Broomhead of True Life Seek posted a survey asking for peoples reasons for blogging. I thought this would be a good exercise and allow me to look at my driving factors. So, without further ado, here are my responses!

Goals:

Why do you blog?
For my Hello! Project related blogs, I blog because I need a place to release all of my H!P thoughts. My brother will listen when I get worked up over a particular event or release, but he’s more of a J-music focused person rather than strictly H!P. I have a personal blog that I’ve been keeping since March of 2003. Over the years, I put up random H!P related thoughts into it, but my friends couldn’t care less. So I created fields of maiZe and berryZ to remove the H!P clutter from my personal blog, so that my friends would stop skipping over my posts.

That leaves my personal blog. I generally use that to keep in touch with friends who I don’t get to see often. Rather than e-mailing each other, we update our blogs with the goings on in our lives.

What long-term goals do you hope to accomplish, if any at all?
I haven’t really thought of any long term goals. When I started my H!P blog, all I thought about was that this was a place for me to talk about my fandom with no reservations. I didn’t have to worry that people would be annoyed reading it (and heck, if people are, they can just leave XD). On my personal blog, I usually felt pretty guilty posting about H!P (or my other fandoms) because I knew my friends weren’t interested.

Though now, I guess my long term goal is to provide information to any new fans of H!P, to try and look at H!P going ons from another angle and to write things that are interesting that even older, veteran H!P fans could be interested in.

Where does your blog fail to meet your goals?
Recently, I feel as though I haven’t been posting enough quality posts. My Miya blog has been doing fairly well, but it’s only a little over a week old (and already 5 posts… I’m quite proud of that). The fields on the other hand has only had posts regarding my new Memorable Snippets series. I have a number of concerts I want to write reviews on, but I simply haven’t gotten around to actually focusing on watching a concert to review it.

But then again, with the posts I have done recently, people have seem to have had a fairly good response to them, so it’s not all bad. Personally though, I feel I need more than just a weekly video clip on my blog.

If you do have goals, what will accomplishing them do for yourself?
I feel a great sense of satisfaction when someone lets me know that one of my posts has opened up another aspect of their H!P fandom. I know that when I read someone else’s blog and I find something that I didn’t know about before, it makes me happy and excited. Because of that, I find it rewarding to think that I could possibly provide the same feeling to a fellow H!P fan.

What do you want to gain out of blogging? A creative outlet? Praise from others? Personal satisfaction? Money?
I wouldn’t quite say a creative outlet… Personal satisfaction is definitely something I gain from blogging (as outlined above). I’m not necessarily looking for praise… I actually don’t take praise very well. But I definitely like knowing that others are enjoying what I’m writing about. Money doesn’t come into consideration for me when I blog. My blogs are basically me rambling. Who the heck would pay for that? XD

Do you feel that your blog should meet a requirement for amount of entries? Do you feel any particular entry should be a certain length?
I don’t set a low-end limit for the number of entries or length of an entry. However, I tend to babble. I have never been known for being concise, and if you have browsed through this blog, I think that’s pretty evident. As much as I’d like to, I don’t really do short blog entries. I mean, if you’ve gone to my Miya worship blog, you’ll see that even there I have a few paragraphs before I get into the eyecandy or video clip. I don’t know if I have it in me to NOT babble on about things.

For any particular entry, what motivates you to start and finish blog posts?
A good idea motivates me. I don’t get good ideas for blog posts very often (which is why I mainly do reviews of random H!P related things), but when I do get a good idea my motivation to write heightens considerably. For example, I really enjoyed writing up my H!P Kids Deathmatch post and my hypothetical dance off battle for the Berryz vs. C-ute battle concert.

However, for the reviews and whatnot that I post on my blog, the fact that I really enjoy what I’m writing about motivates me to start and, more importantly, FINISH a post. I have had some reviews that I’ve started, but simply could not finish ’cause I didn’t enjoy whatever I was watching that much, and thus could not think of anything to say (ex. Momusu’s Bon Kyu Bomb 2007 Aki concert). I don’t think you’ll ever see a review of that concert in its entirety on this blog.

