With more than 100 milion weblogs published worldwide, JOHN HARRIS asks a keen blogger what motivates her to keep her blog current.

Blogging has given voice to people often overlooked by traditional media according to a mother-of-four who has developed a successful blog during the past two years.

“Blogging is a fabulous medium,” said Kate, who does not publish her surname to protect her family’s privacy. “It has given a voice to many whom the mainstream media has conventionally ignored.

“For example, there’s a lot of talk in the US about tapping the ‘mommy-blogger’ market due to the realisation that women at home with children now have a voice and influence - through blogging.

“The biggest single factor in making a blog interesting is the quality of the writing.  However, there is also an aspirational element.  Blogs have replaced women’s magazines to some extent as the sources of information about home decorating, raising children, crafts, gardening and so forth.  Therefore, blogs that have good writing and beautiful images are almost always successful.”

The word “blog” is a contraction of the term “web log”, which is a type of online diary or commentary that reflects the thoughts, opinions or feelings of an individual. To see the panorama of topics covered by blogs, check out the blog search engine Technorati at http://technorati.com/, which has indexed more than 133 million blog records since 2002.

Kate started her blog, Our Red House, in May 2007, at the suggestion of a friend and also to pursue her goal of learning how to develop a website. “My blog was originally about life at our red house in Melbourne – hence the blog title,” Kate said.

“Mostly I wrote about my garden and pet chooks, anecdotes about family life, recipes, and household tips and hints.  Occasionally I also wrote about current events.

“In mid 2008, the blog changed as we made a sudden and unexpected move to Adelaide, due to job uncertainty in Melbourne. I think the changes in my own life reflect the changes that many are experiencing around the world: Job uncertainty; having to uproot; concern about the financial crisis – but still working to create a strong family and home life though all that.”

Kate established Our Red House at www.blogger.com, a free Google platform that costs her only time to maintain. The blog receives about 10,000 direct visits each month and has more than 200 daily subscribers via an automated feed.

Kate’s initial experiments with advertising on the blog have not proved lucrative, with Google Ads earning only a few cents for every thousand hits: She is currently working with BlogHer, a women-bloggers only advertiser, which offers the advantage of promoting her blog articles.

Kate says that despite the personal nature of her blog, family privacy remains important. “I don’t publish identifiable pictures of my children or of the front of my house,” she said.

Her other tips for running a successful blog include:

• Don’t try to copy other bloggers.  Be yourself.  Use a spell checker.
• Comment on other blogs and people will find you.
• Don’t write negatively about your family or other bloggers as it will come back to haunt you.
• Don’t take yourself too seriously.  Have fun!

“Blogging has definitely been worth the effort.  It’s like having hundreds of pen-pals around the world, without having to write to them all individually.”

You can check out Kate’s blog at http://ourredhouse.blogspot.com/.

John Harris is managing director of Impress Media Australia. You can view his website at www.johnharris.com.au.

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