Meme.

I came across this meme over at Pens, Paper, and Ammo (I love that title!) and thought it interesting enough to consider myself tagged...

1. Why did you start your blog?

Hm. Good question. I think it's a cross between a journal/diary and a chat conversation, with the convenience of the reader being able to "tune in" on their own schedule (kinda like email).

Because I tend to be rather....wordy (NO! Really?), I figured this was an easier way to share some of my goings-on---both internal and external.

2. How did you come up with your blog name?

I knew that ferrets and knitting would be my most talked about topics, with my writing possibly sneaking in there from time to time---if I kept up with writing, that is. I originally thought "Purls, Tales and Tails, but dropped the Tales from the name. I'm just not sure where I want to go with my writing any more.

Anyone interested in purchasing a PDF of a short story? I've been debating putting them up for sale and seeing how that goes...

3. Do your friends and family know about your blog? What do they think of it?

Yep. Mom and her betrothed, Ron, have stopped by to leave comments on occasion---especially when it's ferret-related. (They're the reason I'm hooked on ferrets. It's all their fault!*grin*) I'm sure my father knows about this blog...whether he's actually visited it is anyone's guess. My sister is so busy, she probably has 300 emails she hasn't read! I think my father-in-law might have stopped by once or twice, but I'm not sure.

I've actually made more friends through my blog, so they definitely read! *grin* Some of my (hmmm, seems wrong to say "Real Life" here....) friends I've interacted with in the non-virtual world read as well.

I try to find the right blend of privacy (for those around me) and open-ness (for my own journaling needs), so there's as little conflict as possible.

4. How do you write posts? It varies quite a bit. When I'm "shooting from the hip", I just create a new post and start typing. When I'm done, I preview it and re-read it for typos and spelling/grammatical errors (I hate those!). Then, I submit it.

For other posts, I may need to do quite a bit of formatting or layout (I work in HTML directly, no WYSIWYG editors for me---they make a mess of the code!). In those cases, I'll create a text document (like I'm doing right now for this post) and write it all up. Then, I'll copy/paste and do any clean-up needed (line wraps are a pain in the ass!). Once again, I'll go through the preview/edit routine and finally submit.

The hardest part is when I think I'm just gonna "whip up a post" and it ends up being something longer and more complex....and I lose it 'cause I wasn't working in a text file!

5. Have you ever had a troll or had to delete unkind comments?

Hmmm. No, not really. Just spam comments. For a while, I had comments moderated, but that was a pain, having to delete them all. So, I installed some captcha modules which would give a variety of methods (I thnk it's reasonably compliant for anyone browsing my site with special needs). That's been the best thing I've done for the blog. I love Drupal!

6. Do you check your stats? Do you care how many people read your blog?

Because I'm on my own domain, hosted from our own servers and we're our own admins, I'm not exactly sure how to get statistics. Back in the nascent days of the worldwide web, I had statistics on my web page; they were pathetic and I found them so demoralizing. Why? I guess 'cause I tend to be very competitive? I don't know. So, I've tried to not care about it.

I'd rather have 10 quality readers who comment and share and interact than 10 thousand readers who just absorb my words into the ether and return nothing.

7. What kind of blogs/posts interest you?

For blogs, I like personal blogs which aren't afraid to reveal anything. I like the risk those authors take, putting their personal state out there for readers to see. Why? Probably because it makes me feel like I'm not alone in questioning everything about myself---I'm 38 years old and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up! It's nice to see I'm not the only one seeking answers.

For posts, I like a range: humour, reality, memes---they're fun for both reading and being tagged or snagging for my blog.

8. What do you like and dislike about blogging?

Like: That I can do it any time I want to. That I can link people to each other---I love showcasing a new Etsy shop or artist I've found that I think others who read my blog might like. I can share my favorite authors and books with others. I can show off my ferret children, my human child, my knitting projects and I'm not annoying people (like the mother/grandmother pushing you to look at their latest baby photos, which you lost interest in after the first 1000 pictures).

Dislike: Lack of reaction? Unless someone leaves a comment, I don't know if I'm being heard. I don't leave comments on all the blogs I read, so I'm not expecting each reader to say something each time....but it's like standing on a stage, blinded by the lights aimed at me, wondering if my microphone is on....

I also dislike those times when I really don't have anything (interesting) to say. Sometimes having a blog makes me feel like I need to be funny/smart/interesting/ something at all times.

There. Another "insightful" look into the mind of...me. *grin*

I don't like tagging people 'cause they're always busy with other stuff (*sheesh* people, can't you work around my schedule! *grin*), so if you want to, consider yourself tagged. Or do what I do and save this for a day when you want to blog but don't have any idea what to write about!