2013 Canadian Weblog Awards - Ninjamatics Writing, Design, and Consulting

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Family and Parenting,

Tuesday

Jan112011

An Exclusive Interview With 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Winner Haley Overland Of Cheaty Monkey

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Haley Overland authors the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards winner Cheaty Monkey, which placed both 1st in Life and 3rd in Best Written.

Why blogging? Why did you start blogging, and what drives you now?

I blog because I love writing. I started blogging because I saw it as an opportunity to write for an audience that didn't involve hiring an agent or approaching publishers. I'd worked in the publishing business, and I knew how hard it was to get published. When I heard there was such a thing as a "blog," I was thrilled and started blogging right away. I began by posting several times a day about life with my then 8-month-old daughter, celebrity gossip, my cats, The Young and the Restless....

Blogging is much different for me now. With two young children and a full-time job, I don't have the same kind of time. And blogging in general is much different now than it was then. Bloggers communicated with one another through their blogs, so it was imperative that we posted well and frequently just to stay on the map. Now we communicate and stay

relevant (primarily) through Twitter and Facebook. This just means (at least for me) that the blog posts we write are richer and more thoughtful now — worth it for readers who are actually taking the time to visit and to read more than 140 of our characters.

What drives me now are my readers. I have a beautiful group of readers who've been reading Cheaty Monkey for a long time. They remember the birth of my son three years ago, and even when I announced I was pregnant with him. They were there when two of my cats died and when I went to Bermuda by myself for a friend's wedding. They know I love trashy TV, that I'm dedicated to yoga, and that I have an insatiable chai latte addiction that horrifies me. And I know a lot about them. We're friends. I write for them. And I write for myself. Like yoga, writing is absolutely my "practice."

With almost five years of archives, you have a considerable amount of history at Cheaty Monkey. What things have supported and/or encouraged your blogging path, and what have been wrenches in your works?

My readers have been my biggest blogging support system. Again, they are amazing. And my mom — who still often comments on my blog as "it'sgrandma." Others have been less supportive because they think blogging is frivolous or a "hobby," or because they're embarrassed to say they read my blog, which I totally don't get, because it's there to be read.

Wrenches in my works? Fear. I've had some pretty strong views over the past few years. I've even been involved in the odd "flame war." I lost readers, and I gained readers, and I quit and came back and quit and came back. Now I'm at a really comfortable place with my blogging, which makes winning some blog awards this year particularly special. I no longer put pressure on myself to be relevant. I write what I want, when I want. I still put myself out there, but I'm okay with what people think because I know my fabulous readers respect me and my journey as a blogger, a mom, and a human being.

You're a busy person on the internet. Tell us about some of your other online projects.

I also started blogging because I wanted to own my own business and be a work-at-home mom. I started my online art store, Kidsdeserveart.com, alongside Cheaty Monkey. I sensed that the blog would help me gain clients' trust. People on the internet were still so anonymous back then. The blog made me relatable, trustworthy, and real to my clients — not just a random "Haley-O." Now, my clients don't think twice before they buy art online from "Cheaty"!

Amazingly, and very fortunately, my blogging has become my career. I'm an online "Writer/Editor" at Today's Parent Magazine, and I'm their celebrity blogger at Celebrity Candy. My blog, Cheaty Monkey, is the reason I got this job. I'd say it was my million-dollar smile, but my readers know I've been having some pretty comical tooth issues this year.

Where do you find ideas for your content? If you are feeling less than inspired, where do you look for inspiration? How do you find it?

I'm fortunate when it comes to finding ideas for content. Because I'm my own boss when it comes my blog, I can write about anything in the universe, and that's so freeing and fun! When I feel like it's time to write, I sit down to my computer and write. I rarely know what I'm going to write about; although sometimes, during the day, a first sentence will occur to me, and I should write it down. I often don't, but it'll come back around, and the post will follow.

