What is the name of your Blog?The Old Woman in a Shoe
What is your name?
Shoedame
Where are you from? (include country, state and/or city)
Galax, VA USA
What is your current age or age range?
35-45
Please describe your blog
It's a sardonic, curmudgeonly humor blog from the perspective of a single mom with a houseful of kids living in the middle of nowhere. I blog on the general craziness of life and the larger culture.
Describe the main purpose of your blogging, what are you trying to accomplish?
I want to make people laugh and think at the same time. I want to advance in the craft of humor writing, which is probably the most difficult kind of writing there is. It's a little known fact that Dave Barry's newspaper columns take him five or six hours to write.
What blogging platform do you do and why?
I am the editor of a website running Drupal, and I blog on our own site as one of its members.
What do you blog the most about?
My kids, movies, socioeconomics, gender and sex issues.
What kind of blogs make you angry?
Any blog with slipshod grammar and misspelled words really broils my butterbeans. I'm a "grammar nazi" and stickler from way back.
Give five of your best blogging tips.
1. If it doesn't make me laugh, it won't make anyone else laugh. 2. Be provocative and surprising in your word choices. Startle and challenge the reader. Never be boring. 3. Don't be afraid to use "ten dollar words." They can always google 'em. 4. Alternate sentence styles--long and short, grandiose and simple. 5. Write either about what you adore or what drives you crazy--or better yet, both.
What are some things you would NEVER blog about?
I'm coming up blank here. I created a character/avatar precisely so that I can have the freedom to blog about anything. I would never blog using my children's real names, because a) they might be embarrassed, b) they might become targets of predators or cyber-stalkers, and c) their cyber-personas are their own to create.
Did you start blogging for the purpose of making money and if so, are you making enough money?
Yes and no--I am generating traffic for the site that I work for, which translates into ad revenue, and like all bloggers I hope to be "discovered" one day, but as far as the everyday blog, no, I am just adding another branch to the blog tree and hoping somebody gets a kick out of it.
How long have you been blogging?
I began in October of 2007.
About how many hours per day do you spend blogging?
I do not blog daily or on any regular schedule. I wait for the Muse to slap me with a 2x4.
Do you track RSS feeds and if so, how many do you usually track daily?
I don't track RSS feeds yet, but that's a goal for 2009.
Do you use Digg, and why or why not?
No, because I use Shelfari, Facebook, and Myspace and edit a website. And I have a houseful of kids.
Do you use Stumbleupon, and why or why not?
No, ditto.
What promotional techniques work best for you and why?
Word of mouth via Facebook--I tell my friends; they tell their friends.
If you could post a blog on any blog in the world, which one would it be and why?
It would be on James Lileks's blog because despite our political differences, I think he rocks as a writer, humorist, and social commentator, and it would be refreshing for his audience.
What mistakes have you made that you could warn others about?
First, believing in myself too much--not realizing how much hard work I have to do in order to become a real writer. In a world where everybody blogs, it's easy to forget that there is still a world of difference between me and Martha Beck.
Second, not believing in myself enough, and allowing more strong-willed but less gifted people to choose my path for me when I have an inner GPS that is absolutely trustworthy where my own life and gifts are concerned.
What are your top five blogging site picks and why?
Blogspot.com, because it's easy to find my single mom buddies; Blogcatalog.com, because I like the tagging; Totalblogdirectory.com, because I'm kissing up. That's only three; I don't have a top 5
Have you met anyone offline as a result of your blog?
Not a soul. What is WRONG with people?
How can we establish world peace?
Get men out of power, then redistribute the chocolate.
What is the url of your blog?
The Old Woman in a Shoe
