Gee, it must be fun to be interviewed about blogging. Old Horsetail Snake was. "What the hxxx!" I thought, "Why wait for someone to be interested in you, kid?" I will answer the questions anyway. They suit the timing: New Year and first blogiversary on its way. Thanks for the idea, Hoss!
How did you come to learn about blogging?
Danny, my editor told me about it. He started one last December and I read his.
How long have you been blogging?
Sometime next week it will be a year ... since January 2005.
What got you interested in creating your own blog?
Reading Danny's blog made me feel like I could do it too! I had just moved to Philadelphia from Buffalo, was unemployed, lonely and frightened. I thought it might be a way of honing my writing skills.
How many blogs do you have?
One.
How has blogging affected your life?
It has enriched my life indescribably. Once I started writing, all of a sudden a few people found me and I found them right back. It seemed like an entire world/universe was unfolding before my eyes each day. I felt like a newborn infant discovering new pieces of a blogo-sphere each moment. Experiences, books, politics, emotions, stories, family, humor, friendships all seem to find their way through a type of blog-filter. When I return from work or travel somewhere, or even far from home, my blog is there waiting. Just beyond its domain, a cyber-space-click-away are others, shimmering and glistening, shining and beckoning, welcoming and inviting in ways I have never experienced in the real world.
What feelings do you associate with blogging?
Excitement, exhilaration, sadness, joy, love, anger, fear, hope, comfort, discomfort, jealousy, disappointment, frustration, happiness, compassion, wonder, community.
How does blogging benefit you?
I think my writing skills have improved. I feel comfort and less lonely. I feel supported and included, validated and acknowledged. I have learned so much new stuff! About technology, life, politics, general knowledge, other cultures, the world, photography, art, holidays, acceptance of diverse viewpoints ... on and on ... , and, most of all, I have made some fantastic friends.
Discuss some of the relationships you have formed through blogging and how they have affected your life.
Friendships have been made that feel authentic, supportive, validating, and inclusive. I have always had this image of a world where people share their pain and joy in deep and meaningful ways allowing each other to enter into a deep, soulful relationship. It always seemed to me that it would cast away darkness and create an enlightened age of humankind. There are moments when bloggers connect and share in ways that give form to that life-long vision I have had. It is really, really exciting when that happens, and, in point of fact, it seems to me that it occurs quite often!
Oh, that's an excellent depiction of the world of blogging. So, a whole year next week. That's something to celebrate, isn't it? :)
Posted by: Ella | December 30, 2005 at 01:55 PM
Great interview.
Posted by: nappy40 | December 30, 2005 at 02:57 PM
Beautifully said Tamar. And, I for one echo many of your sentiments. What a great and welcoming community. Cheers to your ONE YEAR Anniversary!
Posted by: Joy Des Jardins | December 30, 2005 at 03:26 PM
Your blog and writing are so polished that I would have guessed you had been doing it much longer. Congratulations (next week) on your first year anniversary. If I can hold on until May, I will also reach that milestone, though it now seems like I have been doing it much longer.
Your self-interview is interesting and revealing. Perhaps this is something we all should do from time to time...
Posted by: Winston | December 30, 2005 at 04:19 PM
Damn, I was thinking of doing this myself....
Posted by: Joel Sax | December 30, 2005 at 05:05 PM
It's not that noone's interested in you, kid. It's just that Paynter's been bloody lazy these past couple of years.
Or perhaps you sensed...?
If there's one word missing from this great interview, it's "passion" (but you did use it a couple of posts back). It best describes what you bring to the Web.
And it best describes what you need if you're to get out of the Web that which you so obviously do.
Why else would we layabouts be clogging your comments box :)?
Posted by: Mike Golby | December 30, 2005 at 05:51 PM
What an excellent way to mark your year in the blogosphere, Tamar. Congratulations in advance on your blog birthday. I love the fact that blogging has been such an unequivocally positive experience for you - as a comparative beginner it encourages me to persevere (not that I am not enjoying the experience myself, on the contrary!).
Posted by: mary | December 30, 2005 at 06:25 PM
You, yourself, have been an incredible find, Tamar. For all your brilliance and ability to write eloquently, I come here for your warmth, honesty, compassion and love. xo
Posted by: Brenda | December 30, 2005 at 10:08 PM
I so enjoy reading your blog, Tamar. Your warmth and thinking as a human being comes through in the things that you write here.
It's been a real pleasure in 2005 getting to know you through this strange, wonderful, and powerful medium.
Blessings!
Mark Daniels
Posted by: Mark Daniels | December 31, 2005 at 12:42 AM
Great interview about the art and spiritual practice of blogging. Happy new year.
Posted by: Fran | December 31, 2005 at 03:03 AM