Dialogue
October 16, 2006
Old selzer bottles in an outdoor antique market in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Taken October 2006.
An idea that wasn’t even a speck of dust in my brain just last week got planted during a lovely phone conversation I had Friday afternoon, and it is now beginning to blossom. In order for it to continue to grow and evolve, I am in need of input, ideas, thoughts, inspirations and musings from anyone & everyone who blogs, reads blogs, visits blogs and/or peruses the web for inspiration, community and connection. I am going to start posting questions every few days, and I would appreciate as much feedback as possible. If you could spread the word that I am eager for everyone’s thoughts & ideas, it would be greatly appreciated. Send anyone who you think might be interested right here, and for anyone who is shy about leaving comments, feel free to email me at christine@swirlygirl.com
I will leave this question up for a week to give extra time for word to make its way around the blogosphere. When the idea is a bit more fully formed, I’ll fill everyone in one where this is coming from. THANK YOU!!
Question o’ the week:
How does blogging – whether writing your own, reading others, leaving comments, etc. – feed you?
Looking forward to many responses!!!
It’s another level of communication. For me, writing allows me to share design inspirations that I come into contact with daily. Reading others that I admire is a wonderful way to “find inspiration” and /or a way to stay in touch with those I care about…I love your comments BTW Miss Christine.
You always make me smile!
Hello Lovely! In the world of blogging I’m a newbie, having only started my own blog and religiously reading other’s blogs in the last 6 months. Now, I ‘m hooked! And the world of blogging has become a primary source of inspiration, entertainment, creative connection and creative fulfillment for me. Especially as an artist, I spend a lot of time at home and visiting blogs is a way for me to connect with other like-minded creatives, to be inspired by their thoughts and work that they share. I have even found wonderful new friends like you through reading blogs, and taking the time to connect with the people who inspire me most. I also love the ease and privacy with the internet. You can interact when you want to or simply be an observer. Also, the beauty of getting to know people all over the world – I am still in awe.
A blog is a current, sometimes daily glimpse into the world view of an individual that was not open to us before the arrival of the internet. There is an honesty and an authenticity in blog content that really resonates with me. I am always appreciative of those willing to share their thoughts, knowledge and insight. And again, as creative individuals it is a perfect format to share our purest expression with the world. For me, posting a new painting every day feeds me more than I could have guessed it would. When you know that your blog is reaching people, you feel accountable to your audience, committed to share something special with them. When you hear back from that audience via a comment or an email letting you know that your post that day whether it be art or writing inspired them – it’s the best!
Because of the internet, and blogs in particular you don’t have to wait anymore for anyone to tell you when it’s your time to pursue your dreams. The world is your stage, literally. You can just get started someway, somehow. You can connect with people everywhere who share your passion. You can officially be the change you want to see. You can make a difference.
It makes me see the world more vividly–not just through my own eyes, but through the eyes of friends throughout blogworld. Does that make any sense?
What a good question! It feeds my heart most of all. It reinforces for me that there are kindred souls out there in the world with whom I share dreams as well as struggles. It uplifts me when I’m sad. It inspires me reading about how people persevere in the face of their own challenges and helps me to look at things from a new perspective. Blogging feeds me too by making me laugh at times at the funny things I read, the photos people post as they make their way through their days. I started blogging at a difficult time in my life, and while I didn’t write about it on my blog for personal reasons, I felt less alone. It became a balm, something to look forward to at the end of the day reading comments new friends left and then bouncing about on their blogs and learning new, wonderful things about others’ lives, others who I never ever would have met were it not for their blogs!
