Insert blank stare, punctuated by blinking. My blogging philosophy? I had no idea how to answer that. I had never blogged before, and I was only just starting to read the work of other bloggers. The world of blogging was still brand new to me and it was like I was learning a whole new language...which in fact I guess I was. How was I supposed to have a philosophy about something I knew nothing about?! I hardly have a philosophy about things I KNOW about!
I recently received a new award, the Blog With Substance award, from Dania at Life as a Cuban-American Mama. One of the "requirements" is for the award recipient to state their blogging philosophy, motivation and experience in five words (that's five separate words, not a clever five-word sentence in case you were wondering). There it was again...the elusive blogging philosophy.
In a relatively short time I have written a bunch of blog posts, joined a number of blogging groups, won a few blogging awards and been to several mom blogger events. Am I now qualified to have a blogging philosophy?
Let's start with the five words. Here are five words that represent what motivates me to write and the elements I try to maintain in my writing: HONESTY, HUMOUR, SHARING, RELATABILITY (is that even a word?) and WELL-WRITTEN (technically two words, I know, but the hyphen makes everything better).
I try to inject some humour into all my writing, keeping even the most raw posts digestible. The humour is usually at my own expense, but what's self deprication if not funny? The one thing I always try to be is honest. A friend of mine told me it actually feels a bit weird for her to read my blog as it's like looking into my soul in a way she never has before. I guess that means I'm being pretty honest. The next two words are in that same vein. The biggest thing I've found with my blogging and time on Twitter is that there are hundreds of people out there going through pretty much what I'm going through at one time or another. Even though it's awful to be glad someone else is having problems, it makes it SO much better to know you're not the only one dealing with a screaming toddler that drops poop grenades every half hour. By sharing the truth of what I'm going through in the highs and lows of my life, I hope people can relate and take comfort that someone else is feeling the same things they are. Or feel better about their own lives because this crazy woman with a blog can't get five minutes on her own for a bathroom break! (Does it scare you that "bathroom break" has a link?)
The last item, a well-written blog, is something I strive for but as someone recently pointed out, you never fully know for sure if you've achieved. I do my best to use proper (or at least entertaining) grammar and always double-check spelling before hitting "publish." My punctuation may be flawed at times, but I don't think it's awful and you will NEVER see a your/you're or lose/loose mix-up unless my blog is taken over by bad writers from outer space. That will be the sign...keep you're eyes open.
So there you go. I guess I have a blogging philosophy after all. It's almost more like a pledge to you, my readers. I promise to share my thoughts and experiences honestly and with a touch of humour. I hope you can relate! As for well-written...well, I'll do my best.
Now, onto my official responsibilities as a recipient of the Blog With Substance award.
1) To accept this award, start out by thanking the blogger that passed it onto you Thank you Dania! Check her out at Life as a Cuban-American Mama.
2) Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation and experience using five (5) words. Done and done.
The final step to accepting this award is recommending 10 other blogs you believe are "Blogs with Substance".
Below are some of the ladies I've met in the local blogging community here in Vancouver. Their blogs are awesome, open and relatable. Please check them out.
Crunchy Carpets
www.strocel.com
See Theo Run
Wave the Stick
A Lot of Loves
Emerging Mummy
The Tsunami Mommy
Earnest Girl (writing for www.yummymummyclub.ca)
Fashion Forward 40
Mama in the City
Well cool. Thanks for putting me on your list. :)
ReplyDeleteComing up with a blogging philosophy is something that sounds a bit daunting. I think you did a great job.
Great post. It is always so much easier to do anything when you have a plan or at least a good solid strategy/philosophy. Good to be reminded of that.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you so much for including me!
You did a wonderful job of accepting this award. I know the philosophy thing can be daunting, but, heck, if you're a Blog With Substance there should be some introspection involved, right? ;-)
ReplyDeleteOh, BTW, I just had to poin this out because I almost peed myself laughing when I caught it. Irony is a b*tch ;-)
".....My punctuation may be flawed at times, but I don't think it's awful and you will NEVER see a your/you're or lose/loose mix-up unless my blog is taken over by bad writers from outer space. That will be the sign...keep you're eyes open....."
AHA!!! Gotcha!
All kidding aside, thanks for accepting this award. You are always my first stop on my daily blog reads.
Gotcha back, that one was on purpose! ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd thank YOU!
ReplyDeleteI'm honoured to be on your list, thank you so much!!
ReplyDeleteI've got a post brewing about why I blog as well - the Digital Mums event the other night provided much food for thought and helped me to distill some of my own blogging philosophy.
I figured as much. Very clever ;-) Thant's why I passed the award to you. Self-deprecation is wholly underrated.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to you and well deserved! I have a similar philosophy as well. You know, I was just mentioning to a friend about your story When Does Mommy Get to Poop. She is a mom too and totally gets it. We are not at all surprised or scared there is a link for bathroom time. We expect it! :)
ReplyDeleteHow funny- I was reading through this, thinking Oh, I like her, I really like her. I related to all of your five words about your blogging philosophy and then had a good laugh - there was my name! Thank you so much! Very honoured, luv. I love this exercise and now you've got me thinking...
ReplyDeleteHi - I'm stopping by through FMIC and really liked your blog. So just thought I'd say so.
ReplyDeleteI'm very new to blogging - still in my first month - and the "What is your blogging philosophy?" question stumped me too when I joined certain groups. Indeed, I fully intend to go update my rather weak answers once I figure out what my "Raison D'Etre" online is.
I'm not there yet - but happy to see that you - and by extension others - do figure this out.
Cheers! Love meeting the local yokel mommy bloggettes. My phil is: be myself, tell my story, take writing risks, don't advertise, sell or give away anything, and engage with visitors and other bloggers.
ReplyDelete