An Exclusive Interview With 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Winner Andrea Tomkins Of A Peek Inside The Fishbowl

photo credit: Kym Shumsky of Le Mien

Andrea Tomkins authors the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards winner A Peek Inside the Fishbowl, which placed 2nd in Lifetime Achievement.

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

I was at the right place at the right time. Looking back, I realize that a number of things intersected, notably, that I was a new mom with a journalism degree and web skills who needed a creative outlet. I could make my own website! I was really happy to discover this interesting and cool way to share information.

I actually started the blog because many of my friends were far from having children of their own and I didn't want to foist my baby photos on unsuspecting (and perhaps even unappreciative!) singles. Writing was a total catharsis, and when I installed comments I realized how many people out there could relate to what I was going through and offer support and advice. It was amazing.

The word "weblog" was pretty new and I felt like it referred to something different than I had going on at the time, although in hindsight I realize now it's always been a blog. A weblog in 1999 was an aggregator of online news, not really a journal. The site I created was a hand-coded chronological diary of my life as a new mom. And surprisingly, it grew. My friends started sharing the link with their friends, and soon I had total strangers reading about my ups and downs and our adventures as a family. (Which I found odd at first, but I got over it soon enough.)

I love the little corner I've carved out for myself. I wouldn't have been able to keep it up this long if I wasn't truly passionate about it. I've met so many fantastic people, and had so many interesting job opportunities as a result of the blog... I couldn't put the brakes on now, even if I tried.


photo credit: Kym Shumsky of Le Mien

You've been keeping a weblog since 1999, which means that you've been blogging since the last century, which makes you an internet dinosaur. What are some of the most notable changes that you've seen take place within blogging culture over the last 12 years?

Ha! No kidding!

Blogging — and social media in general — has not only changed the way people communicate with each other, but it's also had a huge impact on how people get information about the world around them. I've had someone tell me that my blog was the only way they get their news. (I found this kind of scary because I don't actually write a lot about politics or current events.) But I do write a lot about what's going on in my neighbourhood, and big media outlets aren't able to get the same kind of coverage like hyper-local blogs like mine do. People want to know what's happening in their own backyards, and they often can't get that kind of information from traditional news media.


photo credit: Kym Shumsky of Le Mien

On your life list, you crossed off "ski down an Olympic run and not kill myself". Tell me how and why. (And thank you for surviving, by the way.)

The Olympic run in question was at Axamer Lizum near Innsbruck in Austria. I was a teenager on a weeklong trip with my high school German class. I was a newbie skier who somehow found herself on the side of a mountain, surrounded by moguls, without really having paid attention to how she got there. Suffice it to say that it took me a long time to get down. I'm happy I didn't kill myself either.

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

My blog is very much a reflection of what I'm thinking about at any given time, which is why my content is so varied. I write about social media one day, development in my neighbourhood another day, and post a recipe for granola bars the next. Much of what I write about is specific to family life in Ottawa, and it gives me great joy to help families discover those hidden gems... those fun things to do that they may not have heard about otherwise. I'm almost always mulling over a post in my head. I often post 6 or 7 (or more!) times a week.

When I am uninspired I just stay away from the blog. Some bloggers post things like Well, I don't have anything interesting to say! What's new with you? just to fill the space. I just wait for the inspiration to hit. I know it will. I don't really believe in writer's block as it pertains to the blog. I think of myself as an empty vessel. If the vessel is dry, I have to find a way to fill it up again. It could be as simple as going to the museum, grabbing the camera and going outside, or tuning out and going for a long walk.


photo credit: Kym Shumsky of Le Mien

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

I'm very open about it, but it can be awkward bringing it up at a dinner party or in the schoolyard. It always comes up when someone asks me what I do. The blog has become a part-time job for me, not just in terms of the amount time I spend on it, but also in terms of the revenue I earn from ad sales... and other job opportunities that have found me through the blog, too. People's responses really depend upon whether they read blogs or not. Some people aren't familiar with any blogs, so they are less likely to understand the appeal of reading or writing. (I would argue that they haven't found the "right" blog to read.) For those people, I like to use the metaphor of the newspaper column. I ask them if there's a columnist they like. Yes? Well, imagine they're on the web and writing every day, and you have the chance to interact with them. That's a blog.

A lot of people in my neighbourhood know about the blog because there's been a quiet a bit of coverage about it in our local paper. Interestingly, offline people sometimes don't like to admit they read the blog, which I find pretty interesting. Apparently they feel voyeuristic, like they're reading a personal diary, I don't know, but I find it kind of funny. I wish they'd just admit they read along instead of pretending they don't!

Which weblogs are your current favourites? Which weblogs have been most influential in the shaping of your own blogging?

I wish I had more time to spend read and commenting on all the blogs I like. My reader is overflowing. A few of the blogs that inspired me in those early days are still around today: Dooce, for one. I really liked the way she wrote about her personal life and made it interesting and funny. And from a crafty and creative perspective, I liked Loobylu. I am a huge fan of Mom-101 and Design Mom. There are a lot of great Ottawa-area blogs too, and I try to keep up with as many as I can. Two of my faves are Capital Mom and Diary of a Turtlehead. Brie and Lynn write so thoughtfully about parenthood. I admire them both very much.


photo credit: Kym Shumsky of Le Mien

What advice do you have for new bloggers?

New bloggers need to try on blogging like a new pair of shoes and walk around in them for awhile so they can see if it's a good fit. If it's not a good fit, dump it. Don't just let it languish. But most importantly, I think a successful blogger writes for themselves first, about a topic they are passionate about. If they can do that, their passion will shine through in their writing and the rest will follow. That being said, it is hard to get noticed. People blog for different reasons, and I know that getting noticed is important for some people. New bloggers really need to get out there — online and offline — and tell people about their blogs. And keep writing!

CHEAT SHEET

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Name: Location: Weblog: Other Notables: Twitter: 2010 CWA Winner:

Andrea Tomkins Ottawa A Peek Inside the Fishbowl Flickr Facebook @missfish 2nd in Lifetime Achievement

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

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.

Nominees of the Day: Lifetime Achievement

Today's 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards nominees of the day are from the Lifetime Achievement category.

The Lifetime Achievement category is reserved for those weblogs that have been kicking around since before January 1, 2005. They are the aged ones, the dinosaurs among weblogs, a rare breed, and their authors must be commended for their sheer stick-to-it-ive-ness. Check out these hardy souls and give them a wave in their comments:

dirtyolive.net
JordonCooper.com
randallfriesen.com
Raymi the Minx
Sudobeer
Wish Jar

If you know of a quality Canadian weblog created before January 1, 2005, nominate them in the Lifetime Achievement category of the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards and give them their due.