Are You a Blogger?

I thought people might like to comment about blogging. I know we have some bloggers here on Creative Intentions. How does it blogging fit into your life and perhaps enhance your creativity? Have you had any unexpected returns from putting your thoughts out on the internet? One of the things I most like about blogging is just the freedom of speech, sans editor! Sometimes it feels like having your own magazine.

I try to keep up with many wonderful blogs on Google Reader. Having an aggregator really helps, although catching up with my subscription list is next to impossible. I just check in on it from time to time and read whatever I'm in the mood for. My taste runs to arts and crafts, books, photography, food and decorating blogs.

I feel fortunate that I was paid to learn how to blog on the job at the library some years ago. And so, Speed of Light: Books, Art, Nature and Life's Sometimes Illuminativ... was born. In fact, pretty much everyone in our library system had to learn how. I have continued to blog even since retiring, though lately I'm a little less timely. Instead of once a week, I am leaning more towards once every 10 days or so. I have to feel inspired and ready to share. My fallback topic is writing book reviews. I've also tried interviewing creative friends and that's been fun. In some ways I think my blog is perhaps too much all over the place. I'm not sure that people that read mostly for book recommendations want to read about collage topics, but if I didn't feel free to write about all kinds of things, I would lose interest.

I do admire people who have a single topic (or obsession) and stick to it. For example, I read a blog about buttons that is always a hoot - Bonkers About Buttons. On the other hand, I also enjoy Karla's Cottage, which offers a variety of topics related to one woman's life as a creative soul -- crafting, grandparenting, decorating, etc. I really feel like I know her and her family, though of course I don't. One woman who has made a tremendous success out of blogging is Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. She even has a Food channel cooking series now.

If you have a blog you'd like to tell us about, I hope you will do so right here. HWT has rolled out a blogzine, so that is one way to get your blog featured to a new audience, but putting up a link here at CI might be another avenue (at least you would introduce it to our readers). I became a regular reader of Bonnie Casey's wise and wonderful blog, My Write Mind after meeting her here on HWT! And my high school pal Dariel Bendin writes a cool music blog called Flying Under the Radar. In fact, Dariel is the person directly responsible for linking me towards HWT. I jumped in, met Kay VH and here we all are these many months later!

Cheers,

Keddy

Tags: blogging, creativity

2 members like this

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kay Van Hoesen on September 9, 2011 at 6:07pm

What a great topic. I have never been a blogger (aside from posting about upcoming radio shows, but that doesn't count). However, after we launched the blogzine, I had an experience that propelled me to write a blog (HERE), and I must say, it was a freeing experience.
To make money from blogging is a whole 'nother matter. On YAK, one of our radio shows, one of our guests was Rob Berger, a lawyer who four years ago started a blog called DoughRoller.net. Now, his income from blogging exceeds the income from his thriving law practice (you can read more about it and hear the archive at THIS link). And we also had another popular blogger on YAK, Dan Pearce of Single Dad Laughing (details HERE). His blog has a huge following, but he's not making any money from it (yet). As discussed by Rob Berger, there's a science to blogging for income.

Most people, I think, blog just for fun.

I'm going to check out your favorite blog sites, Keddy. And I hope everyone will share their blogs on our new blogzine, an online magazine with approximately 60 departments and categories, so everyone can find content based on their interests (how-to-post instructions here).

Permalink Reply by Beth Jukuri on September 11, 2011 at 9:02am

Thanks for this topic....I am a blogger, and my topic is mostly about my childhood abuse and cult like religion or what it takes

to heal from abuse and find a free mind. When I write, I am never sure what the answer will be, and mostly they are troubling thoughts I never explored. I also write since I am no longer accepted in my family for speaking and acting against abuse. I had a few Aunts who I never knew and they too left for I am assuming similiar reasons....I blog so I leave a trail and let others know how it

feels to leave a family and maybe even more importantly find a new independent you.

http://www.imperfectlady.typepad.com is where you will find the journey out of abuse....the confused mind of being raised in a strict cult like religion....and how a lady finds her imperfections are just experiences on the journey. I have written almost daily now for two and half years and it has been a sacred place to explore me. I do it publicly for most of my life was lived in secret unbeknownst to me. My father's secret was he had a sexual disease, pedophilia....and my abuse from him was so traumtic, that my mind failed to record it. So, I had a body who feared him, but I didn't know why....until I was 46, when my neice said her grandfather abused her....I knew she was telling my story. And so began the unravel of one life and the rebuilding of another.

