The Blog Question Challenge

I know some people hate this kind of meta post, but I really like them. I find it fascinating learning how other people who manage their site and workflow. Mainly to see if there’s something I can steal, er um, borrow.

So anyway, I’ve adapted the original questions from Ava to be more generic.

The questions are:

1. Why did you start blogging in the first place?
2. What platform are you using to manage your blog and why did you choose it?
3. Have you blogged on other platforms before?
4. How do you write your posts? For example, in a local editing tool, or in a panel/dashboard that’s part of your blog?
5. When do you feel most inspired to write?
6. Do you publish immediately after writing, or do you let it simmer a bit as a draft?
7. What’s your favorite post on your blog?
8. Any future plans for your blog? Maybe a redesign, a move to another platform, or adding a new feature?

So without further ado, here’s my answers to the questions…

Why did you start blogging in the first place?

This is my second attempt at blogging. The first was years ago, back when Blogger was all the rage. That blog has long since disappeared, replaced by the convenience of other platforms. My reason for starting back then was simple: I wanted a small corner of the internet to share my thoughts. The same holds true today. With all the algorithms, ads, and tracking dominating the online world, having a space I can call my own and fully control feels more important than ever.

What platform are you using to manage your blog and why did you choose it?

Check out my About page to see the technology stack that I’m using. The GitHub Pages is fairly light weight and I use git in my day-to-day work. A lot of inspiration was taken from fellow blogger Sean Killeen and he was using the same open source tools; making it easy for to to learn.

Have you blogged on other platforms before?

Yes, I had an account on Blogger.com many years ago. I also do some micro-blogging on Mastodon and BlueSky.

How do you write your posts?

When I come across a topic that I feel I should write about, if I’m away from the computer I’ll send myself a quick email from my mobile. Once I’m at my computer, those thoughts are transferred to GitHub Issues. From there I flush out my thoughts, do additional research, etc. Then when I feel there is enough content, I transfer it to a post in the code repo.

When do you feel most inspired to write?

Sometimes I find it very difficult to get inspired to write, but with where the current US political landscape is going, I feel that I need to have a place for my voice to be heard.

Do you publish immediately after writing, or do you let it simmer a bit as a draft?

It depends on the content, if it’s a simple topic I usually publish immediately. If it’s more complex or nuanced, I will let it sit for awhile and review it multiple times before hitting the publish button.

What’s your favorite post on your blog?

Since I’ve just started blogging again, this would probably be my favorite post at this point.

Any future plans for your blog?

The plans for now is to launch this blog and continue writing. The layout was recently created, so no need to do any updates.