This is going to sound like I'm trying to be poetic, but I'm honestly inspired by the moment. I look to the moment for inspiration. How am I feeling right now? What's happening around me right now? What's my mood like right now? Is my cat staring at me? What's on my TV right now (The Bachelor)? What's going on in my life right now? What's my view of life right now (the moment can get deep)?

Are you open about being a blogger? How do people offline react to your online writing?

I'm too open about being a blogger. I really regret that I told my dentist about my blog (hi, Dr. G!), for example, because every time I see him he asks me about it

and will often blurt out "Cheaty Monkey" — out of nowhere, like, when he's scraping or prodding. I have a cousin who does the blurt thing too. "Chea-ty Chea-ty Monkey.... Chea-ty Monkey!" I can only respond with "heh." Drives me crazy.

People offline react in two extreme ways (and somewhere in between, of course). Some are amazed that I'm a "BLOGGER, OMG!, CAN WE BE FRIENDS THAT IS AMAZING." Others react in a really annoying way: "I could NEVER do that! Aren't you uncomfortable that the whole world knows everything about you?" Then I make the mistake of asking people in category #2 if I can post a picture of the back of their daughters' hand: "OMG, NO! THAT'S DANGEROUS!" And then I get anxiety.

What advice do you have for new bloggers?

I've actually been talking to a lot of new bloggers lately. People are calling me for advice on starting up. It's a funny time to start blogging. There are a trillion blogs out there — but it's so easy to spread the word. I think if things were the way they were when I first started blogging, my advice would be different. But the one piece of advice that would stay the same would be WRITE! And WRITE WELL! Don't worry about "stats" or pleasing your readers right away, or you'll get stuck and you won't enjoy blogging as much. Write about things that interest you, figuring out who you are (forget about who you want to be) in the process, and your readers will come.

Thank you!

CHEAT SHEET

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Name:
Location:
Weblog:
Other Notables:

Twitter:
2010 CWA Winner:

Haley Overland (aka Haley-O, Cheaty)
Toronto, Ontario
Cheaty Monkey
Kidsdeserveart.com, Today's Parent Magazine,
and Celebrity Candy
@cheaty
1st in Life, 3rd in Best Written

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Wednesday

Feb242010

2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Exclusive Nominee Interview with Kate Inglis of sweet | salty

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Kate Inglis authors sweet | salty, which has been nominated in the Best Written, Life, and Family & Parenting categories of the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards.

Why blogging?

This question has me wanting to yell 'diplomatic immunity!' from the deck of an illegal freighter after I've ordered three of my goons to tackle the word 'blogging' to the ground and beat it unconscious.

It's probably unfair for me to get squirmy around the word 'blogger', especially given all the metadrama and politics and reactive blogging pride out there. It's got nothing to do with the writing I do for clients, or for fiction. I don’t mean to devalue the communities and friendships that spring up from all these people writing and sharing over the internet. It's just a goofy word.

I've also never thought of blogging as an end-goal. It's writing. So why writing? Because I suck at math.

Where does your weblog fit into your creative portfolio? Is blogging your primary outlet, or do you publish elsewhere?

My blog accelerated the process of getting published by helping me bypass the slush pile. It wasn't necessarily mass exposure — plenty of people get more traffic than I do. But my writing caught the eye of the right person the same week I'd finished my first manuscript. She's now my editor. I am shocked. She is relentless.

I'm not inclined to syrupy overstatements, but this is the truth. The past year has made me feel like the home of my writing might make anything possible. It's a channel, an idea bank, a spiritual practice, friendships, a resource, a discipline. The past year has been a lesson in how profoundly storytelling — and clarity of voice — matters.

How has your blogging style, content, and attitude changed since you first began?

I remember the first and last time I got wound up about the futility of blogging. It was sometime in 2005. I was wandering one night, trying to find ‘good blogs’. I had no idea how it all worked, how you’d ever find similar voices or interests, let alone readers. From blogroll to blogroll I landed on a blog that featured a whole series of posts detailing several days of one woman’s constipation. Ooof! Hard poop. Big poop! Waiting. Pushing. Ow! Oof. Oatmeal. Prunes. Urrgh! Water. More water! Ouch. Squat! A downed tree, a chorus. None of it meant to be funny. She might have had a ticker in animated gif format. Hers was some seriously earnest shit.