Blogging and doing Art Quilts kept me moving toward the truth and who I was and who I would become. I am a work in progress.

Thanks Teddy for recognizing the creativeness of blogs.

Beth Jukuri

Permalink Reply by Kay Van Hoesen on September 11, 2011 at 2:55pm

Dear Beth,

Your story of trauma is, sadly I've learned, all too common. Your triumph gives hope to others who have also suffered at the hands of people who were supposed to love and protect them. Thank you for sharing and encouraging others to see their perfection and know they are special just as they are. You are a special individual.

Love,

Kay

Permalink Reply by Keddy Ann Outlaw on September 11, 2011 at 3:35pm

Oh, Beth - You have a real gift for poking around in and daring to examine the things most of us do think of but rarely speak of. Your blog is brave and awesome.

By the way, I think you would like HWT member Bonnie Casey's book Growing in Circles: My Struggle to Make Peace With God, Myself and Just About Everything, about being raised in a strict religious family and her lifelong search for a more meaningful spiritual connection and authentic self.

Blogging for the first time, I still remember the thrill of watching my words go live. It felt electric. I just posted some new artwork on my SOL blog, because I really had no coherent thoughts or subjects at hand. Sometimes words fail me, but images speak for me and give me solace. Lately I have also enjoyed reaching out on Flickr, where you can "curate" galleries by collecting other people's artwork you admire. I have 3 galleries there now, mostly collages and abstract work. Some of the artists have really been thrilled by this little bit of recogniton. Sometimes in blogging, unless there are comments or feedback on Facebook, I wonder if there is anybody out there reading. Which reminds me, Kay and Beth -- thanks to both of you for taking the time to comment here at Creative Intentions!

Permalink Reply by Beth Jukuri on September 11, 2011 at 3:53pm

Thanks Kay and Keddy. I will look up that book, Keddy, I love the Title. I now have other members or members that are wondering what those of us who left are up to following me along on the blog. But, it is mostly for me and on the off chance of helping another. It is exciting for me to read of others who have made the journey of change.

I will have to check our your blog as well.

Beth, PS, Kay I did submit a few posts for your blogazine.

Permalink Reply by Kay Van Hoesen on September 11, 2011 at 4:12pm

I know what you mean, Keddy ... wondering who is reading our blogs. People are reading! Just today on the blogzine, a post (by a non-HWT member) from a couple weeks ago got a LONG comment from someone who is not a member of HWT. (HERE) Out of the blue. So somebody's looking!

@Beth, we have so many talented writers and contributors on HWT, I decided we needed a special platform to feature their posts ... a place where people could read content based on their interests. Voila, the blogzine, an online magazine with departments & categories, was born last month. It's a Wordpress platform. I'm very proud of it. It's my newest "creation" ... and anybody can post, even if they're not an HWT member. I'm excited. Already we have posts on there from people who contribute to Huffington Post, Open Salon, Yoga Modern, Elephant Journal, Skirt, Ms. Magazine, and more.

Just today Poet Laureate for Youth for Human Rights, Larry Jaffe added a post (all by himself ... here).

And of course we have wonderful posts from Keddy (here) (Keddy, I'll send you your info tomorrow)

I am devoting myself to attracting attention to all these great blogs, promoting & sharing. So hope you'll share your blogs. http://herewomentalk.com/how-to-post-a-blog

@Beth ... it's a companion piece to the online community, and thus you have to register separately to blog.

Permalink Reply by Keddy Ann Outlaw on September 12, 2011 at 4:40pm

Kay - Finally looked at my blogs you've imported - thank you very much! And I'm enjoying the new variety of voices. I don't know hoe you manage to get all this done, and hope you have lots more help now!

Permalink Reply by Dariel Bendin on September 26, 2011 at 1:35am

Thanks for the mention Keddy! I'm making a huge effort to blog more often these days, and pretty soon my posts will have a slightly different tone. The pieces will be written less like newspaper articles and more personal, as in a typical blog. I've also added a Facebook page to help send folks to the blog. Here's the URL:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/DarielB-Flying-Under-the-Radar/20429...

Check it out and leave me a comment! See you in cyberspace! Dariel

Permalink Reply by Keddy Ann Outlaw on September 26, 2011 at 10:13pm

Cool , Dariel- thanks for letting us know. You lead a charmed life with quite a good soundtrack!

Permalink Reply by Devin on December 19, 2011 at 11:19pm