I’m fascinated by blogging, which is I guess why I keep one myself, and I’m fascinated about people and why they blog.
One thing that fascinates/interests me about other bloggers, and people in general, is what drives and motivates them. Sometimes it’s possible to tell what motivates and drives people just through reading their blogs, but not always as it depends what the blog is about and if it’s a personal blog or not. I presume, and I could be really wrong, that many people just feel a need to write and express.
One way to find out about other bloggers is their About section. Practically the first thing I do when reading a new blog, only one that initially captures my attention, is read their About page. It annoys me when there isn’t an About page as I’m a sticky beak and want to know everything about a person straight away. I know it’s up to the individual as to what they post on their site and if I really want to know about them I’ll read their blog right? The About page though, gives me some sort of context I guess – where they live, how old they are, what gender they are (if it’s not immediately easy to see on their blogs initial page), what interests them and if they’ve got anything in common with me that I might relate to.
As a quick aside, I would say the About page is a must on any professional website and a courtesy on a personal website. Personally if I land on a webpage and I can’t quite quickly find anything of interest to me, or if it confuses the hell out of me I will not stay on that site. Some context to what I might find on the website is not hard to do and potentially could make people stick around. Derek Powazek talks about Homepage goals on A List Apart (see Goal 1 down the page a bit) and says a home page should answer the question, ‘What is this place?’. Steve Krug backs up this premise and says and writes, ‘Don’t Make Me Think’ (we just got this book at work and it’s easy to read and full of common sense stuff).
But back to how to find out how other bloggers think? Some bloggers have interviewed other bloggers in both personal and business blogs. I’ve compiled some links to those interviews. The personal links are ones I’ve found in my reading of blogs and the ones I found most interesting. I found the business links with my good friend Google. My criteria for this search narrowed things down considerably, that is, bloggers interviewing other bloggers and having a section of their website devoted to it which is why I’ve only found two links in that category.
Personal
Business
If I ever do further study and get that Dr. in front of my name this is one area that I could easily and happily research. Food for thought.
McBeth says
Hi there. Came across you via Women Who Blog (to which I also belong) and it’s nice to read you.
: )
Interesting topic, and one which I’ve also been pondering in recent days, as my partner suggested that I should update my profile. I did, but not using the specifics that had been suggested. My profile is still vague but I don’t think it sounds so slapped-together. (?)
I compile my own photography and my own writing along with snippets of others’ writing. It’s not often that I’ll expound on a subject.
In a way, I prefer to leave the details of who I am vague, though I take your point on getting to know a blogger via their profile.
I’d prefer to let you decide for yourself what you think of the piece I wrote or the photo I snapped rather than making you tie in a personal detail (‘oh, she’s a mother/married woman/single woman/straight/gay/political/etc.’ so that must be why she xyz…’.
When I come across a blog I tend to read the materials first and then look at the profile later. If the words don’t ring true I won’t even bother looking at the profile. Am I weird that way?