This was invented by YogaMum, who posted it as Confessions of a Blogger, and taken up by (un)relaxeddad, who turned it into a meme. It’s the perfect thing to post right now, while seventy-three five children tear up my happy home. All I can say is, “It’s only three hours till I can leave for writing group. Roll on 6pm!”
1. Do you promote your blog?
No I don’t, except to occasionally mention it to people. I say, “Oh and I write a blog” and if they get excited, I give them the URL, but if they come over all glazed, then we move swiftly on. I tried joining BlogHer last year but was a little intimidated by the very American, very Mummyblogger focus. It’s not the right place for me, and maybe I don’t need a place. Maybe Charlotte’s Web is becoming a tiny little place all of its own, a little oasis along the information superhighway (remember when we used to call the Web that? back in about 1995?).
2. How often do you check hits?
Embarrassingly frequently. A few times a day. I’m not obsessed though, really I’m not. It’s just that I have a slight competition going with my blogging husband.
3. Do you stick to one topic?
No. It’s my blog and I write what I like. Sometimes it’s books, sometimes it’s parenting, sometimes it’s silly posts about my shoes.
4. Who knows that you have a blog?
Lots of people, but not my neighbours.
5. How many blogs do you read?
I subscribe to 107 and read them daily. They are divided roughly into three groups: friends’ blogs, where we have built up a relationship and comment on each other’s posts, blogs where I am merely a fan not a friend (Dooce, Confessions of a Pioneer Woman and I Can Make You Rich) and writing/publishing blogs where I read for information and occasionally comment.
6. Are you a fast reader?
Yes.
7. Do you customise your blog or do anything technical?
Err, no. I’m still struggling to put up my Rocking Girl Blogger and Thinking Blogger thingies. (Kate, thanks for the step-by-step tips – I worked through it once, failed miserably and must try again.) I can upload a mean photo, though.
8. Do you blog anonymously?
No, but I wish I had thought about doing so when I started. Since most people know I blog, I can’t really rant or mine other people’s lives for stories. The flipside of this is that I have to keep my blog friendly, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It suits me that this blog is generally a happy place to be.
9. To what extent do you censor yourself?
I do self-censor and keep things private. I also don’t publish any photos of my children. Part of me would love to since they are so damn adorable, but having identified myself, I feel it’s my responsibility to allow them their privacy.
10. The best thing about blogging?
Always connecting. I’ve made friends, have a new and surprising support network. I’m inspired daily – to write, to read new books, to think. I love the window that blogging gives me into other people’s worlds. It has turned my relationship with the print media upside down – I no longer need it. And when I do read a magazine or newspaper, I find it thin, empty and dissatisfying. Give me someone’s own story in their own words any day.
I tag anyone who wants to reveal their blogging confessions … Come on, you want to. You know you do.
Charlotte's Web 
September 13, 2007 at 2:36 pm
You are right – I absolutely do want to – this is on reserve for next week. I honestly don’t know why anyone would read magazines anymore (although I am still in the habit of reading the NY Times each morning) – blogs are so much more satisfying. I do think your web is a little oasis in the blogosphere, and it’s one of my favorite places to visit!
September 13, 2007 at 3:01 pm
For the record, I obsessively read your blog. I check it first thing in the morning, before I check my office emails or read the newspapers – which I am paid to do. I also recommend it to everyone and anyone, even those who glaze over. So how is that for an endorsement?
September 13, 2007 at 3:25 pm
See, I am so *not* self-promoting that it didn’t occur to me to turn this into a meme 😉
I totally agree about magazines. I still like to look at the pictures, though.
September 13, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Ditto to the magazine comment, blogs have completely taken over that reading slot for me.
I also wasn’t sure about posting photos of the children, but they’ve gradually crept in, though I try not to put close-up portraits of them.
I like the happy place that your blog is and that I try to keep mine too. I have to keep mine cheerful because I know my parents read it!
September 13, 2007 at 6:45 pm
I enjoyed reading this, your answers come across as very thoughtful and considered. Then again, the same is true of your writings anyway (did I ever mention, I think I found your place via “confessions of a psychotherapist”).
September 13, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Hi there, I am quite new to the blogosphere (blogging since June, although I read blogs for a while before that, introduced by Random Reality (having read the book “Blood Sweat and Tea”)
Read the blogs in my favourites – about 30 – every morning and evning and keep finding new ones via links. Just found yours recently – and really like it
September 13, 2007 at 10:00 pm
I was curious about your neighbors… You have blogged about the life in Germany, and wondered how they would react.
I tried to read “More” magazine the other day, and found it very flat — blogs are much more entertaining to me now.
And, I’m a fan.
September 13, 2007 at 11:20 pm
Great! I hope Yogamum sees this, because every time I try to view her blog, I get a big mish-mash. I’ve missed reading her!
September 14, 2007 at 2:18 am
11. I cannot resist a well-crafted meme.
With you on the magazines. I used to devour them but now subscribe to only one and buy others very, very infrequently. They are useful blog fodder, though.
September 14, 2007 at 10:33 am
Ah, I might play 🙂
September 15, 2007 at 7:13 am
Hey – so relieved I’m not the one who checks their stats “a few” times a day. Never though of memes as a kind of promotion actually but come to think of it. Hmm – think there’s a few more I owe people…And some badges to put up…
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September 15, 2007 at 10:46 pm
Charlotte, this is the most interesting meme I have seen for a long time, so I took you up on your tag! Thanks.
September 15, 2007 at 10:52 pm
I really love this, and it’s one of the maybe two tops non-book memes I’m considering doing.
I love that you and your husband compete. My husband has a blog too, but he gets about as many hits in a week as I get an hour, so we never compare. I mean, I write once or twice a day, and he writes once or twice a month, and we know that’s the difference between our blogs.
September 17, 2007 at 7:40 am
I’m going to do this, once I stop running round like a mentalcase. I hope your writing group went well. Heh, I’m saying: “Roll on 6pm!” today too. Only 20 more minutes to go. It’s been a looooooooong day!
September 17, 2007 at 8:40 am
One of the finest and most pleasant blogs around…
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