30+ comments on every post led me to the conclusion that people like reading about artless shit. I didn’t just want to quit blogging. I wanted to trade in my entire generation.

Choosing not to delete my blog at that moment was a turning point. To keep going, I had to shrug at the rest of the internet. The trolls, the bickering, the melodrama, the need for validation, the exposure fetishists. The shit. I had to make the internet into something else, at least in my corner, and not internalize the rest of it. I made an effort to find kind and interesting people for whom blogging was just a platform for something else. Good writing, ideas, photography, art.

Then the twins were born, and Liam died, and everything changed, but far beyond blogging. I’m not afraid anymore. I’m not so doubtful and unsure and awkward and wracked. I don’t worry as much about what people think of me. I feel bigger than I was, more calm. More cemented in how I feel about the act of public writing.

Which of your weblog entries from the past while was the most cathartic/interesting/nerve-wracking for you, and why?

The answer most people might expect would be any post written inside the NICU. When something like that happens to you, the world doesn't stop. People keep running for the bus and flipping the bird in traffic and it's just impossibly strange. My kid is dying and you're eating a hamburger, you stupid fucker, and you've got ketchup on your chin, and I can't decide if I want to punch you or tell you how rare you are.

The world doesn't want or need to see the suffering that consumes you. In fact, most people turn away from it. So I had to keep writing. I needed to make people pause and consider the vividness of what we couldn't escape. And I needed to make it hopeful, somehow. I was forcing my imagination out-of-season. It was sado-masochism on all fronts, but it didn’t take courage. I had no choice. The writing of those posts came easily.

The difficult, knuckle-biting posts have been those that preceded the release of my book. I've never felt so exposed in my life. I had no idea it would feel so terrifying to put those pirates where they could be seen. They're brutes and thugs but they were kind enough to run away with me when I needed fresh air. For people to respond to them (or my expression of them) with indifference... for a few weeks there, I was out of my head with how raw it felt.

Ramble a little bit here about whatever you like. We think you're a stunning writer and just want to listen to you talk some more.

Poop! LOL. OMG. TMI. WTF.

What weblogs are your must-reads?

Bon of Crib Chronicles, Sweet Juniper, BHJ, Maggie Dammit, and so many others. I read my friends, so it’s really tough to answer this. Some are photographers, some I’ve hung out with at BlogHer [conferences], some totally bogarted the last box of chocolate weetabix. I trawl Pioneer Woman for free photoshop actions but beyond that, everyone I read is someone with some personal connection. They’re all must-reads.

If you were to impart some knowledge to an aspiring blogger, what would you tell them?

Only flash your boobs if somebody pays you.

Kate Inglis, a writer and photographer, lives on the edge of a meat-grinder sea on the far eastern coastline of Nova Scotia where she was born. Since 2004, her personal blog sweet | salty has chronicled a journey that's been equal parts joy, blessings and unexpected bumps. She founded a collaborative blog for babylost parents called Glow in the Woods, a warm, embracing and entirely cherub-free community. She spends a lot of time with her camera in-hand, chasing light, and writes for Shutter Sisters as a founding contributor. In November 2009 her first novel was published — The Dread Crew: Pirates of the Backwoods, a book January Magazine calls it “a spirited tale, gorgeously rendered.” The second edition lands in Canada and the U.S. in April 2010.

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Monday

Feb152010

2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Exclusive Nominee Interview with C.J. Koster of Mr. Teacher Man

Monday, February 15, 2010

C.J. Koster authors Mr. Teacher Man, which is nominated in the Ex-Pat, Life, and People's Choice categories of the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards.

Why blogging?

