The Blogger Tag
Blogger or Jamf? You decide
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m a sucker for an internet questionnaire. Yes, I know such things are considered in some quarters as somewhat lightweight content. But not every blog post needs to be an insightful analysis of crop rotation in the 14th century or a searing indictment of the latest internet outrage. Sometimes answering a few simple questions in a light hearted fashion can be quite illuminating. Plus readers like to get to know something about the bloggers that they follow and internet questionnaires are a means to that. So without further ado, here is a set of questions known as “The Blogger Tag”. I first encountered this over at A Geek Girl's Guide care of Michelle. Do go and check out her take on these. Also feel free to use them yourself, as that is the idea behind answering them.
How long have you been blogging and why did you start?
I have been blogging for nearly 15 years. I’ve always been interested in writing and expressing myself via the written word. I was fortunate to have several very good English teachers during my teenage years that were encouraging and who indulged my propensity for lurid fiction. As an adult I find that writing helps me order my thoughts and reason things through. I consider that structured writing goes hand in hand with critical thinking but it can also be frivolous and cathartic. I tend to write my blog in an informal fashion and if you’ve ever heard any of the podcast content I’ve produced, it’s broadly in a similar idiom to how I verbally express myself.
Is this current blog your first blog?
No. This is the fifth iteration of my blog. I initially started writing about everything that took my fancy and then moved on to blogging exclusively about the MMORPG LOTRO when that became the apple of my eye in 2008/2009. The next stage was a broader gaming blog once I was bored with the restriction of a single subject. Then I moved back to a variety blog under the title Contains Moderate Peril. It got some traction and peaked around 2014. But just as the audience was growing, I got a chronic case of burnout and effectively shut the site down for a few months. After a respite I got my blogging mojo back and migrated the site to a new host. That is the version that is currently available and has been updated continuously since August 2015.
What would you categorise your blog as?
I’ve been accused of quite a few things as a result of what I’ve written about in the past. If I like something I’ll give reasons why and vice versa. I can remember writing once about a same sex kiss scene in the science fiction drama Torchwood and because I wasn’t offended, one comment by a reader labelled me a “pervert” and an “advocate of filth”. I shrug such hyperbole off with ease. I personally would categorise my site as a variety blog. I review films, TV and games and also write about aspects of each respective industry. I will happily express my political views and my thoughts on popular culture. I try to keep an open mind but I have no interest in emotive arguments or positions that are not based on reason. Contains Moderate Peril is home to my personal musings on life.
Is it still the same kind of blog as when you first started?
Broadly speaking, yes. I write about the same things today as I did back in 2007 but like to think I do so now with more confidence and a greater degree of skill. When I started blogging I was more influenced to write about things that I knew may gain traction because I initially harboured an ambition to write professionally. I’ve learned the hard way that making money through a blog is not likely. It requires too many compromises and means pursuing trends rather than doing what I want. But all things considered, Contains Moderate Peril is an extension of me and I’m broadly the same person. Perhaps like me the blog has grown up over the years.
Top 3 things about being a blogger!
Blogging provides me with my own personal space on the internet. A place for me to share my thoughts and express myself. I value such an opportunity as I remember the pre-internet age quite clearly. It was an era of fanzines, fan art and small self-published books. There were communities but they were small and often parochial. The internet is a superb medium for reaching beyond the local.
Which leads me on to the second best thing about blogging which is the community. Spending time and talking to like minded people is invaluable. You learn so much about people and the wider world by reading others blogs. I hold my internet friends in high regard and take online friendships seriously.
Thirdly, blogging is in many ways an important aspect of freedom of expression. I am to a degree bound by the terms and conditions of Squarespace and UK legislation but as I am not advocating hate speech or terrorism, I find that my blogging platform allows me to express myself freely and without fear of recourse. I am a big advocate of longfrom criticism and analysis based upon critical thinking, empirical evidence and rational debate. Sadly the internet facilitates a lot of content that is the antithesis of these things but that’s democracy for you. Good content is out there, you just have to take the time to find it.
What is your favourite kind of post to write?
I like to learn about things. If I read a post and it mentions something that I’m not au fait with then I’ll research it and find out more. By that I mean read about the subject from reputable websites. If a topic is subject to debate, then I’ll ensure I’m aware of both sides of the argument. Knowledge is power as the expression goes. The blog posts I enjoy writing the most are subjects I feel confident that I am knowledgeable about. For example, I am a film fan and by that I mean I enjoy all genres, from all countries made in the last century and the present. I watch films, I read film criticism and analysis and I have learned a lot about the process, industry and language of cinema. Hence I feel that I can offer coherent opinions based upon a wide and lengthy experience of films. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but not all opinions are equal. There are opinions and then there are informed opinions.
What is the hardest post you have ever written and published?
Between 2016 and spring this year, I gave up full time work to look after both my parents who had suffered life altering strokes. I decided to blog about this and started writing a series of posts called Caring for the Eldery. The idea was that I would write about all the issues I encountered regarding my parents’ care and I would share this online. Hopefully such information would be of use to those having to do the same. Hence I wrote about dealing with social services, what benefits were available as well as basic things you can do to make the home environment more practical. I also decided to be quite candid about the emotional and physical consequences of caring for the elderly, both for my parents and myself and my sister. Perhaps the toughest aspect was writing about end of life care and the inescapable fact that both my parents were coming to the end of their lives. They have both subsequently died. This was hard to write about and often I would shed a tear while collecting my thoughts but I feel it was the right thing to do. In some respects I feel better for doing so. Blogging can be very therapeutic.
As per usual, what I thought would be a short and simple post has proven somewhat more substantive. But such is the nature of blogging. If you are engaged with a subject, you tend to write a lot more than you expect. The whole point of “The Blogger Tag” is for it to be shared. So here are the questions again so that you can easily cut and paste them. I hope you find answering them as enjoyable as I did. If you do tackle the questions then let me and others know. I’m always interested in what others think and what motivates them. This for me is the inherent appeal of internet questionnaires. There’s often a lot more to them than you think.
How long have you been blogging and why did you start?
Is this current blog your first blog?
What would you categorise your blog as?
Is it still the same kind of blog as when you first started?
Top 3 favourite things about being a blogger!
What is your favourite kind of post to write?
What is the hardest post you have ever written and published?
