Blogivation

Why do I, Kelly Sutton, blog?

The simplest answer to that question is: I don’t want to be forgotten. Sounds desperate, right? It’s a strange complex I’ve developed over the years.

Blogging is one of the purest forms of self-expression and personality, whether you write about lifehacking for college students or personal stuff. Developing the ability to shape an idea into 400 words on a regular basis is an extremely valuable skill to have. It might not get (all of) the ladies, but it’s trumped the portfolio in terms of show-off capacity. Reading a blog can tell you so much about a person: their sense of humor, their ambitiousness, their smarts. It speaks much more than a resume or a handshake ever could.

Some of the people I love to hang out with the most are bloggers (or at least regular content creators) themselves. Those with the blogging mentality are just much more wholesome people. I suppose I am a little biased, though.

Just as other guest posters here have mentioned, I think of myself pre-blogging and post-blogging. I’m not sure exactly what I did before September, 2006. Now I have an ever-evolving piece of work that represents me. When my great-grandkids are looking through ancient cached pages of the Internet, my name will pop up a lot on this strange site named “HackCollege.”

Of course, a college education will be obsolete by then so they might have to ask their parents, my grandkids. And then they will realize how awesome blogging was, way back in the day.

-Kelly Sutton.

Who are you?

Hi! I am Nicola! I am an Artist and part time Visual merchandiser who enjoys reading comic books, collecting stuff, and listening to Michael Cera sing.

What blogs do you run?

The first blog I run is my own, inside the cabinet of wonder. I post photos, words, my art, or anything that I feel influenced by or interested in. I also have a side blog of mine, which I tend to post random photos, but this one is still at the early stages: hello my name is nicola.  Another blog I run is with one of my best friends called; have you seen my shoes? It’s kind of just a bit of fun. One blog that I am proud to be a part of is here–and–there, which I run with Lina. One of the greatest things about having a blog is the people you meet and speak to. Lina is one of those. We became pen pals all because she sent me some ‘hello my name is;’ stickers, which I think is pretty amazing. We decided that we wanted to create a project together, and we came up with one where we compare our lives, what I am doing in the UK, and what she is doing in the US.

Why did you start blogging?

While I was at university studying fine art, I felt the need to start up a blog to post my work. However my blog then turned into writing about my day and photos I had taken. I do still show my art on my blog, but I now feel my blog is a place to relax, and I can share the events of the day.

What keeps you going & what are your motivations?

One of the most important things that keep me going are the amazing people I have met. I enjoy reading other peoples blogs, and that makes me what to carry on. The amazing commenter’s and followers that let me know that I must be doing something worth while, keeps me going.

-Nicola Jennings.

What you may have missed so far…

Julie Daniel

“So a few us of started tumblr blogs and followed each other to keep up with what was going on in each other’s lives. It was easy enough, posting quips about your day, anything you found interesting or thought someone else might. ” Read More

Joseph Sanchez

“As a punk high school student, all my original blogs were almost nothing more than ranting and bad grammar, but going back and reading through them I can see how my blogger’s “voice” was beginning to take hold of my writing.” Read More

Andrea Sanchez

“I really liked the idea of managing a knitting blog because that was something that I was actually interested in. I knew I would be more likely to post if I was talking about my everyday interests (and yes, I’m knitting every day).” Read More

Jordan M. Williams

“…blogging has always been where I can share with the world my life’s travels, and thoughts on random things. A self expression that I can look back on in later years.” Read More

Lina

“One of the best things about blogging is that you are able to meet many interesting & talented people from around the world… The blog has transformed since then into a place where I share things that I like, have giveaways, show any crafts I have made, & more.” Read More

Wes Murdock

“The origin of my blog life started circa 2004 when a friend of mine convinced me to start a blog. It was an exercise in futility as my blog was garbage. Not only did I disregard rules of the English language and all rules of proper spelling, there was a general lack of complex thought.” Read More

Nate Desmond

“One of the main reasons I blog is to learn. Starting with my first blog at age fifteen, I have always chosen topics that I am interested in learning more about.” Read More

My 5 Primary Motivations For Blogging

Why do I blog?

