What is the name of your Blog?digest THIS
What is your name?
Nathan Key
Where are you from? (include country, state and/or city)
Orlando, FL
What is your current age or age range?
29
Please describe your blog
My blog primarily focuses on topics that have some sort intersection between philosophy, politics, and religion. I usually create a provocative topic, weave my own opinion within it, and then ask some questions to generate discussion.
Describe the main purpose of your blogging, what are you trying to accomplish?
I think there's really three main reasons I blog. The first is because I'm an extrovert which means that I need to externalize my thoughts in order to really think through them. The public nature of a blog is a great forum for that so I don't drive my wife crazy. The second reason is because I like to engage other minds. I find that blogging attracts response (especially when it's done provocatively) and thus, I've been able to read through the comments of others and continually keep my own opinions in check through the input of others. Finally, I think blogging is a great way to hone my writing/critical thinking skills. I try to write something every weekday (Mon-Fri) so that I actively engage that balance between creative and analytical thinking which is necessary for writers to wrestle with.
What blogging platform do you do and why?
I used livejournal for a while and it was a great experience, but I was a little disappointed when advertising began to pop up on my site. So, eventually I moved the blog over to my personal website where I house some short stories and essays I've written. It was a hard move because while it's nice to have everything all in one place, I had a three year history with livejournal, and you feel like you're betraying a friend when you abandon a site.
What do you blog the most about?
It depends on what I'm thinking through. I try to limit my blogs to something related to philosophy, politics, and religion. Obviously this past year (2007) it leaned a little more political because of the Presidential elections, but I try to keep a good balance between all three topics.
What kind of blogs make you angry?
Blogs that aren't really blogs make me angry. Lately, I've seen a few that are actually money-making scams made to look like blogs. I think it's deceptive and it brings down the whole industry.
Give five of your best blogging tips.
First, stick to a main topic. Blogs that are about "everything" usually aren't about "anything" and if you decide to write about everything under the sun, you'll only find readers who happen to like your take on life (basically, that limits it to your mom).
Second, try to be consistent. I learned this from reading webcomics. The ones that updated predictably M-W-F or T-Th or once a week I'd follow because I learned when they were going to update and began looking forward to a new comic. The ones that updated randomly or rarely- I usually dropped because I never knew when the next update was coming and I eventually stopped checking back.
Third, promote RSS/e-mail feeds and teach others how to use feed-readers. When someone is using a feed reader or subscribes to your blog through e-mail, they'll probably keep coming back to your blog.
Fourth, if the title isn't interesting, no one's going to read the post. Keep the title relevant, but also provocative.
Fifth, don't expect other people to read your blog if you're not reading other people's blogs. Get out there and read posts from people who write about the same (or similar) things that you do. Comment on their blog and link back to your own. It's a great way to make friends (and enemies) and also hone your own ideals.
What are some things you would NEVER blog about?
I don't know that I'd NEVER blog about something- but as I've gotten further and further into my career as a blogger I write less and less about "Dear Diary" type things. I don't think most people really care about what I did today, so I rarely write about everyday things unless they directly tie-in to something I'm learning about philosophy, politics, and religion.
Did you start blogging for the purpose of making money and if so, are you making enough money?
I started blogging before I knew you could "make money" blogging, so I didn't really get into it because of the money aspect. However, even though I don't put ads on my blog in order to make money, I think blogging has made me a better writer & thinker. And because I'm better at both ends, it's also made me more valuable to organizations who need writers and thinkers- so in a sense I'm making money from blogging because it's a developmental piece to my own skills and abilities.
How long have you been blogging?
I began blogging in 2004, I took a year off somewhere in there, so I have about 3 or 4 years of blogging under my belt.
About how many hours per day do you spend blogging?
An hour or two.
Do you track RSS feeds and if so, how many do you usually track daily?
I use Google Reader to track the blogs I read. I generally have about 15 to 25 posts in my reader each day.
Do you use Digg, and why or why not?
Occasionally. I like the premise of Digg, but I don't have the time to do it since I use a few other promotional sites.
Do you use Stumbleupon, and why or why not?
I have some friends who use Stumbleupon and I click on their links sometimes. I don't use it myself because I don't have the time to do it since I use a few other promotional sites.
What promotional techniques work best for you and why?
Commenting on other blogs that are relevant to my own is the best way to promote. I try to write thoughtful responses that are thoughtful, but not antagonistic. You don't want the blog author to delete your comment, you want them to follow the link!
The other thing I do to promote is linking my blog to a facebook application that publishes an announcement whenever I post something new. I also leverage the connectivity between twitter and facebook status and publish a link there so that my friends / followers can click on topics that are interesting to them.
If you could post a blog on any blog in the world, which one would it be and why?
Other than my own website, I think it would be cool to be featured on the New Yorker (which isn't really a blog) or TED.com (which isn't really a blog)...
What mistakes have you made that you could warn others about?
In my early days as a blogger, I had absolutely no direction. I eventually learned to limit myself to topics I knew about rather than trying to blog about my personal life or about random things that no one cared about.
What are your top five blogging site picks and why?
1. www.DinosaurComics.com by Ryan North (it's a comic, but it posts every day like a blog and Ryan is simply brilliant. It's funny and witty and intelligent)
2. www.MicahTilman.com (Micah lectures at the Catholic University of America and he's a few years ahead of me in thinking and praxis. I'd love to be where he is in a few years)
3. www.christophercocca.net (Christoper is an old friend and he's an excellent writer. I'd read and recommend everything he writes no matter what it's about)
4. wilwheaton.typepad.com by Wil Wheaton (Wil writes about geekdom and he writes it in a way that makes me very happy to be a geek)
5. http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/ by Tom Kuhlman (I do eLearning and training as my "full time job" and Tom's weekly blog posts are probably the best free resource out there on making eLearning engaging and relevant)
Have you met anyone offline as a result of your blog?
Yes. When we moved back to Orlando, I got to be friends with a few people due to my involvement in the Orlando "Virtual" Community.
What did you have for breakfast today?
Golden Grahams and a cup of coffee.
What is the url of your blog?
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