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Who Blogs?

Who Blogs?

Who blogs? Do you blog? Do you know people who blog? Are they all the same, or are they different? Who blogs?

Two friends of mine recently had lunch together and, of all topics, ended up discussing my life. Here is a “censored” version of their description:

I can’t imagine waking up one morning and deciding I want to , so you get major props from me for going off the beaten path and sticking at it. We discussed your work on the WordPress Codex and came up with a few sentences about how darned offbeat your life is. My thinking was along the lines of ‘usually when people live in trailers it’s not a matter of choice’, and his was more ‘you don’t expect people who live in trailers to have such a presence in geekery’, but I guess for both of us it was that generic socioeconomic stereotype vs. your story that seems interesting.

It’s so easy to stereotype and judge people, even bloggers. I’m often judged by my living circumstances, lifestyle, work, looks, and perceived socioeconomic status, as well as my blogging. Are you?

I believe stereotyping breaks down when it comes to bloggers. Bloggers come in every shape, size, age, type, and, well, other type. They are Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Atheist, and Can’t-Make-Up-Their-Minds. They are literate and well-educated, and stupid and ignorant. They are naive and have never left “home”, and they have traveled the world and seen sights most people see only in books.

When you are reading a blog, do you think about putting the blogger in a labeled box that says “Jewish Female Blogger – Expert on Creative Writing” or “Atheist Political Blogger”? Or do you imagine them sitting in front of their computers wearing jeans and a t-shirt or a suit and tie? Are they actually sitting in a professional looking office, or a dimly lit, chilled basement, or possibly in an Internet cafe sipping lattes for hours on end?

Probably not.

The content and subject matter a blogger writes about usually gives you some form of an impression, typically about their expertise. Though, how would your perspective on that information change if you heard it coming out of the mouth of a 60 year old business professional compared to a 16 year old web wizbang?

While a blogger can be anyone, the common ground for bloggers is their willingness to share their passions, lives, and knowledge with others, as well as their powerful determination to have their say.

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My work with the Blog Herald is to help you understand more about bloggers, blogging, and offer you some tips on WordPress, since I am also known, among my many titles, as a . I hope along the way we can learn more about who blogs and how they blog.

Along the way, I’m sure you will make some assumptions about who I am, what I am, and why I have any business writing about the things I do. Judge me as you will, but beyond all of your judgments, I hope you will see the passion behind the words.

To get started, I want to know who you are and why you blog.

And answer this: Are you who you blog?


Lorelle VanFossen blogs about blogging and WordPress on Lorelle on WordPress, and is a long time support volunteer for WordPress. Lorelle travels too much and reports from life on the road in Taking Your Camera on the Road and covers family history and genealogy on Lorelle’s Family History, and writes for too many blogs, ezines, and magazines.

View Comments (10)
  • Great question Lorelle … the answer is “Yes — but another side of me that some people don’t often see.” I’m a 3rd year resident in Internal Medicine, but I find that blogging tweaks another side of my brain that needs tweaking and tickling from time to time.

    To be honest, I’m not sure if its really possible to NOT be who you blog — if you write long enough they truly become one and the same.

    Cheers
    t

  • I am a university instructor, and I started blogging to make the info-flow easier with my students – I posted them occasional extra stuff, links of interest, etc. I was on a bloghost (which you know very well, btw :) ), liked it, but wanted to produce something more personal, so I got a domain for myself. By now, I’ve switched to my mother tongue, post on everything that is interesting to me, so it’s not a “professional” blog anymore. Although students will still find their info – that didn’t change.

    I think I am who I blog (poor Descartes…) – but to assert this, I needed the change!

  • Lorelle, great to read you here on Blog Herald. I am glad I will get read more from you :-)

    I blog as a software developer. When it started the aim was about discussing my ideas, but blog has done much more than that for me. It has helped me learn software, helped me learn express myself better and also introduced me to a lot of ethics of behavior.

    I would say I am who I blog, though both – my blogging and who I am is evolving with every single post. However the blog is limited to the topic of software development.

  • I consider myself an Internet entrepreneur, working with technology – especially the Internet – to help small businesses take advantage of some of the really cool stuff “out there.” I am a self-confessed Geek, a Conservative, and a wide-eyed Taoist at heart, absolutely fascinated with most everything. There’s very little I don’t find interesting, and I use my blog to comment on stuff as it passes into my purview. I also love to write, and blogging provides the outlet I find exhiliarating and personally fulfilling.

    I think I am who I blog – what you see in my pages is me.

  • I’d have to say yes. I’m a cigar enthusiast and was tired of reading cigar magazines giving high ratings to cigars just because the maker was a major sponsor of the magazine. I wanted some place to go for people to get an honest opinion, from a regular cigar smoker’s point of view and not reviews filled with fluff.

  • Yes. I think my blog provides snippets or the pieces (family man, geek, etc.) of my life not usually too deep, but enough to get a sense of who I am.

  • Well, I blog in a blog network (creative weblogging) until 1 year 1/2

    My blog is about Travel 2.0, hotel and travel industry.

    My main goal it to be up to date about news & trends in this industry, make networking and new contact

    Blog is a great connecting tool

  • Lorelle,

    Thanks for the questions. I’m a professional voiceover guy and my blog is about my professional passion: voiceover work. I too use WordPress, which I find very easy to use. Though, as a non-programmer, I’m saddened that my favorite theme was broken by the upgrade to 2.1. (Tiga can’t handle the new way of dealing with categories and links.)

    Be well,
    Bob

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