Hey, my best friend from high school just moved to Buenos Aires! I’m definitely going to go and visit her soon…
I came to blog reading as someone who never considered that this could become an addiction – I rarely spent personal time on the Internet. But I’d been seeking a mentor of sorts, had been contemplating making a career change to a profession in the arts, and didn’t really know how to go about it. A friend of mine forwarded me a link to the site “Another Girl at Play,” and within a couple weeks, I was connected to all the blogs I’m still reading on a daily basis, two years later. The art on my favorite blogs (yours included!) captured me first, but the words are what keep me coming back – it has fed me so much to read about the journeys of like minds and hearts. I come to my favorite blogs whenever my spirit’s a little tired, as a reminder of all the lovely souls out there trying to do good things with their lives, all the big dreams that come true with time and dedication, all the possibilities that lay open to us if we just believe in them, all the the people who work to make the world a beautiful place to live in.
blogging feeds me with inspiration. though i wish my blog had more hits (this and the one at kristenfischer.com/myblog.htm) i still like visiting others and looking at creations:)
Blogging is a healthy dose of vitamins for my creative soul. Reading others words on the web makes me smile, laugh, cry, and feel like I am not alone here in the world.
I began reading blogs through a link mentioned in one of SARKS books for Andrea’s superhero site. Then through there I weaved my own web of particular sites which I visit daily.
The inspiration, quotes, and ideas which I receive from these women is enormous. However at the same time certain individuals have been turned into a sort of celebrity status in my mind. I feel like I connect with their words so initmatly. Yet in reality I really do not know these woman at all, I only know a little sliver of their life. I wish I knew them – - however I might be intimidated to meet them.
When I’m working, reading others blogs makes me feel connected without feeling drained or thrown off course. And that’s important when you’re an artist who works in solitude. I mean, I need the solitude to think. But every now and then, you want to feel you’re not alone without breaking the flow. That’s when I quickly log on and see what’s going on in the blogosphere. I find my reading varies according to obsession. When I was pregnant, I was addicted to pregnancy blogs; during the last election, political blogs. Blogs by other artistic women (such as yourself) are a constant though.
I do have a blog of my own (which sounds very Virginia Woolf). But it’s primarily for sharing career-oriented stuff. I made a conscious decision to not post anything too personal — the occasional photo of my daughter, okay, but no soul wrenching confessions that my editor might come across. Though every now and then I fantasize about having a blog under a nom de guere where it would all spill forth (especially as a vent on the seedier side of publishing). But that takes too much energy. And I’d frankly rather put the energy to creative pursuits.
It feeds my senses.
Who knew it would feed my senses…….
The glorious photo you posted….stunningly beautiful…….eye candy.
The poetry I stumble across……soul lifting
The rants, rages and recitations…….all food for thought……all feed my thirst for knowledge and learning
The testimonials and tender admissions ….. open my heart.
Who knew when I tentatively started writing my own………that blogging would be such a smorgasbord of delicacies.
My Mother-in-Law often tells stories of how one housewife in the neighborhood every weekday would put on a pot of coffee and all the Mom’s would go threre to gossip and smoke cigarettes while their children played in the yard or the older ones were off at school.
It is not like that now. I barely know my neighbors. We all have such diffenent lifestyles and dreams.
I just read today that the world’s population is over 6.5 billion. It makes sence that we needed a glogal network to find other like minded souls.
For me blogging is like sitting on the front porch with other women…
and oh so much more!
I think I can reveal and discuss issues with my blogging sisters that my Mother-in- law would not because of social constraints.
I also LOVE the way blogging feeds me artistically. The support amongst creative bloggers is something so special and wonderful and really just brings me so much joy.
I could go on and on about blogging as you probably know it is one of my favorite topics.
I am looking forward to more of your questions!
