Blogging Questions

Got these questions from MyFriendConnie's blog. These questions are part of a blog carnival, but I refrain from putting our's up, since there are already so many there.

How did you start blogging?
Harmony and I signed up on Blogger. Am I missing the point of this question?

Well, I will indulge some expounding. I had sort of wanted to blog for a bit. I have a webpage that I put some thoughts on, but then-lately, there wasn't enough thought on subjects to justify making into one dedicated article. Blogging is good for blurbs that are shorter-than-article-length.

Did you intend to be a blog with a big following? If so, how did you go about it?
It would be nice to have lots of traffic here, but I do not expect we will become as big as some of the other Christian blogging giants. As we only have a humble amount of readers, we are not qualified to answer this question.

What do you hope to achieve or accomplish with your blog? Have you been successful? If not, do you have a plan to achieve those goals?
Since I don't journal in real life, I thought it would be nice to document things on a blog. At the time we started this blog, we were not married yet, so I thought it would be a nice way place to start documenting our new life together. And when the kids come, to document our life with them as well.

Has the focus of your blog changed since you started blogging? How?
Sort of...not really? I thought there would be more interracial posts to write, but those opportunities have not manifest themselves yet.

Now that I think of it, I think Harmony and I had originally thought we would use the blog to communicate while I was at work, since my work internet does not allow messenger programs to reach outside the corporate intranet. Why we didn't just e-mail or call, I don't know (that's what we do now).

What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?
I wish that I knew the stock market would take a gigantic plunge on February 27, 2007, so that I would've capitalized on the opportunity and bought up some good stocks or ETFs. As for the blogging realm, I wish I'd signed up for Sitemeter sooner.

Do you make money with your blog?
Nope. Even if I did put ads on here, we wouldn't make but like a nickel a month.

Does your immediate or extended family know about your blog? If so, do they read it? If not, why?
Harmony's family knows all about it and reads and comments often. On my side, I have only told my sister, and have explicitly told her to not tell my parents about it. The reason is because I have posted on things that I would not like for them to read (mainly the details of Our Turbulent Engagement).

What two pieces of advice would you give to a new blogger?
Keep lots of extra money saved up in your Roth IRA (you DO have a Roth IRA, don't you??) for rainy days like February 27, 2007. And take full advantage of any matching contribution your employer will give on your 401(k). I know that's not blogging advice, but don't you think it's good advice anyways? On to the real advice...

- Be nice and link people if they frequent your blog and comment often. It always lifts spirits when you get linked, so take the initiative and do it first.
- Get Sitemeter or some other hit counter, because it's fun to snoop on people who visit your blog. It's also helpful because you can see what draws people here/there. It's interesting to see what Google searches lead people visiting your blog. For example, we once got a visit from someone who had Googled for the phrase "wife insists on diapering me," or something like that.