When Jordan asked me that question it made me stop and think. Although I have often considered that topic, my motivations for blogging often change from year-to-year and even from day-to-day.

Thinking it over, however, I realized that my primary reasons for blogging have mostly remained constant.

My Blogging History

Before I get started, though, let me give you a brief history of my forays in the blogosphere.

Since the day I (Nate Desmond) started blogging (nearly three years ago), I have run three medium-sized blogs and innumerable smaller projects.

This February, I started my current blog – Practical Manliness. On this blog, it is my goal to “apply the historical ideals of manliness to modern men”. I work to accomplish this goal through my three weekly articles and an upcoming manifesto.

Now, without further ado, here are my five main motivations for blogging:

1. To Learn

One of the main reasons I blog is to learn. Starting with my first blog at age fifteen, I have always chosen topics that I am interested in learning more about.

Topics of My Three Major Blogs:

• Build Your Own Ecommerce Website– Helped me learn ecommerce.
• Debt-free Scholar – Helped me learn more about college.
• Practical Manliness – Helps me learn how to be a man.

In addition to learning about my blog’s topic, writing and promoting my own websites have helped me learn a variety of important skills, such as…

• writing.
• communication.
• marketing.
• programming.
• graphic design.

In my opinion, learning is one of my main motivations for blogging.

2. To Spread Ideas

Blogging presents an excellent way to spread important ideas.

As a 17-year-old young man, I do not have many opportunities in the “traditional” media. Mainstream media outlets (such as TV or radio) have few openings for unknown young adults.

On the internet, however, I have more opportunity. If I write well and provide useful content my readers don’t care that I am still in high school; for the most part, they will evaluate me based on my actions – not my experience.

3. To Network

I have also been very blessed by many networking opportunities as a direct result of my blogging.

I primarily use three websites for my networking:

• Facebook – For “offline” friends.
• Linked In – For business connections.
• Twitter – For anyone and everyone.

The many networking opportunities I find as a blogger are certainly a great benefit.

4. To Earn

Although I have not yet made very much money from blogging, this is an important motivation.

As a high school student about to start paying his own way through college, I am in need of funds, so I certainly look for ways to make money from my blogs.

Primarily, I have made money from…

• Affiliate programs (mostly Amazon)
• Free books (I often received free books to review on Debt-free Scholar)
• Blog sales (I sold Debt-free Scholar)

5. To Have Fun

Blogging really is enjoyable.

I love writing, learning more about a wide variety of topics, and connecting with new people.

Blogging is a hobby… that can potentially become a business.

In Closing

I hope that this short explanation of my personal motivations for blogging will encourage other bloggers and potential bloggers to seize the day and start (or continue) writing their own blog.

Thanks for reading!

-Nate Desmond

The way I see it, there are two different versions of me: the me before 2007, and the me after 2008. In between those two time frames happen to be what I feel is my own personal nouvelle vague, the New Wave of my life which jump started an otherwise lost, and—in many ways—dead Joseph. Maybe dead isn’t the best word to describe myself before 2007, as I was very much alive before then; laughing, loving, hurting, just like any other teenager does, and I was quite aware of it all. But the passions I had were all but done for, and by my standards I might as well have been dead. In the latter part of ’08, though, I found myself with a renewed love of things I had long since abandoned, and the only meaningful way I could organize these thoughts was by writing a blog.

I had more or less kept a steady blog in one form or another since I was a freshman in high school (which by 2002 internet standards was quite young). As a punk high school student, all my original blogs were almost nothing more than ranting and bad grammar, but going back and reading through them I can see how my blogger’s “voice” was beginning to take hold of my writing. My biggest struggle then—and which still haunts me—was my lazy internet work ethic, and this has manifested in relatively few blog posts over the years.

Currently I run three blogs, all of them being off-shoots of a successful yet poorly thought out blog I used to have called afterfour. My favorite and most popular blog is a film site called Film Revisited. It currently consists of just film reviews I’ve written (mostly films unheard of out of Southeast Asia), though I have much larger plans for its future. I don’t know many people personally who would like to sit down and talk film theory all day, but the buddies I’ve made over the internet (particularly over Twitter) would love nothing more than to talk about Truffaut, Buñuel, and Kurosawa’s films all day long, albeit over the internet. My personal blog, The WCS Minor Circuit, is not as personal as I had intended it to be as, aside from a post or two written out of anger, it’s all just full of things which aren’t movie related. Though I prefer to just write about movies all day, I don’t neglect my personal blog at all. The general ratio of film posts to personal posts is 1:1, a pattern I’d like to maintain.