XO,
Melba
images and words–those have long been my two favorite ways to nurture my soul…curl up with a magazine (advertisements may have their vices but they also have amazing images), a book of poetry, or a yummy book of fiction and i’m content and refreshed, recharged. i also love to read other peoples stories/life experiences. i think that is probably why i have more memoir/travel journal type books than any other. i enjoy fiction but who needs fiction when real life is so full and fantastic. for me many of the blogs i read combine all three of these elements–beautiful words, yummy images, and honest, raw life stories.
and there is also the community aspect–the connections that nurture me along my journey. i never would have dreamed this would be an aspect of blogging but oh boy is it. there are amazing women out there cheering me on, lifting me up when i stumble, and encouraging me when i don’t think i can go on any longer.
having a way to share my own words and own stories also offers a bit of goodness to my soul. i’m no longer keeping it all inside or plastered to the pages of my journal. i am able to offer it all as a gift to the universe, to whoever may want it, and that has an element of healing to it, an element that just keeping a journal doesn’t offer.
and of course i can’t fail to mention the inspiration that is bubbling over in blog land. when i need a little something extra to get me refocused, to get me tapped back into my creative potential, i only have to travel into blog land–photography, poetry, crafts, art–whatever your poison may be it’s all there…ideas offered for the sharing.
living in small town america, middle indiana, to be exact! i don’t have access
to the creative world that i yearn for. just
by stumbling upon a few artists site, i have found a sisterhood. one that has blessed my soul with new ideas, colorful friends and an outlook that my spirit found
necessary. just by going to andrea scher’s website, i found penelope, swirly and violette, from there i found la vie rose, four sweet peas and my new found fav….creative thursday. kelly rae, kims little something and miz matirose – i swoon over each of these chicks. they have each opened a new little cubbie in this crazy world…
I’ve found people who understand what I’m going through, and I haven’t really had that since college. Reading other artist’s blogs, I see that I’m not alone. Others are struggling with finding a balance between what you feel you should be doing and what you want to do.
It makes me feel accomplished and organized to have all my writing stored in categories in archives. The entries are like seeds I toss out….and what has grown! Oh my! I have made some fullfilling connections with people I wouldn’t have otherwise met, and more than a few entries have gone on to have other applications, some that I have been paid for!
The obligation I feel to readers gets me writing. I think it’s a win/win situation for me, if I can just accept how much time it takes to do. Finding good blogs that I like to visit is always a pleasant surprise! Maybe I’ll come back tomorrow and my answer will be different.
PS I just recorded PBS radio essay for our regional station on blogging. I want everyone to understand their credibility.
Thank you for the invitation to share, Christine (I just got an image of you as a white swan, flying with fully spanned wings).
I began reading blogs a few years ago and fell in love with the instant access to new thoughts, inspirations, movements and creations.
I live in Australia, and up until the last few years was living in a remote rural area, far removed from any “culture” or art or the excitement of inspiration. My access to it was through the slim pickings of musty old art and poetry books at our local library.
The books were many years out of date, and yet they still sparked lights inside of me. Small Chinese lanterns ablaze, drifting in the twilight. I hungered for that and longed for that. I wanted to be that : I wanted to have that : I wanted to create that : I wanted to live life like that.
When I was 20, I moved to a large city with some of Australia’s best museums, libraries and galleries. Every weekend I devoured them with my lover, saturating myself in all the newness, the colours, the promise, the ideas.
Finding the land of blogging was a similar kind of feel as that move. Whilst libraries and galleries are incredible lands to explore, they can also lack a certain freshness. Their energy can feel stilted for a few reasons – the creations contained within them are carefully selected and arranged on white walls and numbered bookshelves. The gestation period from the seedling of the artist’s first idea, formation and creation; to its editing, publishing or production; then to its eventual sale to gallery or library where it is then displayed in a collection.
When I turned onto blog reading, that same feeling of Chinese lanterns being lit in the twilight breeze was the same. Small cataclysmic sparks of possibilities. The surge of finding artists, writers, photographers, designers and souls all around this globe sharing their work with the world, unencumbered by time, distance, editing, availability. Can you imagine that – at a click, you have access to the very latest beats of inspiration. I felt great surges through me. Collages I have never seen the likes of before. Photographs so whimsically captured. Writing so honest and brave and real. Artwork so vivid and personal. You could see what others were doing, what they were inspired by, what caught their breath. You could find out their process, see what their studio looked like, how it felt to make it. You became witness to the struggle and the soaring flight of being an artist and attempting to encapsulate your highest truth. It felt real and alive, like the first glimpse of a great breathing beast in the forest.
