Blogging 101

What is blogging? Why do people blog? Some of you may be asking questions about blogging, so I thought I would try to give you a quick lesson. It's really not going to be a Blogging 101, maybe more like, Remedial Blogging, as Im not really qualified to do a 101 level post, since Im just learning all of this myself.

But let me show you a bit of what I have come to know in this Blogging World.

The first time I heard of blogs, it was through political blogs, people espousing their own views on issues such as immigration, church vs. state controversies, and campaign announcements. Some of you might know that before I had kids I liked to dabble in politics, just for fun, although briefly for money, mostly for the excitement.

Some of my favorite political blogs are; John's blog ... a guy I knew in the circle of things, who still is very active in the going's on of our county. I also like this local political blog And of course, there are other blogs, like that of Arianna Huffington, but I wouldnt never link to her site...for reasons that I might one day detail here, but suffice it to say she has bad breath, I mean REALLY monster breath, and when someone with monster breath is yelling at you, within an inch of your face, being held back by body guards, it's not pretty. But anyways.

I dont have the time to dabble much anymore, or read those blogs as often as I would like, but they were my first introduction to the blogging world.

When Pooper was sick, I started his website and soon become absorbed in the websites of friends, near and far, that were embattled in the fight against childhood cancer. I wrote often, and read even more, and journaling became an important outlet for me, as reading about the lives of others did too. I still read those blogs, and pray for those in the midst of battle, such as Christian's site and Alexia's page and I still go to leave encouraging words and prayers to the families that lost their children too soon, like Gregory's Family and Cam's Family.

Now that Pooper has finished treatment, I still keep journaling on his website, but My Honey let me know that I was too often writing about my own stuff, instead of Poopers. Basically, he thought I was hijacking Pooper's site for my own use. I didnt want to stop my writing, it had become a good habit, a therapeutic outlet, and God knows I might crumble or have spastic road rage episodes if I were to stop, so I didnt stop. I just kept going, albeit on this site, instead of Poopers.

I know a few other "cancer moms" that started their own sites, like Kristie and Marey, and they seemed to have transitioned nicely, so I thought I would try it as well.

So here I am, now where was I? Oh yeah, I was gonna give you some info about blogging.....

I have found that there is a great big world of bloggers. And my favorites are not serious, or focused, like political blogs. My favorites are rather random ramblings, by regular folks, dealing with real life. The blogs I like most are the Seinfelds of their day, writing about nothing in particular, which actually becomes quite entertaining. Im not gonna list my favorites now, because you would click on the links to read them, and probably never come back.

But guess what I else I found? These blogs, werent just of interest to me, reading them seems to be getting quite popular.

Take for instance, Pioneer Woman. When I checked in on her blog today, she had nearly 1500 comments!! That is for one day's post. That is 1000 times more comments than I got today. It might have something to do with her contest, where she is giving away a $600 gift certificate to JC Penneys (she does fun stuff like contests)...but whatever, she still has a lot of readers, and that is impressive, especially since she writes about things like her retarded brother and her cowboy husband, really.

Many bloggers have developed an online circle of friends. I found this to happen when I wrote Poopers page, and some of those people have become very close to me, even if I havent met them in person.

Almost as fun to read as the blog itself, is the comment section of some blogs, with people chatting back and forth, having fun, and often espousing some of the funniest things in print.

Yes, blogging has become popular and there are even the "cool" bloggers. I guess it's like the "in crowd" in high school, except for people in blogland are nice and not caddy....but there are clearly those bloggers that have a following, and have become celebrities of sorts.

Take for instance, BOSSY. Bossy is one of the popular girls, and well, guess what happened today? She signed my guestbook! I kind of asked her to, so, you know, it wasnt spontaneous, but it's kind of like walking down the math hall and having the Homecoming King stop to talk to you, except she is a girl, and we arent in high school, but you know what I mean.

There seems to be a circle of writers, who have become so popular, that they have paid ads on their site, which brings them a little bit of income, which is something to drool over. And some even write for different parenting magazines and online sites, drawing them into the professional realm of writing.

Despite the fact that some are paid, I find my favorite bloggers to be down-to-earth, writing about real life, the good and the bad, and I guess that is what makes them so well liked. We all like to know that we are not alone, that other people go through the same things, feel the same way, and live crazy lives that are very different than those scripted in the media.

Now, Ill give you the links to some favorites, located at the bottom of the page; go and enjoy, just make sure you come back.

PS. For those awaiting the next installment of the old man in the chair...I am working on it. I tried to get pictures twice this week, but my camera failed (long story, of course)...but check back in, Ill have all the goods soon!