BLOGGER PRIDE! THE BLOGGER SURVEY

Ethics/Personal Life:

Has a blog post ever got you into trouble?
Not yet... but my blog is still quite young and unread :)

How many people do you know face-to-face who read your weblog?
All three of them... (sigh)

Have you met any of your regional (or even remote) bloggers?
None, though I'd like to Break Bread with Brad from the BradLands eventually!

Do you modify or delete posts? How often? Why?
I never delete posts, and I only modify when what I'm saying isn't really what I mean. I also correct spelling errors, because I'm vain like that. In fact, I just went back and modified this post. How's that for appropriate?

How much is your weblog a part of your personal identity? Do you feel like people who don't know about your blog don't really know you?
I feel like the people who know me best are the only ones who read my blog, but anyone who stumbles upon my blog from the outside probably don't know me. It's only a snippet of the things I think about, and besides, it's entirely controlled by me. I don't think you really know somebody until you see them when they're out of control.

How has blogging changed your life?
Blogging has only changed my life in that I spend much more time on the computer than is necessary... well, I guess that's not really a change, to be honest. It helps me to keep in touch with my friends, which is always a plus, and I feel like even if I'm a slacker and I don't email them enough, they can still come here and see what I've been up to. I guess that means my life is a bit better since I started blogging.

Technical/Design:

Do you know how to code at all? Did you learn how to code by blogging?
I learned cheating HTML from webmonkey.com, but other than that I can't really code. Blogger has made it necessary for me to learn HTML, so I guess I learned a bit of code by blogging.

What weblogging tool do you use and why?
I use Blogger because I don't know Perl and therefore am a bit dubious about moveable type, although it sounds reaaallly nice and I'm thinking about switching and just bs-ing my way through it...

Does the design seem like something that is just something that has to be dispensed with in order to be able to write publicly, or is your design an integral part of your writing and presentation?
I'm never satisfied with my blog. I never think it looks nice enough, so I redesign it about 3 times a day; in fact, I just redesigned it. I don't think my design skills are that great, but how my blog looks is very important to how well I write. Hopefully I'll have more time in the near future to really make my blog a whole package and not just some scattered thoughts.

How many times have you changed your weblog design entirely (or nearly so)?
*see above question.

Readership/Motivation:

How many people would you guess (educated guess based on hit counts/logfiles) read your weblog on a weekly basis at least?
5. And that's being generous.

What have you done to get more people to look at your site?
Not enough, obviously. I think I'd better try harder to make my site more interesting. POEASY, my online poetry project, has had a lot more visitors than my regular weblog.

What one or two characteristics make a blog really popular? Are there things that you could do to have more people read your weblog that you conciously do not do? Why?
What a tough question... games, quizzes, a neat design layout, eloquence, and a bit of humor seem to be the things that really make a site popular. I don't consciously TRY to keep people from coming to my site, but I probably could do much much more.

What really popular weblog do you think most deserves it...and/or least deserves it?
So many to choose from! My favorites are Rum and Monkey, oh messy life, Mena Trott's A Dollar Short,the Daily Brad, #!usr/bin/girl, the tinyblog, of course, and the best celebrity blog EVER, The Moby Journal at Moby.com. Although William Shatner and Christopher Walkens's blogs make for an interesting read, if you can find them (William Shatner's blog is real, Christopher Walken's livejournal is still dubious).

How do you feel about your readership? What makes for a quality readership to you?
I wish more people read my weblog, but I have to make it worth their while, first. Quality readership lies in interesting response, most definitely.

Influence of Other Bloggers:

What other blogger is most responsible for you starting your own weblog?
You know, I honestly don't remember. Honestly. I surf around so much that it gets very hard to say where I find things, but somehow I found Blogger, and that's where everything started.

Who was the first other blogger (that you know of) who put you on thier sidebar, and how did you feel? How did it influence your blogging?
Well, only one has, to date, and that's because I forced her to start her own weblog. I knew she'd like it, so I made her do it, and in return she put me on her sidebar. Thanks, Elisa!

What other blogger do you most admire for his/her writing skills?
As I don't read blogs that have bad writing, I'd have to say that that is a tough call. Moby certainly keeps me interested the most, because his blog topics range from moon rocks to self defense to squirrels and because he has a great sense of humor.

What other blogger do you most admire for his/her design skills?
Andrew Pressman from ohmessylife.com is just amazing. He's a great artist, you should look at his "hire me" site at www.andypressman.com. Sorry for not making those into links, but my carpal tunnel is killing me! Damn, this is a long survey.

Who is a blogger that you think is really good but doesn't get nearly the attention they are worthy of?
Since all the weblogs I read have a big population of readers, I guess I'd have to say... me. Just kidding.

Do you feel obligated to have people on your link lists/sidebars that you never read?
I have a couple of sites on my sidebar that I don't go to everyday, but that's because they don't really get updated all that much. I still think they're great sites, though, and other people could benefit from them, so I leave them up. It's not because I feel obligated.

What one or two characteristics define a really quality blog (in your humble opinion, of course)?
Humor... as well as a certain amount of vanity. After all, without vanity there wouldn't be blogs, now would there? Also, and I know I'm gonna have to say this, neato graphics are really key. Maybe that's why my blog gets the minimum of traffic. Hmmm.

Bonus Question:

Do you fear The Booge?
I fear The Booge beyond all fear. ;) Do I get a cookie?