Then, when I joined my first women’s circles, I fell in love with the goddess story. The story of each of us – our lives and our days, our truth and our pain. I came to see those women who surrounded me as divine and as a teacher to me. In hearing their sharings, my whole inner world changed. I grew strong. I grew to love my own truth. I collected a catalogue of stories in my heart cabinet so I could feel all of life. When life situations arose, I could look into my catalogue and remember the soul who had been there, and the way she traversed through it.
Blogging is like an extension of these women’s circles. Everyday I can read the sharings of women all over this globe of ours, travelling their journey as best as they can. We are growing together, as we speak and listen, press each other’s buttons, connect, inspire and activate. As the Chinese proverb rolls ~ When sleeping women wake, mountains move.
And when sleeping women share, we awake.
The community extends from beyond our physical landscape to those souls just like us everywhere. We uncover our own tribe and revel in our own uniqueness.
We are changing this world. Step by step, post by post, artwork by artwork, word by word, thought by thought. We are creating our own lives.
Blessings,
Leonie
I decided to start a blog on a total whim, having read only one NEWS blog…I hadn’t even discovered the blogosphere yet! That kind of amazes me now…but in typical fashion, the ‘universe’ (or whatever’s at work ‘out there’) never lets me down…always putting me right where I need to be at all times…even when it’s uncomfortable. It was during a particularly isolating time in my life…and as I began to make blog-friends and to feel the sense of community so inherent to a fully-formed blog-life, I began to feel like I was developing a secret life…in a good way. I had a job I loathed and couldn’t access the internet at work…so the duality between my worlds was blatantly clear. I love what Leonie said, “We uncover our own tribe and revel in our own uniqueness.” And Marisa: “You can officially be the change you want to see. You can make a difference.” So, so true. I’ve done things via blogging I would have NEVER expected. I still keep my work and blogging lives separate. In some respects, it’s a shame that I have to do that…but leading a secret life does have its Clark Kent charms. There is much to be said for authenticity weaving through all aspects of one’s life…but sometimes circumstances require us to protect that which we hold most valuable…and blogging and my relationships in it are incredibly valuable to me. So I go about my daily life in my Clark Kent suit…and then when I sit down in front of my keyboard, I don my cape and become all that I’m meant to be.
Great question! Well lately I have had the need to blog more and read more since I had my baby. Most of the time I have not even got myself near the computer but that need is still there. For me it is a nice down time to connect with like minded souls such as yourself who will help me get back into the swing of things with my work. It helps me stay inspired and also not feel like I am creating in a bubble lately since I am so tied to the house. Juggling two kids and getting my career off the ground is a big challenge right now and blogging helps to balance things a bit when I feel overwhelmed or ready to tear my hair out. Thanks for this. Now I will go and relax for 5 minutes until the baby wakes up! Cheers!
It’s an outlet. I was blogging before it was called blogging. Sometimes it was sharing the same kinds of stuff in e-mail groups, sometimes on message boards, sometimes on my site as a journal. It just gives me a place to spill out the many, many things rattling around in my head, allowing a clean-up, if you will.
I have never made friends easily [What a crock!] I have no friends [closer]. Somehow, I have progressed through life without forming the attachments known as friendship. I have basically no social intercourse with anyone not in my immediate family [my gf, her daughter and son-in-law, one or two of my own brothers, very little else]. I feel a twinge of sadness when I see the “buddy” [whether male or female] depicted on television. Sometimes I wonder if they are just figments of someone’s imagination. A “loner” like myself. [I know we are constantly confronted with images, situations, we cannot possibly live up to]. Do people really have friends? How have I gotten through life without any?