Truthfully, because I there was a point in my life when I had absolutely nothing to do. Coincidentally, that time coincided with my university finals, and there was a whole lot to do. Basically, blogging started out as my excuse to procrastinate. It was something I was convinced I had to do every day, no matter what else had to be done, and so when something came up that I wasn't particularly keen on doing, my answer usually was "Sorry, can't, gotta blog", and my friends would be like, "You gotta do what?", and I'd be all, "Oh, right, you're all still on MySpace", and they'd be all, "MySpace is the shit!", and then I'd go write about how my friends were tools because they were all up in MySpace's business. I used to write about daily stuff that was easily exaggerated, like the time when my buddy Jon, who actually convinced me that blogging was the wave of the future and I should get myself a surf board, bet me $35 that I couldn't eat twelve rabbit turds. That was an exaggerated story. Because the bet was only $20. But I'd putter around the net, read other people's stuff, and then try to fit into whatever niche I thought was missing.

Eventually, when I moved to Korea in August 2007 to take up a gig teaching English, I became more dedicated to blogging – not particularly about life in Korea, but I found that being out of my motherland's bosom opened my eyes to a lot of different things and made me more perceptive to the human condition. But not in any way more empathetic. And so, that's what I kind of use blogging for now – as an outlet to explore the fact that I, by natural evolution, am an asshole. It's been very rewarding, and I think if Hemingway would have had a blog, he might had the same revelation. And might have shot himself sooner.

What is the thing you like the most and what is the thing you dislike the most about running your weblog?

"Running [my] weblog," that's very interesting. Almost makes it sound successful. Donald Trump runs The Trump Organization, Steve Jobs runs Apple, Tiger Woods runs around on his wife, but I'm not sure if I run Mr. Teacher Man. It's probably more accurate to say it runs me. I suppose the thing I like most about it, though, is the fact that it gives an outlet to my perfectionism. I'm a details kinda guy. I like being nit-picky about little things, and maintaining a design that makes me happy is a challenge. I'm very much a follower and a copy cat, so if I see someone else's blog and theirs looks better than mine, or they have an interesting way that they've designed theirs, I don't have any qualms about assimilating and implementing. It's definitely the fact that I can give free-reign to my perfectionism through maintaining what is now Mr. Teacher Man (which in itself was a victim of my anal retentiveness, because it used to be called 'C.J. in Korea' and then it was 'Traveling Circus' and now…) that makes me trudge on with it.

I have always disliked the idea of commenting. I mean, I understand the point behind it and the value, but I hate the nepotism that goes along with it. I hate posting something and then wanting to go back every half hour to see if anyone has read it yet and then actually seeing that first comment, and all it says is "Nice!". Though I say, "Thanks for reading!", what I'm really saying is, "I JUST SPENT TWO HOURS TRYING TO BE FUNNY AND ALL YOU’VE GOT IS 'NICE?' WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? A TOKED OUT MINIMALIST? PLEASE!" So, I'm trying to convince myself that comments don't really matter as much and it's all about the writing.

How has your blogging style/content/attitude changed since you first started?

Wow. How hasn't it changed? I used to write long, droning posts that could have been read by Ben Stein at a Ferris Bueller convention. At one point, I realized that blogging isn't something that should be taken seriously, that there are some people who use blogging as a way of conveying their lives to people who want to read about them (which is all fine and well), but I just wasn't one of those people. Nobody, aside from maybe my mom, wanted to read about my life. So, I started looking at bloggers who take their lives, turn the shit that happens inside out, and who make shit funny. And I've always been a fan of a good shit joke, like – What's brown and sits on a piano bench? Beethoven's First Movement. Yeah. So, I figured that instead of being serious about blogging, I'd go at it from the angle that I can be just as funny as any other jerk on the street, and I was right. I actually started to enjoy what I was writing. And shit jokes are funny, don't care what anybody says.

How many of your waking hours are spent on the Internet each day?

