20 Questions

I've always been a fan of blogs. I read a couple of them regularly, and thought quite a lot about the whole thing before I started this one. During this time there were a few things I was interested to know, so I thought I'd put together a list of questions and my answers to them. I know I only speak for myself, but at best it may help demystify the whole blogging thing somewhat, and at worst it will bore you silly and you can skip it. So here goes. Jacki interviewing Jacki.

Why do you do it Jacki? Well, Jacki, It's fun for me and a creative outlet. I was a bit stale with the whole newsletter thing because it was too inflexible and I felt like I wanted to something a bit different. I consider myself a bit of an "open book" kind of person, so don't mind putting myself out there. Plus, as an added bonus, my friends & family who live far away can still keep track of what I'm up to.

What's the best bit Jacki? Definitely the comments and the feedback. Makes it all feel worthwhile. Especially when people tell me I make them laugh. My favourite posts to write are the ones where I get a bit silly and let my zany side out for a run. (It's a large part, OK).

What's the worst bit? Really can't think of too many worst bits. Only when I go to tell a story to one of my friends and they've already heard it because I put it on the blog.

What's the hardest bit? Trying to be honest about myself, but still respect the privacy of my friends and relationships. I have to remember that anyone could google me here so it's not fair to be too explicit about other people.

Where do you get your ideas from? funnily enough, that's never a problem. I actually keep a list of things as I think of them and can refer back to it on days when i have a bit more time on my hands. Usually it's stuff that happens in my life, stuff that annoys me or stuff that makes me happy or stuff that I have an opinion about.

Is everything in all of your posts true, or do you make it up? It's all true. Mostly. Let's just say I don't exaggerate any more than I usually do and leave it at that.

Where do you find the time? Usually I try to put up a post and do a bit of writing during my lunch break at work. If I've got a lot of ideas on the the go I'll sometimes do them at home and then bring them in and post them during my lunch hour. I deliberately (and mostly successfully) try to keep the posts themselves pretty short and manageable so as not to bore my faithful readers. Fridays are usually a bit quieter for me work-wise so I tend to do more.

Do you do drafts or just sit and write and post? A bit of both, actually. I always have a few half-written posts on the go which tend to be the longer, more general-opinion pieces (this particular post has been sitting in draft format for about 3 weeks). I'll usually spend a bit of time on them. The "what I've been up to" kind of posts I tend to just fire off. More often than not, though, I tend to have thought through what I'm going to write about and the basic structure of how I'm going to present it well before I sit down to write, so I just kind of bang away at the keyboard in a frenzy, read through once, spell check and then publish.

Do you have many readers? Not really sure. This particular blog host doesn't have counter or stats functionality so I don't know. Apart from one random comment from a random visitor a few weeks back, the only people I know who read are close friends or family. We could do a survey...If you're reading this, scroll down immediately to the comments link and raise your hand (electronically speaking). You don't have to say anything meaningful or witty. "OK, I read your bloody blog, OK?" will do.

You mentioned earlier that you watch a couple of blogs regularly. What are they? OK, I'll share my secrets. It's a rather eclectic mix. You can take a look via the following links...
http://www.meish.org/
http://www.moby.com/journal
http://shauny.org/pussycat/
http://www.slowleadership.org/
http://www.planetthoughtful.org/
http://becksposhnosh.blogspot.com/
..And lately....
http://roneneonthemove.blogspot.com/

If I'm new to a blog, should I go back in the archives to the beginning and read all the way through, or just start from wherever I come in? Well, I've tried both. Whatever tickles your fancy. With my blog, I'm sure the regular updates won't be enough of a good thing, so of course you would want to go back and read more ;-) Just kidding. Whatever you want.

You sometimes use some weirdo words, Jacki, are you trying to pretend you're smart? Confession time. I'm addicted to word of the day (today's is Denizen). And where else am I going to get to use all these fabulous words? And it's my blog. I'll use big words if I want to. But I do try not to get too carried away all the time.

And do you really think you're funny? Well, sometimes, hopefully. It's possible I inherited the smart-arse gene from my Dad. Why? Don't you like my sense of humour?

No. Actually. I don't think you're funny at all, except for being funny-looking. Now hang on a minute. There's no need to get mean about this. I do my best. If you don't like the blog, don't read it.

Well I kind of have to since I'm you and you write it, which means I write it and...Oh...Well, you know what I'm getting at. Anyway. It's not funny. I thought that you weren't supposed to laugh at your own jokes, so maybe that's normal.

Nope. I think it's just not funny.

Aargh! Forget it. I'm ending this interview now. I don't have to put up with this rudeness!!!

J. ;-)

Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness. Answering yourself is the second. I'm clearly well beyond both points of no return!!!