Don’t worry, I’m not like the guy in Taxi Driver.
So, blogging. I took it up because, well, it was there and I’ve got lots of free time. I didn’t know anyone would respond, read my blog and comment, etc. But it has happened, slowly. I anxiously await “comments” and go around making some of my own. I hate to admit it, and am doing so to a complete stranger, but in just about three months, this form of social interaction has become a major force in my life. I like the “ordinary” blogs most of all, little glimpses into the lives of others. I do not mean that anyone who has those blogs is “ordinary,” quite the opposite.
I’m making myself a little sad, I’m done.
I started blogging after a few years of following weblogs of a select group of illustrators and writers. I really think it’s fun and exciting to share your work with the global community of creatives. My largest experience lies withing the realm of illustration friday. When other creatives leave positive and constructive feedback, it really makes me feel great. I also like to see what others are up to. Our world as Creative professionals and individuals tends to be rather insular. Blogging opens virtual doors to relationships with others that would probably never have happened. I really treasure the contacts I’ve made through Penelope Dullaghan and Keri Smith’s weblogs. The notion that we aren’t alone and many of the issues we face as artists are shared really helps me push forward in my professional and creative growth. It gives me something unrelated to business to work toward…it opens up new pathways and reveals new inspirations.
blogging fills me up by helping me connect to my favorite people at all hours of night or day. with a one yr old, my social life has taken a bit of a back seat. reading my friend’s blogs keeps me in the loop. writing my own fills me by allowing me to express myself within my community-again, at odd hours that work for me. xoxo p
I started blogging shortly after the birth of my daughter in order to feel like I could have a space where I could just be myself and not only “mother”…I was also inspired by so many of the creative bloggers I read and I realized that I HAD to find some way to express myself creatively.
The supportive community I have found in blogging feeds my passion and soothes my wounds in ways that I could never have imagined. It’s really saved my sanity these past 8 months.
And what everyone else said.
Most of the blogs I read are creation-related: crafts, artwork, photographs, etc. For me, reading the blogs of folks who are creating things on a regular basis as they make beautiful things, figure out their own style, experiment etc. (and often reading that they don’t really feel like they have it all together or know exactly what they’re doing) has had the effect of demystifying the creative process and encouraging me to keep working and imagining and trying new stuff. I guess it’s basically like having a custom-built group of mentors/gurus/cheerleaders whose knowledge base I can access any time of the day or night. They’ve helped make my creative life blossom in ways it never would have otherwise – and for that I earnestly thank them!
I guess it feeds my creative side and I’d rather read a favorite blog than watch TV (cept for Grey’s of course- my show this year).
I started a blog to share the small details of my day with my friends and family at home. I find I will write a little paragraph next to a photo or illustration about some small thing – the banana bread I made, or the leaves I found on my walk, that I wouldn’t mention on a phone call. I read blogs for artistic inspiration (photos, illustrations, and yes, the little day to day details of others lives). The downside is I use blogs as a procrastination tool. Instead of getting in the studio myself, I read about what Penelope or keri is working on. I love links in blogs. Things that others have found that inspire them and that they want to share.
As Marisa said, blogs provide a way for me to connect with other artists and creatives. I worked for an advertising agency until deciding to become a SAHM two years ago and now I freelance and take on drawing/painting commissions. I have found that I not only miss the input from other artists, but I need it.
My family is supportive, but totally at a loss when I’m struggling with my work. I really feel that having some insecurities regarding your work is part of being an artist … if I didn’t question my abilities, I wouldn’t work to improve them. I learn something with every sketch, painting and project, but it’s hard at times to overcome the point where I don’t think I’ll ever get it to come together.
I’ve been amazed at the amount of support, encouragement and constructive criticism I have received since starting my blog and joining several internet artist groups. It allows me to take a step out of my isolated little studio and get an unbiased opinion … not to mention great advice from others more talented or experienced.
