3.25.2008

Tag, I am it....

I have been tagged by my friend Sue over at Red Tail Designs for a questionnaire about blogging. So here it goes…

1. Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging because of D over at There are No Bad Ideas. D and I dated while I was in college and still keep in loose touch. He sent me a link to his blog and I liked the idea of having a) a way for people who I am not near to keep in touch with my life b) a way for customers to get to know “me” better and c) a kind of diary of my business, its ups and downs and how it changed through the years.


2. How did you come up with your blog name?

Well, I am a soap maker, and I liked using the term “soap box” as both a way to show what I do and as it’s typical usage as saying what you want to in a definitive way. I think the “on the soap box” really fits when I am reviewing craft shows that I have been at because I really don’t censor myself.


3. Do your friends and family know about your blog? What do they think of it?

They know of it, I tell everyone, it is on my catalog, my business cards, my web site. C doesn’t read it, it is almost like he thinks it is too personal for him to read, but I am not sure about that. Many of my other friends read it, I hardly get comments posted, but I do get comments while I am on the phone with them or through e-mails with them.


4. How do you write posts?

I make myself write one a week during my “slow time” (no craft shows), just as a diary of what I have done. I try to do a few paragraphs that sum up my week and my feelings and observations. Once show season hits I try and blog about every day at a show, there is almost always something good I can come up with to write about. And besides that I write when I get the fodder to do it, I wrote almost every day a few years ago while my dad was sick and sometimes I write after big events too.


5. Have you ever had a troll or had to delete comments?

Nope, don’t get enough comments to worry about


6. Do you check your stats? Do you care how many people read your blog? If you do care, how to you increase traffic?

I don’t check my stats at all. I do have a hit counter which I loosely monitor for my own delight and amazement. I could care less how many people read my blog, I do it for me and hope others are interested really. Last year I tried to care, I tried to think about increasing traffic and being a good blogger and all of that jazz, it left me tired and I didn’t blog for three months, it made me tired of being “out there” and feeling watched. I like the idea of just not knowing or caring better.


7. What kind of blogs/posts interest you?

I am interested in people like me, simple people who are just telling about their daily stuff, but telling about it in delightful, sometimes comical, interesting ways. I read blogs by stay at home moms, foodie blogs, knitting blogs, and the blogs of my friends.


8. What do you like and dislike about blogging?

I like having a place to put my thoughts and to be able to go back to them and relook at them. I love having a diary of my life, but especially my work and my business. I dislike when someone thinks they know me because they have read my blog, like I have had a conversation with them that never existed in my end. I find that weird.

I tag anyone who reads this blog- and comment to me, tell me about you and where I can read about you :)

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