My third blog is on Tumblr and is also called The WCS Minor Circuit. I started it off as a travel blog last year when I went to the Philippines, but the lack of internet connectivity in that country forced me to neglect the travel aspect of it. Now it just consists of picture reblogs and random, usually politically incorrect thoughts I muster up through the day that are too long to go on Twitter. Despite its low-keyness, I use my Tumblr blog more often than both my other blogs combined, and in a way it can be described as my real personal blog.

Currently, with my friends Jordan and Wes (who also run Blogivation), I’m working on a tea blog called Tyros of Tea. Tea is new hobby for me, but for some reason—maybe the “complex simplicity” of it all (like a Jean-Pierre Melville film)—I find the entire process of choosing the tea, making it, then drinking it to be an exciting experience every time I do it. Even now, 9:00 on a Saturday morning, I’m in my room drinking tea, listening to the Bill Evans album “Conversations with Myself” and writing this. It’s the type of ambiance you can obtain only on a weekend, and only with tea and jazz, and it’s this same feeling I hope to somehow apply to this new blog.

Joseph Sanchez

I am a 21 year old communications major with a wicked sense of humor, emphasis on wicked. I have interests in just about everything under the sun and am in a constant quest for knowledge. I am a nerd to the nth degree, and quite proud of it.

Blogs I Run:

What Can’t be Fixed with Duct Tape  – The first blog that was semi-serious. It later morphed into life as I know it and major thoughts on a variety of subjects.

Lessons from the Labyrinth – My current personal blog that is more of the inner workings of my brain and the thoughts and ideas that are a more developed. It will occasionally just summarize what has been going on, but that is not its true purpose.

Blogivation – I am the editor and an idea man of this blog. I tidy things up and make sure the number of errors is at a tolerable level, as well as try to come up with ideas to keep it fresh.

Tyros of Tea – A prospective blog that should have a start soon. Its based on Joeseph, Jordan, myself and our excursion through the world of tea. Its a record of our experiences and education in the world’s second most commonly consumed beverage.

The origin of my blog life started circa 2004 when a friend of mine convinced me to start a blog. It was an exercise in futility as my blog was garbage. Not only did I disregard rules of the English language and all rules of proper spelling, there was a general lack of complex thought. I then gave up on blogging until the end of 2008. I started again and it was a product of an argument with my girlfriend at the time, as evidenced by the passive-aggressive first post. It then became memorable things and cryptic posts. It wasn’t inspiring so it has fallen by the way side. I started my newest blog, Lessons from the Labyrinth, where I have a bit more to say. I will hopefully be posting much more as life has thrown some interesting twists, and it should lead to a different mindset than I have ever experienced before. I continue to blog so I can keep a record of life events, as well as an outlet to talk on difficult events occurring right now.

-Wes Murdock

I knit, therefore I blog.

I’m a knitter. As of the last six months or so, an avid knitter. I currently manage and write for Life on Laffer, a blog about my knitting adventures (and sometimes my dogs) here in Akron, Ohio.

I have always enjoyed writing and the idea of blogging. I first began blogging as a way of keeping in touch with friends and family after I had moved to Ohio from California. However, I wasn’t very good at posting frequently and the blog didn’t feel very meaningful to me. As my knitting became more serious, I was introduced to an online, fiber arts community called Ravelry. Through Ravelry, I was able to read blogs of other knitters and connect with people who shared similar interests in a way I never had before. I really liked the idea of managing a knitting blog because that was something that I was actually interested in. I knew I would be more likely to post if I was talking about my everyday interests (and yes, I’m knitting every day). Life on Laffer was born.

After the first few weeks of blogging, I brainstormed some ways to bring readers to my blog. Well, what better way to lure in a knitter than by offering free yarn? So I had a yarn giveaway. I publicized my giveaway on Ravelry and with my group of local knitting friends. I had the giveaway post up for one week and within that week I had 85 comments for the giveaway!

