Saturday, April 07, 2007

TWQ: You And Your Blog

As my Journal will be reaching it's 400th post on Tuesday night English time (this is #398), TWQ (The Weekend Question) asks about blogs.

What made you decide to start writing a blog? How has yours changed from the time you first started it?

My answer is:

Initially, I wanted to write a daily one about life in my office, and wrote it for a couple of days. I soon found it was going to be too dull, and decided to change to something I knew a lot about. From the time I started, I now write from the points of view of other characters (over 20) as well as Captain Picard, and have also introduced new characters of my own. It has a smart header; seeking to improve my Journal is always a main consideration.

Now it's over to you...

30 comments:

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Oh My...I am first Jean-Luc! So this morning Michele sent me to wish you a very Happy Easter...and Why did I start my blog? A friend told me about his blog and said he thought I should start a blog. I really didn't know what I was doing to be honest, but it has evolved over time...I write about my life, my garden, my friends, etc....The best thing about blogging for me is ALL the people I have met from all over the world...That has been just wonderful!

And Congratulations on your 400th post coming up! AMAZING!

susan said...

Happy Easter Jean-Luc.
I guess I started to write my blog to get through the really stressful last few weeks at uni, with my degree show looming, and the culmination of 6 years work.
I guess it's gone on to share thoughts, views, daily life, ups and downs.
I think the theme or over all look has changed and is more minimal that it was.
But I guess to tell my life how I see it is still the main focus.

kenju said...

Excellent question, Jean-Luc. I started my blog to write about weddings and flowers for them. That was so limiting that I began to write about other things (since I am seldom at a loss for words) and it has evolved into a smattering of everything I do and see and hear and think. My old blog stopped at somewhere around 1200 posts, and the new one is hopping right along....LOL

Like Naomi, the best thing for me about blogging is all the wonderful and interesting people I have "met" through it. I think I have friends all over the world now and that's always a good thing!
Michele said to say hi!

Anonymous said...

You have a great concept for your blog with your characters.
As for me....I'm a writer, so when we relocated to an island when hubby retired, doing a blog was a great way to keep family and friends updated on current events.
However....over almost 2 years it's evolved into so much more. Different categories, visiting other blogs, and actually getting to meet bloggers over this past year.
It's a fun ride and I can't imagine not doing it!

Heart of Rachel said...

Hi Jean-Luc! Thank you for visiting my blog and answering the question of how we met on the blogosphere. I appreciate it.

Now, regarding your question ...

What made you decide to start writing a blog?
I started by blog last 2004. I was curious about what a blog was all about. I saw a lot of emerging blogs and I just signed up for a blogger account and tried it. But after 2 posts, I totally forgot about it. I revived my blog on 2006 and from then I continued to blog regularly.

How has yours changed from the time you first started it?
When I started, I didn't share my blog with anyone then a point came when I realized what's the point of having one when no one could read it. Then I read one inspiring blog and decided to share my blog to others. Now, I'm glad I did just that. I love the interaction and receiving comments from people from different parts of the world.

Nic said...

Dearest Captain - again we seem to be on the same schedule as far as posts go. I am also at 398, I believe.

I started blogging - well, it says it in my profile blurb - when I started getting further into my separattion with my marriage as a way to just get things out and it has evolved over time.

Happy Easter my dear friend! He is Risen. :)

eastcoastlife said...

Happy Easter Captain!!!

I started to write a blog because I wanted to participate in a BBM - Blogging By Mail - which is the swapping of food packages between 2 bloggers from different continents.

I wrote just for myself until a school trip with my son to China changed my life. I had hate comments when I wrote about the bad behaviour of the students. And the parents and teachers of those students remarked that I couldn't write & my writing suck. So to prove that I could write, I made an effort to improve my posts. And... ta-da!

I am ranked high among the 70 million blogs in Technorati. I'm an A-list blogger. I made many good friends. The first thing I wake up each morning is to read the comments left by my blogger friends. And every day I'm meeting many new, interesting & fun people from all over the world, who share a common love with me - blogging.

Oh, I'm so happy Captain Picard linked me! Another blogger has shown that my blog is worth a visit. Yeah!!! :D

Panthergirl said...

I started a blog because I always wanted to be a daily columnist for a newspaper, and this was the closest I could get (without deadlines! woo hoo!)

Here by way of michele, because you got skipped!