What an embarrassing question. Basically, my entire day is spent on the Internet. When I'm not teaching, I'm on the Internet. When I'm not drinking, I'm on the Internet. When I'm not making lame shit jokes, I'm on the Internet looking up lame shit jokes. Truthfully, as a teacher in Korea, there isn't a lot of prep time needed. It's all wham, bam, thank you ma'am from the text book, and so when I'm not actually lecturing, I'm sitting at my laptop watching viral videos, reading the news, and checking Facebook. Facebook. That is the worst thing to ever happen to humanity. My theory is that the Bush Administration created Facebook. Wiretapping, surveillance, no no no, it's all Facebook. Everything you need to know about someone is a friend request away, and anybody who resembles someone you may or may not have gone to elementary school with twenty years ago can see it.

Short answer, eight or nine hours on a slow day.

Since you are living abroad, it only seems fitting to ask you about your favourite town or place in Canada.

Being a Canadian in Korea does give me a very unique perspective on the Motherland. The world community has a very defined opinion of what Canadians stand for: they see us as maple leaf toting, peace loving, multi-culturalized, bilingual, international misfits, America's little brother. But they're just jealous that they don’t have Harvey's. That’s what I miss. Harvey's. I would give all the kimchi in Korea for a charbroiled original burger with nothing on it but a big, huge, enormous, glob of Heinz ketchup and a side of fries. But not the new fries. Harvey's used to have amazing French fries, but then they changed the style, and they're not as good any more. But Harvey's is the kind of place that you don't actually appreciate until you can't have it anymore; McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and KFC, they're all in Korea, but there's no Harvey's. I think my second favourite place is definitely the section of Price Chopper that has the shelves full of cheap macaroni and cheese. I also miss mac and cheese. If it's not out of a box, it's just not the same.

What are your must-reads?

Not only are they "must-reads" but they’re "must-worships." I am consistently and solidly blown away by the sheer genius of Jenny the Bloggess and the really messed up chick that does Hyperbole and a Half. I love anything that shows a distinct perceptiveness. These ladies aren't only FUCKING HILARIOUS, but they present a picture of their lives that is so unique to their personalities that I'm almost jealous of their ability to write the way they do.

If you were to impart knowledge to an aspiring blogger, what would you tell them?

Three things:

Don't blog every day. Or, at least, don't tell yourself you will. Because you won't. And if you do try to blog every day, chances are you're doing it just for the sake of having continuity on your site and not because you have something creative to show the world.

Recognize that blogging is a community. This took me a long time to figure out. I was counting on my writing to sell itself, but the reality is that the Internet is an enormous block of cheese, and everybody's trying to get a sliver. To be acknowledged, you have to go out, read other blogs, leave comments, make contacts, and participate.

Never use relationship problems as writing fodder. You can say to me, "But, C.J., dude, I use an alias, nobody knows who I am and my relationships are so fucked up that I can't help but write about them, they're gold, man, if there was a Pulitzer Prize for blogging about fucked up relationships, I'd get it!", and I would say to you, look, at some point that relationship is going to resolve itself, and, regardless of how messed up it is, what would the person you're writing about think if they actually did recognize that you were the author? Food for thought.

C.J. Koster of Mr. Teacher Man is a writer, editor, photographer, humorist, and teacher currently living in Seoul, South Korea. C.J. has been the editor of several city-centric lifestyle and culture magazines in Canada and is currently the creative director for a satire and a humor magazine for foreigners in Korea; he is also currently working on his first novel and an anthology of short fiction and poetry. In addition, he enjoys long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, intimate conversations about philosophy and politics, and his secret ambition is to be Betty White's pool boy.

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Monday

Feb082010

2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Exclusive Nominee Interview with Sadie Shih Tzu of Hi, I'm Sadie Shih Tzu

Monday, February 8, 2010

Sadie Shih Tzu authors Hi, I'm Sadie Shih Tzu, which has been nominated in the Life category of the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards.

Why do you blog?

I started out on Twitter before I had a blog. I loved talking about the mischief I got into, but 140 characters was never enough space – I get into a lot of troubles. Also, in the winter here in Manitoba I have to stay indoors, because outside it's too cold on my feets. I'm energetic, and blogging seemed like a good way to burn off some of my puppy energy.