I’ve been posting now at least once a week (generally more, though) and try to keep the content new, as well as share completed projects, new techniques, and links to other giveaways and interesting knitting related sites. In the last two and a half months, I’ve had a great response to my blog. My followers have grown and I am almost always receiving comments on my posts. I plan on offering more fiber related giveaways to my readers in the near future. I will also be guest blogging on another local crafting site, Clever Nesting , as well as a local pet-related site, Akron Dog Stuff . Who new knitters were spending so much time at their computers?

~Andrea Sanchez

My name is Julie. I was born in the US, in rural Georgia. However, I have lived in Japan for 5 years, and all my blogging has been done from Japan. I run a personal blog I nick named vanilla.

When I first started my blog, it was really a conversation between friends. I was living in Japan, but many of my good friends were back in the US. Most of us had recently graduated college and had scattered around. Hanging out wasn’t really an option, and my living about 14 time zones away made chatting and telephone calls a pain. So a few us of started tumblr blogs and followed each other to keep up with what was going on in each other’s lives. It was easy enough, posting quips about your day, anything you found interesting or thought someone else might. I was actually really surprised when other people started following my blog. I am ADD, and I think my blog reflects that a bit. There is NO theme, it is just whatever I am thinking in that instant. It might be a comment about my day, a picture I found worth a giggle, serious political jabber, a musical post, a funny video… there is even occasionally some NSFW content.

My main motivation was keeping up with old friends, but I have actually made some new friends through tumblr. I exchange fairly regular emails with some other tumblrs, and we almost have conversations through posts. There are a few I know fairly well, and a few I only know their icon. I am not really motivated to collect more followers, but it still blows my mind when I get them. I have a fairly decent number now (almost 300), and I only personally knew 5 of them when the blog started. The rest have just been picked up over time.

I think the most interesting thing that gets attention on my blog is a series of pictures of me eating. This got started about a year ago when I lived in Tokyo. I had a TINY apartment, and my computer table was also my eating table. The first photo was a joke and it got a pretty decent reaction for my small little blog. Now let me say that these are NOT sexy photos of me eating fruit while sitting in my under wear. These are pictures of me looking like a stuffed chipmunk with lettuce hanging out of my mouth. For some reason people enjoy those photos. I get rebloggs, likes, and comments on them all the time. I think people enjoy someone who doesn’t spend all day trying to flatter themselves. My biggest recommendation to new bloggers, is that if you are going to post photos of yourself, don’t break your neck trying to make yourself look good. Just be yourself. People appreciate that more, and you will get more respect for that than posting another down shot with good lighting that makes you look as cute and sexy as possible. Just be you.

I like to keep my blog light hearted and as a good place to vent a bit now and then. But never forget that ANYONE can see what you put on the internet. That might be a future boss, your mother, or whoever it is you are venting about. When you post ideas, photos, and stories, remember how it will affect other people and how it will affect you.

Now I am off to take a GPYOW eating pic! It is Wednesday after all.

Cheers-

Julie Daniel

Who are you?

Hello! I’m Lina. I am simple & nice. I live in a loft & a yellow room. I like picnics & crafts. I live in California, USA.

What blogs do you run?

I belong to three different blogs. The very first one I started is my personal blog called from lina. I post about anything that is going on in my life & always have a lot of photos. I then started a blog with my sister called quellina. It’s a place were we come together to blog at the same time. One of the best things about blogging is that you are able to meet many interesting & talented people from around the world. One person I am so happy I met is Nicola from England. We soon became good friends & decided to start a project to unite the US to the UK. This project is called here–and–there & is the last blog I created.

Why did you start blogging?

Originally I started blogging about a year & a half ago when I transferred to my university & moved out of my parents’ home. The purpose of my blog, From Lina was to keep others informed of what was going on in my life. The blog has transformed since then into a place where I share things that I like, have giveaways, show any crafts I have made, & more.

What keeps you going & what are your motivations?

Definitely the biggest motivators are those who read my blog & the friends that I have made in the blog world. Comments on blog posts & blog followers always make me happy too. Blogging has caused me to be a more creative person & I love it.

~Lina~