Linda said...

Happy Easter and happy 400th post very soon! I'm only at 236, I feel like such a babe!

I started my blog when our local newspaper ran an article saying that they were going to start a blogs page that linked off their website and were looking for people who might be interested in writing one. Having been someone who always wanted to write more than I did, I jumped at the chance and went through the whole selection process, etc. I was thrilled when they picked me as one of their bloggers and it's gone from there. That was last July so I guess I still am a fairly young blog.

As for changes, my entire template changed when I switched over to the SuperMom theme as prior to that I had been using a standard Blogger template which was pretty darned boring!

Like others before me, I am so happy to have met so many wonderful people all over the world with blogging. It's really an amazing phenomena and definitely gives us the chance to go where we've never gone before!

I think your blog is very creative and I love the stories you write as, once upon a time, I was a major TNG fan! Keep up the great work!

Anonymous said...

Captain, my blog is a creative outlet. As a person who writes regularly, sometimes I have to blow off some peripheral ideas...I do that on my blog. It's like my mind...a combination jukebox/chaos journal. And I love your blog, it's creative genius and always a fun read Jean-Luc.

sage said...

Happy Easter Captain, from Michele and me.

I started a blog because it looked like a neat way to experiement with writing. I'd just moved from the west, where I'd left behind a monthly newspaper opinion column and wanted to have some form for writing. I don't do as much satire or poetry as when I started, I'm doing more recollections of life events (a lot of which I'm writing for my daughter), and probably more book reviews.

The Mistress of the Dark said...

An online friend started me writing mine yonks ago...I did a lot of surveys and memes then. I still do my musical ones...but it's become more of a tale of my life and my music now.

Shannon akaMonty said...

I actually started with a LiveJournal--it was cheap (okay, free) psychotherapy for me. :)
I still use it sometimes.

I'm one of the people who do NOT have any aspirations toward being published, or a 'real' writer...I just like having a spot to dump out all the weird random stuff that happens in my head. That way I can make room for more weird random stuff.

I, for one, am glad that you write this one the way you do...it's always interesting and frequently makes me giggle. :)

Oh yeah, HELLO, Michele sent me!

Anonymous said...

my niece was talking about having a blog a few years ago and my kids thought it was something i should try. the next week there was something in our paper about blogging and that's when i decided to give it a go. my blog is sort of my life, my kids, but i try not to get too personal about it.
happy easter!

heather said...

i got a blogger acct because it was needed to comment on a friend's blog. then..well, hey, i have an acct! might as well blog! and because of this my blogging has been rather random, but pretty much about my life, with an emphasis on the silly, and on writing, as much as i can help it.

happy easter, cap'n! keep up the great work!

Kellyology said...

There are so many reasons why I started my blog like writer's block, lack of intellectual stimulation, and communicating with the relatives who are so far away and trying to avoid the dreaded long drawn out phone call. But really now I blog for one major reason. I have this little problem with sleeping...at night. For some reason if I write everyday about the mundane in my life, I can sleep like a baby. It is fabulous, and I'll probably keep blogging until this little tool stops working like the yoga, the working out, and the yelling at my husband did.;)

Anonymous said...

Hello Captain,

I'm visting from Kristi's blog. It's so interesting reading all the different reasons to blog.

My husband set up my first blog for me because I was always sending silly updates out to friends and family (I have a tendency towards embellishment) Of course, I ignored it because I hate being told what to do.

A year or so later I started a blog on my own. I keep all the fun little moments that I would normally forget there. If nothing else, my mom likes it!

Fab said...

Hi, first, thanks for having visited my blog. I appreciate it.

Why I started my blog? I was curious of how one makes a blog (turned out not so difficult). Now what I write about: whatever is on my mind, mostly about what interests me at that moment. But also, because it is an outlet. My friends have different tastes than I have and blogging makes me share what I like to whoever wants to read it. I wanted to write in English to improve myself (native tongue is Dutch), and the improvement is needed!

Jean-Luc, I like your blog and how you went about it. Keep up the good blogging!

Anonymous said...

I started writing my blog because I wanted to spread the word about Schapelle Corby, in prison in Indonesia. My blog title is "Hacia la Justicia" - which means "Towards Justice". Since its beginning, I have linked to other supporters' blogs. I recently added a photo at the bottom which is a photo of Schapelle's handwritten plea to the judges for justice.

