These are my responses to blog questions from Denise at Mommy’s Journey.
1. why do you blog?
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I write to creatively express my wisdom and loving with you all.
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2. why did you originally start blogging? have your reasons changed?
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It was always the same reason and it is why I wrote 5 novels. What I love about blogging is the interaction.
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3. how often do you blog? does this vary?
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I blog at least three times a week. Often it is four.
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4. do you have a routine of any sorts when you make time to blog or just when you have time/are moved to do so?
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I aim for Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Since I live near the international date line, when I post, for most of the world it is already the next day.
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5. how often do you read other blogs?
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Some blogs I aim for daily because of a committment to ‘Take a comment, Leave a comment.’ Usually the posts that come to my e-mail get read daily.
The other blogs on my blogroll, I try to check once a week.
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6. how do you choose which blogs to read?
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I love accumulating blogs that attract me for one reason or another. And I equally love ruling out the ones that don’t make the cut. That said there are many blogs I have lost track and would have liked to have kept. Easiest for me is the blogs that have e-mail subscription. I used to click to follow blogs but unless they go to google reader, (where I see them infrequently) they are not in a format that is easily accessible to me.
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7. do you follow any?
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I ‘follow’ the blogs that come to me by e-mail and the ones on my blogroll. Infrequently I follow those on my reader. When I get overly busy I sometimes delete all of the e-mail posts and start fresh the next day.
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8. how often do you comment on blogs?
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I make an effort to comment when I read posts.
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9. how do you “thank” people for commenting on your blog?
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I thank people by replying in my comments or replying on their blog.
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10. do you stay on top of comments?
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Usually I comment within 4 days. I group thank you’s on my post. I respond to most but not all comments. I plan to respond more randomly.
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11. how do you encourage meaningful comments?
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For my commenting, I make an effort to find something meaningful to say. I don’t always succeed. I envy those bloggers who are good at asking meaningful questions of their readers and promote interesting discussion. For e;g; The Mind Of Ifer. Or who inspire by the honesty of their sharing. e.g. Life On Its Own Terms.
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12. do you blog more for yourself or do you account for what your readers might want to hear about when choosing what to blog about?
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I blog to express, usually what is present in the moment. I get a lot of hits from google searches on Japan and lei. I will post more about Japan especially when I travel there this October.
I make an effort to keep my blog uplifting and non-ranting. I write in other journals when I am in a funk and may relate about it here, after I get a grip on it. Funny, but when I have been in a funk and said okay, what do I write about that makes me happy? Japan comes to mind.
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13. do you have ongoing themes or is your blog more random?
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My blog is eclectic like my life. I am good at going through massive amounts of things and finding the ‘gold’.
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14. when you get in a funk and don’t feel like blogging, how do you keep your readers?
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I haven’t missed blogging at least three times a week. I will be traveling without a computer for a total of 8 weeks this year. I will pre-publish some posts and warn my readers that I won’t be responding.
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15. have you ever made a fellow blogger upset and how has that affected you or what happened?
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It’s not possible for me to ‘make’ someone else upset. They have to choose that for themselves or not. I wrote this post because of concerns about not inflicting on someone else.
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16. do you list blogs you follow on your blog?
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I have a separate page for my blogroll. I grouped sections, for instance one is titled LESS ACTIVE. I put blogs there that didn’t have a post for a month, yet, I look forward to reading them when they do post.
I’m still experimenting with other groupings and updating it. It’s very convenient for me to open that page and go through all of them.
I invite you to respond to Denise’s questions too, either in the comments or at her blog or on your own blog and link back to us.
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© 2010 J.B. Vadeboncoeur
