Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Blogging Confessions

The good folks at The Broke and the Bookish have a weekly meme post called Top Ten Tuesday. This week’s topic is blogging confessions, so I really must join in. Here are ten confessions from me.

1. I need absolute silence to write. I can tolerate a low level of white noise such as an aquarium pump. Music, never. If there’s noise around and I must write, I tune it out and write more slowly.

2. Sometimes I blog about political things. I am always conflicted about that, right up to the moment I press the publish button. I have a strict rule (80/20 max) about the ratio of pop culture and social media content to political content here. I don’t want to be a political blogger. Usually, when I write about political stuff, it’s because I’m looking at something that I view as either too ugly to let pass or patently ridiculous.

3. I’m not really a social media wizard, despite the persona. I’m a speed-reader, I’m good at research, and I have a talent for figuring out what works and sticking with it until it doesn’t. I also have a talent for letting things go when they don’t work.

4. I’m always stressing out about not reading and commenting on other blogs more. The kind of social media network I want is one that runs on interaction and reciprocity. I often feel like I am not holding up my end.

5. I blogged at Blogspot, years ago, under a pseudonym. Later I had a WordPress blog for a few years that I’ve since deleted. During that first WordPress phase, I was experimenting with cross-network engagement, but the tools weren’t there to make it workable for a guy with a full-time job to manage.

6. Diana, my sister, credits me with the idea for these blogs. I suppose that’s fair enough. I never would have jumped back into blogging, though, if I hadn’t had contributors offering to pitch in and if Diana hadn’t pushed me along. When she called me last October and told me she’d started blogging, I kicked my own plans into high gear.

7. I wish we’d blogged for the first month, but not published anything. We’d likely still be a couple of weeks ahead and the last 8 months would have gone much more smoothly. I also wish I’d taken the number of photos I’ve taken this summer last summer before we started. An archive of original images is a real asset.

8. My goal from the beginning has been to get three blogs posting every day, keep them posting every day, and answer comments. Aside from a couple of hiccups, I’ve managed to do that with the help of contributors and by virtue of the fact that one of those blogs is Diana’s responsibility. I’m proud of this accomplishment.

9. I just love Twitter. If I suddenly found myself the sole content producer for all the blogs I contribute to, I’d keep one going, post every couple of days, Tweet like a madman on the days I wasn’t posting, and grow my Twitter following to 100k.

10. I am amazed at the awesomeness of the bloggers I’ve met since I started. Absolutely amazed. The conviviality and the conversations on the threads are my favorite part of blogging.