My blog has crashed before, and I had to restart it, which was quite an adventure....

I am a person of varied interests, and I appreciate randomness. Eventually, I couldn't make the blog only about Schapelle, though this is the main focus. I now post random entries, as well as reviews of almost every episode of 24 Season 6.

One of my favorite things to do on my blog is to make fun of the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. :D He has hilarious pictures taken of him, and I poke fun at the guy through them. :D

Gyrobo said...

I never "decided" to blog. One day I woke up, and my blog was there. It's all very mysterious.

SQT said...

Happy Easter.

Me? I blog for fun.

Paperback Writer said...

How interesting that you asked that question! I answered that question and it was quote in this blogger's essay.

:)

Jean-Luc Picard said...

I never realised the reasons for starting a blog could be so varied! The answers above just prove that.

One common theme that runs through is that how we meet all the interesting and fascinating people as we blog.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Hi Jean-Luc...Michele sent me to you again this lovely Easter Sunday Morning...I wush you The Happiest Of Easters, My Dear!
And I'm still Blogging for all the reasons I said yesterday...Where else would I meet the Captain of a Space Ship?

Anonymous said...

Good morning Jean-Luc. I've always enjoyed writing and the creative feeling it gave me. I love to write about my children, husband and family and found this was a good way to do so. It's a great way to keep the family (who do not live close by) updated on everything. It also is a great way to get help me get things "out."

I started out on Blogspot, and have changed templates a couple of times. It's been great fun and I hope I can continue to do it a long time.

Have a wonderful Easter!

Lisa said...

Initially I started blogging for myself -- I was going through a terrible time in my personal life, and I wanted to spew vitriol without anyone else seeing how angry I was. But after a while, a got a few comments from strangers, and they were helpful -- go figure. Now I try to find a balance between the happiness and the difficulty in my life. I find that blogging has been the best way for me to look back and see how much progress I've made.

rashbre said...

My blog is the accidental output of a mystery science experiment.

Florence Forrest said...

My first blog was lilliandtom (September 2005), the adventures of my life-size dolls around Brisbane. They have been a bit quite this year, but once I finally get my driving licence I'll put them in the back seat and they'll be with me all the time...so more adventures for the blog :)

I later started Crackle Mountain, my Asain folktale blog to be a place to share all the great Asian folkart stories and art that I read . Its a lot of work and reseach but it's a long term project.

Then I felt I need a blog for me! So I started Windbagandthunder, which I share my inspiration in the arts and talk about my toys.

And finally! I've started a new blog just recently -Design Dramaturge, to be a place to capture my work and theories as I work as a dramaturge with Frank Theatre...

phew...what a lot of blogging!

There has been a lot of change over time, my writing has improved and I've tightened up what I write about. I've learnt so much in such a short time that I help others set up blogs now :)

Captian, your blog taught me so much when I was just starting out, and I *always* appreciate your comments on my blogs...even if I can't get over to Picard's Journal as often as I would like these days.

all my love,
xx

merlyn said...

I have 5 blogs on the go.
2 are my real life one is silly stuff and the other is my journal. I always kept a journal so switching from paper to online wasn't a bit deal.I tend to talk about my life a nd all the stuff that goes on, that I think about and a lot of randomness.

The next two are my book blogs. The DOTE books are up in blog form because they will neverget published for real and i wanted to share them, plus uploading in serial form pushed me to be a better more constant writer. I hope to start the third and final book soon.

the fifth blog is a virtual scriptorium for scribes from the Kingdom of drachenwald ( SCA - medieval society) and I wanted to set up a place where everyone from all over could get together and share ideas , ask questions etc... I keep it completely separate from the merlyn personality and it is open to many contributers.

like Florence it's a lot of blogging but worth it.

xxxxs
merly

Anonymous said...

I intially started writing your typical 'what I did today/thoughts & opinions' kind of blog, but got bored with it after about two months.

My decision to start my current blog came about when I relaised that my favourite blog entries were the reviews I did of any films that I saw in the cinema.

Since starting my current blog, I've watched & reviewed hundreds of filmss, including a lot that I've never seen before.

I enjoy writing my blog, & I don't think that it has changed a lot since I first started it. I've changed the way I rate each film, & am currently considering changing that again. However, this would mean a lot of work going back through over 300 reviews, & re-rating them.