Do you actively consider long term goals for each individual post?
Long-term goals…? Well, if you mean that I plan to do a concert review in February and still haven’t gotten around to it in May, but plan to do it at some point as a long term goal.. Then yes, I consider finishing (aka starting) the post as a long term goal. Other than that, not really, I post whatever comes to mind as soon as possible so as to not lose my train of thought.

Subject Material:

What do you blog about?
On fields of maiZe and berryZ, I mainly blog on anything relating to Hello! Project that I feel the need to comment on. I mainly do reviews, whether it’s about the latest/upcoming single/PV or old school concerts. I do the random posts when I get new shipments of H!P stuff, but a review of some sort is usually attached to it. I very rarely do a simple eyecandy post.

Also, on the rare occasion, I stick a completely non Hello! Project related post into my blog. So far, those posts have related to Hanson and the Toronto Raptors. These are the other two major fandoms in my life, and I really have nowhere else to post about them.

On Last Forever, anything that catches my interest in regards to Miya. I’ve been torn on doing simple eyecandy posts on this blog. I know worship blogs are the perfect excuse for them, but so far, I haven’t been able to bring myself to ONLY post Miyabi eyecandy.

In my livejournal, I blog about my personal life. I mainly keep that one limited to friends only.

Would you be keep a blog even if it wasn’t about the subjects you tend to cover?
I would only blog about things that interest me. I’m not a writer by trade, and without the same amount of interest I have in something like H!P, I simply would not have the drive to continue to write.

Do you write about the material to promote it to others?
For all H!P things I blog about, it is partially to promote it to others. For example, my Memorable Snippets series is partially for newer H!P who haven’t watched Hello! Morning, old concerts, tv appearances, etc.

The other main posts on my main blog are reviews on singles, albums, concerts, PVs, musicals, etc. I hope that I can bring something to someone’s attention that they may have overlooked, had not known about, or even had forgotten about for whatever reason.

Readership:

How much do you care about readership?
I love knowing that people are reading (and hopefully enjoying) what I write about. As I said, my goal is to spread the H!P loves into the far reaches of the galaxy… Or something to that end… XD A growing readership base is always a plus, but even just having a few readers and knowing that the blog is appreciated would be enough for me.

Does it satisfy you to know people are reading, even if they don’t comment?
Getting a comment would be nice, but I’ve been doing my best to respond to most comments I receive on my blogs, so I guess it’s also okay that people don’t comment… XD Yes, I am a lazy bum. A comment lets me know whether people are enjoying my blog or not, and feedback is always a great thing to get. But comments or no comments, I’m just hoping people are enjoying the blog.

What effect does receiving a comment have on you?
Comments make me feel warm and fuzzy inside (this is not an exaggeration or me being cute/funny). I am a warm/fuzzy (not literally in the fuzzy sense… but I am warm-blooded, so warm in a literal as well as figurative sense) person, and when people comment (even if it’s just a correction), I feel satisfied because it means that someone read my post and felt it was worthy enough to comment on. ^_^

Do you write with a particular audience in mind or an unspecified general audience? Why?
Seeing as most of my posts are H!P related, my target audience is H!P fans or anyone interested to learn more about H!P. On my Miya blog, my target audience is Miya fans, and people who may be curious about her. Hopefully I can convert some people into loving Miya too!

As for my random topic posts… My audience is myself, mainly. XD I often go back an read my own posts, for my blog is like my journal, and I like to check back and see what I was thinking a week, a month or a year ago (though this blog hasn’t reached a year yet).

If you write for a particular audience, is it International Wota? If yes, why?
I see that most of my traffic flow comes from International Wota, and since many H!P fans use IW, I guess IW is indirectly one of my audiences. But as I said, my main audience is any H!P fans. If they find my blog through google, or another blogger’s blog roll, it doesn’t matter to me.