It also reminds me that I’m not the only one sitting here at 12:45 in the morning, stuck on a drawing and out on the Net looking for inspiration.
The first blog I read was Loobylu.com and I was so inspired by her life. Since then I have hungrily sought out blogs about all the things that interest me; crafty projects, drawing, reading, cooking, diabetes, illustrated journals and infertility. It the in the last area that I have been amazed by the amount of support blogs can give you. It can be very lonely struggling to have a child when all around you seem to have no problem at all, (maybe it’s a bit like an artist?), and I have gained a tremendous sense of community from all the infertility blogs out there. And when things are really bad, I go back to my favourite art blogs and it reminds me that there is more to life and that people out there, normal people, are living creative lives and living their dreams, that it is possible. Blogs have inspired me.
blogs inspire me to feel connected. to not feel alone. to feel part of a fabulous community of marvelous beings.
writing a blog has moved me to pay more attention to life and the lessons that constantly come into play. i feel more aware, more in tune and more alive.
i have met amazing women that have become life long friends that i otherwise may have never met.
it is an inspiring, creative tool for me and for my up and coming business.
it connects me with people like you, Swirly Girl. ; )
xoxoxoxo
By blogging and reading blogs I’ve gotten to know a lot of other creative persons in other parts of the world. I live in Norway, and it’s a small country for creative professions, so by getting to know illustrators from other countries I’ve become a part of a global network – and a part of several great critique groups. It’s also great to be able to share my work with lots of people through my blog.
The tiny details of everyday life, stories of triumph and tragedy, comedy and error, love and friendship found and lost, remind me that the fact is, we are all in this together, and no matter where we are in the world, or what we are doing at any given moment, we all share the experience of simply being human.
Being a graphic designer and working from home, blogs give me continuous doses of inspiration, and connection to others pursuing their creative dreams as well.
When I come across particularly inspiring quotes and passages, I copy and paste them into a file I call “Inspiration,” and I have to tell you, I good number of the quotes I’ve saved are by Christine Miller!
I am inspired through reading blogs by so many women who lead very normal lives. It’s an encouragement to me to know that “out there”, there are woman who persue their dreams while living everyday lives with passion. Participating in the blog culture is a celebration and enjoyment of people and living.
I agree with all these comments but one of the surprising things I have found through blogging is that is helps me discover what I think are upcoming trends and as and illustrator designer I think this adds value to my work!
i met you didn’t i?
nuff said.
i wonder if we would have met anyway somehow? through some connection. and interesting thought.
love k.
I’ve been reading blogs for a few months now (this is actually the first one i’m commenting on). To get inspired and hoping to find clue’s on ‘how to’ and ‘where to’ start on your own and how others did that. Where to find new work, how to get yourself noticed and so on…. The blogs feed me with lots of inspiration and good suggestions they make me want to jump of my seat and create, so that’s what i started doing.
Blogging for me started as a way to explain a little about why I do the art I do, it was a companion to my work. and now it’s become more, I’m putting my ideas together, reaching inside me and putting images into words. I’m understanding myself better. Reading other’s blogs had helped me understand the artist and the person behind the face.
I think I’m brilliant. Really, I do. But I never have anywhere to share my brilliance.
OK, so maybe I’m not brilliant. But I blog because sometimes I feel like I have so much MORE to say. Daily interactions only allow for a certain level of communication. I miss the *intimate* conversations that I had with friends in the past. All we needed was a cup of coffee and and an afternoon.
Nothing was too off-topic, too silly, too serious, too heavy, too deep, too anything. We talked and we learned and we grew and we loved each other. We expanded our minds, our horizons, we felt more significant in those days.
Now, there doesn’t seem to be such a thing as a cup of coffee and an afternoon. Everyone is busy. There are datebooks and calendars, day care and board meetings. When you do get a chance to meet, to talk, you are so busy covering the *important* things that there isn’t room for any of the interesting, tiny details.
