Blog: dot...in the city
Twitter: @dotinthecity
Hi Geeky and Sassy Readers, I'm Beth from dot...in the city and I am thrilled to join you today!
About a month ago, Virginia asked me to guest post about Blogger & why I blog...I am grateful for this opportunity to reflect a bit on my nine months of blogging (since August 2010). It's been quite a trip!
To answer the question 'why I blog' I will begin by telling you I'm in now way "high tech" on my own accord.
In fact, I was somewhat anti-Twitter when it first came out. So, please don't think I'm an early adopter...it just isn't true. However, my introduction to the blogging world did come through Twitter. In June of 2009, I began using Twitter, mostly for work. We use it to connect with students at Bridgewater State University. During that school year, I was also planning our May 2010 wedding and was both mesmerized and overwhelmed by the websites I found. I'm talking about Style Me Pretty and 100 Layer Cake among the masses. I could get sucked in for hours because of all the gorgeous photos and amazing DIY ideas. If only I could quit my job and spend my entire 8 months of wedding planning on it alone. Instead, I just drooled for an hour or so a day or tried to avoid it altogether. Meanwhile, my boss kept telling me I should blog. In the midst of wedding planning, I pushed the idea aside and kept my Twitter habit alive by talking to colleagues and asking my network for wedding tips.
Fast-forward through the big day to a hot day in summer when I was on Twitter and came across a tweet from Moosejaw. As soon as I saw the twitpic, I knew it was taken in Colorado (my home state) and I started following the user: @ohsweetjoy (aren't I creepy?). It wasn't long before I discovered her lovely blog featuring handmade items, beautiful photos and more! Within weeks I had stepped into another world...the blogosphere. I was finding a new blog to explore daily and it started me thinking about what I would share if I had a blog of my own.
I was primed and ready, since bossman had been in my ear about blogging for months. In fact, I remember him saying "you no longer have the excuse of wedding planning." He was right and one weekend I just dove in head-first. I setup my blogger account using the many options they offer. From the start, my intention was to blog about "life as a student affairs professional," but that quickly turned into something more personal, sharing recipes and home decorating ideas. I came up with the tagline " reflecting on life as a student affairs professional, new wife and city dweller" and since my husband loves graphic design as a hobby, he agreed to create a banner and more for my redesigned blog which rolled out last January. By this time, I had grown my network via Twitter and the blog, gaining new followers and connecting online. As the network grows, my blog content has changed a bit too, focusing more and more on recipes, giveaways, DIYs and others.
In short, I blog because I feel part of a community. I have made connections from reading other's blogs, sharing my own stories, and having 140-character long conversations via Twitter. I blog because of that network. I have "met" a lot of interesting and talented people through the blogosphere. I started participating in Gina from HiyaLuv's weekly (now bi-weekly) tweet chat, #setupshop Mondays at 8pm EST, where I connected with handmade shop owners. Blogging isn't so much about me and what I do/say, but about connecting with others. If you're in it for yourself, you'll likely compare yourself to others or even get competitive, rather than enjoying the journey of meeting others and growing personally.
Thanks for reading, I hope you'll stop by dot...in the city or find me on Twitter. Thanks again, Virginia for having me!
I was primed and ready, since bossman had been in my ear about blogging for months. In fact, I remember him saying "you no longer have the excuse of wedding planning." He was right and one weekend I just dove in head-first. I setup my blogger account using the many options they offer. From the start, my intention was to blog about "life as a student affairs professional," but that quickly turned into something more personal, sharing recipes and home decorating ideas. I came up with the tagline " reflecting on life as a student affairs professional, new wife and city dweller" and since my husband loves graphic design as a hobby, he agreed to create a banner and more for my redesigned blog which rolled out last January. By this time, I had grown my network via Twitter and the blog, gaining new followers and connecting online. As the network grows, my blog content has changed a bit too, focusing more and more on recipes, giveaways, DIYs and others.
In short, I blog because I feel part of a community. I have made connections from reading other's blogs, sharing my own stories, and having 140-character long conversations via Twitter. I blog because of that network. I have "met" a lot of interesting and talented people through the blogosphere. I started participating in Gina from HiyaLuv's weekly (now bi-weekly) tweet chat, #setupshop Mondays at 8pm EST, where I connected with handmade shop owners. Blogging isn't so much about me and what I do/say, but about connecting with others. If you're in it for yourself, you'll likely compare yourself to others or even get competitive, rather than enjoying the journey of meeting others and growing personally.
Thanks for reading, I hope you'll stop by dot...in the city or find me on Twitter. Thanks again, Virginia for having me!
I wanted to leave you with one of my favorite blog tips:
Ever wonder how to direct a link to open in a new window? You have to edit the HTML, but don't freak out, it's actually pretty easy (it must be if I can do it).
Virginia here ~ Isn't she awesome! Her blog has some amazing recipes right now too! Thanks so much Beth! If you're a blogger, what made you start blogging?
- Switch from "Compose" in Blogger to "Edit HTML"
- Look for the link and then the words you are using to link it.
- Here's an example: <a href = "http//www.bbgoad.com">funblog</a>
- Insert target="_blank"after the web address and before the <word>
- It should look like this <a href="http://www.bbgoad.com/" target="_blank">dot...in the city</a>
The idea is to get readers to stay around your blog a bit longer, rather than getting distracted by going to a new site when they click on the link. By opening a new window, your blog isn't forgotten (hopefully).
Blog: dot...in the city
Twitter: @dotinthecity
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