The first stuffs I wrote were a bit silly, really. I was just warming up to the blogging thing. Then I realised I could write about important doggeh stuffs such as getting spayed or the dangers of eating rawhide. Because I knew other anipals read my blog, this seemed like a good way to put important words in front of them.

The other side to that is that I can make peoples happy. I'm a cute doggeh, and cute doggehs look good in photos. I like putting smiles on faces.

Between your mischief-making and your blogging, you are quite a busy shih tzu. How do you manage to keep all your balls in the air?

Sleep is important to any busy doggeh. I make sure I get plenty so I can meet my blogging and mischief head-on. Also, I'm very good at playing fetch and can even find tennis balls in the snow, so I think I'm quite experienced with the ball thing.

Has anything embarrassing ever happened as a result of your blogging activity?

Recently, I met a nice boy doggeh called Millo – he's my boyfriend now. His person is a photographer, and they both came to my house for a photo shoot for my blog. I don't meet a lot of boy doggehs. Millo was very playful, but I was wary of him. Then, he did something that would make even a person blush (see this photo: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2700/4331770527_5d85a08532_o.jpg). That’s the first time a boy doggeh has done that to me. I was very embarrassed. Then, he tried to kiss me (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4036/4331771175_029858b9b9_o.jpg). I had to have a good rest after that.

How has celebrity changed you?

Honestly, I don't think celebrity has changed me. I like treats, playing, sleeping, and belly rubs. I'm just a dog with a blog living in Manitoba. I don't go to glamourous parties or ride in limousines. I do like to be the centre of attention, but I was like that even as a puppy. I think the biggest shock of all was finding out that Ellen DeGeneres from The Ellen DeGeneres Show was following me on Twitter. It didn't change me, but it made me realise how far my words can travel on the internet.

For a tech-savvy pooch such as yourself, what weblogs are your must-reads?

I don't read the technical bloggehs. My person does that. One of my very favourite woofsites is written by my Twitter pal Trixie. She's a Papillion, and her blog helps persons understand doggehs: http://www.itrixie.com/. Trixie is funny and cute and always makes me laugh. Another site I like is BZTAT Art Studios: http://bztat.com/. Mrs. Vicki is an artist person, and she does nice pictures of animals. She did one of me: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5128839&l=7a96d645c2&id=624455559.

If you were to impart some knowledge to an aspiring blogger, what would you tell them?

Having a passion is important if you want to write a bloggeh. If you don't have passion, it will show. Write about stuffs that you love. And if the words don't come easily, just write something. Anything. I started off writing about snow. But the more I did that, the easier it became. If a dog can write a blog, then so can any person.

Sadie Shih Tzu was born on the fourth of July 2008. Her person found her on the internet, which is fitting, because Sadie loves to tweet, Facebook, and blog. Sadie lives in Manitoba with her British doggeh mama and particularly likes snow, which is fortunate, because there’s lots of it in Canada.

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Wednesday

Feb032010

2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Exclusive Nominee Interview with Lauren White of Raymi the Minx

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Lauren White authors Raymi the Minx, which has been nominated in the Life, Lifetime Achievement, and People's Choice categories of the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards.

You have been blogging for so many years now that your answer to the following question has probably changed several times. Why blogging? Why when you began, and why now?

I blogged then because I had grandiose visions of scholarly fame for myself and since then, nothing has changed. I prided myself on being a little online rebel dick then realised I could and should manipulate 50% of my audience with my looks. Funny how now I only care what the other 50% think about my image. The statement girls dress for girls is so hyperly true it kills me. Fuck dudes, sorry guys. Now I blog because if I stop I will become irrelevant, unloved, and forgotten. I'm writing a book, so I'd like there to be an audience around for when it hits stores. I am still as compulsive if not more so than I was when I first began blogging. I guess I'm pretty competitive, too, so there's that. I'm not the only blogger anymore, so I have to keep my wits about me. In actuality though, I know what miniscule talent I have is unique unto itself, so I don't feel very threatened. Hopefully I age well, otherwise I gotta get a new racket.