Blogging lets me continue to have those intimate conversations of the past, on whatever time table works for everyone. If they are available and want to drop by my blog, it is always there. They don’t need to call my office and schedule time with me. It makes me feel like I can still cherish this brilliant part of myself where nothing is too silly, too deep, too mundane.
Blogging helps me to cherish the details.
Sharing. Overwhelming generosity. Communication with like-minded creative souls that I would never meet otherwise. Inspiration. Having the feeling that I am not a freak (there are more of people out there like me than I ever knew). Fresh air. Honesty. Being able to do the creative things I once did at work but that has been phased out — a place for my imagination to work through challenges. A place to store my photographs while I learn the skill. To make wonderful friends. To learn new and wonderful things, tips, secrets, tools.
But it really all started so I could keep my family and friends who live far away updated on what I do, how my son has grown, what is going on in my life. And I don’t think any of them ever even read my blog
oh, yes, one more thing. A place to archive links, artist, things I have done. That is an important one.
Creative Blogs have united people throughout the globe. It is refreshing to know that as Artists we all share the same goal…to make the world a more beautiful place, one stroke, or one stitch at a time. We are all willing to share our ideas and to help encourage others to reach their goals. I have always been so thankful to have been born with a creative spirit and reading the many blogs has enabled me to realize that the world is filled with such positive energy and beauty
The first blog i found was Keri Smith’s Wish Jar Journal. I was suposed to be researching high museum art, and found my way there. That one click has actually changed my life. Since then i’ve found Danny Gregory, blueskystudio, True Nature… and a dozen others i look in on regulary.
There were several mentions of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, so i bought it. I hoped it would help me be less shy about creating. It has. But it, and reading and seeing the work, frustrations and joys of others though their blogs, has also helped me shift my depression! Creative Blogs are a wonder drug!
While the EDM superblog feeds my procrastination pixie, i have learnt to realise the doodles and photos i make are a valid form of expression. i’ve given my creativity space and it has grown. Not into its own blog yet, but i’m enough right now.
Hi Christine – some very interesting answers to your questions – I think the best part has been recognising some of the writers.
The creative act requires no justification; however I was motivated to start writing to see if I could write 100,000 words in a year – a test drive for a novel or thesis. I’d never written that much before. I write in two places – one for my thoughts and observations (http://marginalia.ako.net.nz), one to collate information on aquaculture available on the net (http://aquaculture.ako.net.nz). I believe that because I have high speed net access and good skills at exploring the deep web, I should create a searchable tool that brings research information to the surface to help people with more limited resources. Aquaculture.ako has visitors from the far flung corners of the globe; and creating something useful to others (internationally) rather than just writing in a self-centred way feels good to me.
I tend not to leave comments – I figure rather than leave comments I should write in my own space. So commenting here is quite a rare event. I was hugely surprised to find people reading my writing in marginalia.ako, moreso when they commented, and even more when I got nagged because I hadn’t written for a few days. I never thought of getting an audience, and suddenly there was this responsibility to produce, and then consider what they might want to read. I rarely ‘blog’, I prefer to think of my work as ‘writing’.
In March 2006 I was one of the organisers behind Blog Hui (http://bloghui.org) New Zealand’s first international weblog conference. People shared their perspectives on blogging – truly, there’s a different reason and a different pay off for everyone. There was a lot of discussion about whether we need another ‘kitten’ blog (yes, we do) versus another political party pr blog disguised as a genuine person’s opinion (no, we don’t). As a result of the conference, and people I met there my life has changed (for the better) in some entirely unexpected ways.
For me the ultimate pay off is being able to write and publish (to an audience) my own work with complete control over the appearance and content; and in the case of aquaculture.ako, make an individual contribution to help other people around the world – something that’s very rare in any other medium simply because of the costs involved.