening in the rest of the world.
2. Google Maps:  Because everyone should know where they are going.
3. Cozi:  I’m not completely sold on Cozi yet, but my husband and I are trying it out as a means to coordinate when the school year starts out.  Jury is still out.
4. Picnik:  If you’ve never tried Picnik give it a whirl- you can do so many cool things with photos in a simple way.  It’s like Photoshop for dummies.
5. Blog Frog:  If you’re a SITS-tah- holla holla!  This is a great place to find online communities.  This is how I heard about the 31DBB challenge.
6. Facebook:  duh.
7. Something for Sanity (my family blog)
8. Crafting Crazy (you’re reading it now!)
9. Big Tent:  I’m part of a local group of moms, and Big Tent is where we meet up online to have online forums and arrange get-togethers.  It’s a great tool if you need to gather a group, and you can also start online groups across the country/world, I imagine.
10. All Recipes:  This is my go-to site for finding recipes.  I love having a recipe box, and now their “pro” app on the iPhone lets you access your recipe box on your phone- no more cooking with my laptop above the range or scrawling down recipes on post-its.  One step closer to paper-free!
11. Bank:   I’d give you my bank info, but then I’d have to kill you.
12. Pingg:  I’ve started using Pingg instead of Evite for invitations to things.  My friend Kari turned me onto it and I love it.
13. Mobile Me:  I’m a Mac girl, and Mobile Me keeps my world connected via my iPhone.   I also love to use it to share photos with family- no clogging inboxes anymore.
14. Ravelry:  If you knit, you should check out Ravelry.  Tons of free patterns and communities, and you can find a local group to knit with if you want!
15. Kaboodle:  Do you Kaboodle?  With Kaboodle you can dream of things you want, or keep track of things you need, or a combination thereof.  Kaboodle is like the ultimate registry for your family.  I have a list for my kids, myself and my husband.  Then, if I see something online and think, “That’s rad!  I want that!”  I add it to my Kaboodle list.
16. Add to my Kaboodle:  This is a button you can add to your bar- see something you like?  Click the button and add it to the list you like.  When you’re done it takes you back to where you were- awesome!  You can get this button on the Kaboodle main page- scroll to the bottom and look for “get the buttons.”

I just realized I need to add Twitter to my bar- off I go!

That’s it!  Hope you find something you like!

Go 31DBB particpants!