Which one of your posts from the past while was the most cathartic/interesting/nerve-wracking for you, and why?

When I wrote the guide to dating a drug dealer for Street Boners (which eventually will be published in their first print mag), I got a taste of how sick the internet really is and how far things can go. I stupidly timed revoking commenting from my blog that week, so all my psychotic detractors had a good show of sticking it to me for a week. They eventually closed the thread. I have to steel myself in the future for similar attacks. I'm too sensitive. It's not a case of dishing it out and not being able to take it. It's more of an I don't fucking do that to others, so what the fuck? I was ridiculed in the comments for divulging that one of these dealers burnt my face with hot pizza. Seriously, how is that even remotely funny? People really hate me that much? Very twisted. The funny/exhausting thing about it is, there are so many possible reasons to hate me, but they're also the same reasons to be really into me, too. At the end of the day, though, I get to check my stats and just grin about it, because numbers don't lie (advertisers, now is the time to make contact). Total tangent there sorry. Just the possible (definite) side effects of being a big mouth on the internet.

How do you deal with negative comments or reactions to your posts?

All dependent upon my mood at the time of consumption and how busy/stressed I am. Sometimes I'll have a go with them, but that usually leads to long drawn out crap that I don't have time for. They have their mind made up about me, I don't care, and they don't deserve my time to try and switch it around. How lonely and bored a person are you that you feel compelled to engage in a tete-a-tete with a blogger that you allegedly despise? It takes so much more balls to just stand up and say hey, I like something, and defend it. So much easier to just be a hater. Getting caught up in the ego flame war of it all is such a magnificent waste of time. I'm here, I have all the audience I need, it's good. I'm just living my life like everybody else.

Many bloggers who achieve a certain internet celebrity status have an "aha!" moment when they realize the extent of their reach and influence. Was this true with you and, if so, do you remember what brought that moment about and what it was like?

I have those moments constantly but then get over them, and then I have another one. It can come from an email or seeing my name in the paper, being invited somewhere schmoozy, whatever. When Sex TV interviewed me when I was 19, I then realised, ok, I have something here.

What is your personal blogging philosophy? What will you and what won't you write about?

Right now I'm being more secretive than I typically am/was. The Globe & Mail article taught me a lesson. I was with someone for five years and charted the entire relationship on my blog. We were very much a unit. Now the unit is breached, so the question is, what crazy shit is she going to get up to next? I'm still overshare broadcasting, but I'm holding many cards to my chest, despite knowing that if I wanted to reveal the whole she-bang, I could likely benefit from dirty laundry truths. People really love that stuff, but at what cost to me? If I tell you what I won't write about, then that would be telling you what I won't tell you. A-ha moment.

If you were to impart some knowledge to an aspiring blogger, what would you tell them?

Buy my book. It will tell you everything you need to know. I can't dole out free advice anymore. I don't have the time for it, and you could actually just skim my archives, cos I've given out plenty of Blogging According to Raymi over the years. Basically just write what you feel, make it interesting, be consistent and concise. Get a camera. Be funny, endearing, artistic. Try to be good looking, and make as many stirs as possible.

What are your favourite weblogs?

Too many to mention, and if I say one then 1200 others feel pissed and dissed.

Lauren White of Raymi the Minx:

I am Canada's most infamous blogger. I am taking this title so just try and stop me. Technically it is true and I have this written on my business cards: Canada's most popular blogger since 2000. Now, this statement is more accurate because if someone else in Canada were actually more popular than I am, that's fine, but have they been popular since 2000? No they have not been. So a brief rundown on all that is basically when blogging received its first wave of media hype I was already a few years ahead of the tide, early-adoption combined with racy material = audience. I have managed to maintain this popularity for way too long now. I am a 26 year old compulsive blogger and you know everything there is to know about me.

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Lifetime Achievement,

People's Choice,