Community: (The International Wota section)

If International Wota didn’t exist, would you blog?
At this point in time, I believe that I would continue to blog if IW suddenly disappeared tomorrow. At this point in time, I don’t have a huge amount of readers, but I know I at least have a few regular readers, so I’d keep it going so long as I have something interesting to say.

If IW didn’t exist before I started blogging, would I have blogged..? Well, I’m trying to think back, and I can’t remember if I had seen IW before I started my blog… I’m assuming I had. But then again, I didn’t submit my blog to Ray for consideration on IW until I had been blogging for about a month. So I can’t say for certain that I started blogging because IW existed. However it definitely helped get me instant readers. Before Ray did his first write up on me, I’m not sure if anyone was reading my blog. >_<

When IW covers an entry of yours, are you encouraged to blog more or less?
When IW does not cover an entry, are you encouraged to blog more or less?
I feel like I may get attacked for this, seeing as there have been numerous discussions regarding coverage on IW and how no one should assume that their post will be covered. However, I don’t expect my posts to be covered, and I’m always pleasantly surprised when it is. Coverage is always appreciated and encouraging, but I blog as inspiration hits me (or when I get unlazy and actually get around to typing up a post).

How often do you read other blogs?
I read other blogs daily. As an IW editor, I post almost daily, so I read (or at least skim) through between 40 to 50 blog posts a day… It could be more or less depending on what else I have to do that day.

How often do you comment on other blogs?
Again, as an IW editor, I do write-ups almost daily. I would say my write-ups are comments on those blogs. Unfortunately, I usually take that as my “comment” on their blog, and don’t actually post a comment in the blog’s comment section. However, there are certain posts where I feel the need to reiterate what I’ve said in a write up, so I sometimes get redundant. And then of course, there are posts which other IW contributers write-up and if they interest me enough, I’ll post comments accordingly.

If another blog covers a topic that you wanted or wished to cover, do you still blog about that specific topic? Why or why not?
If I want to blog about something, I blog about it. Heck, most of my blog posts are reviews… And when a new PV or single is released, a whole lot of bloggers blog about the same thing. However, usually each person has a slightly different spin to the release, and I find it interesting to see the differences. And, in the case of anything Miya related, you can definitely assume that there will be extra amounts of Miya analysis in my posts.

Commitment:

How serious is your attitude towards blogging? Do you consider it just as something to do for fun?
It’s definitely something I do for fun, and I think my style of writing shows that. However, I do take it seriously such a way that I do my best to make sure all my posts have quality content. As I said above, I don’t really have long term goals for individual posts, but I do try and make sure that I have a specific, though out topic that I can expand upon and develop as I write the post.

How often do you blog? How often would you like to blog?
I blog when I have the time. If you could my IW write-ups, I blog almost daily. For my person H!P blogs, I usually have a new post up every 1-2 weeks (though with Memorable Snippets started, it should be at least 1 a week). I’m hoping to have at least one a week on Last Forever as well.

What priorities do you or have you put aside in order to blog? Why?
Sleep. XD If I’m really into a blog post, I will definitely stay up until I finish it. I sometimes also stay up to clear out my IW todo list. I know that Ray would never get upset with me for pushing a few over to the next day if I was tired, but there are times when I just really feel like I should get the write-ups done before I sleep. Also, I often feel bad when I have things on my todo list for too long, ’cause I feel like I’m doing a disservice to the bloggers who I haven’t written up yet… -_-;

Do you see yourself blogging in 6 months? Why or why not?
I’m almost at my 7 month anniversary from when I started my H!P blog. I’d like to think I’d still be blogging in 6 months. There’s always something going on in H!P, and as long as I don’t get completely pissed off by something that happens, I think my fandom will continue to go strong. Also, I really enjoy the H!P blogging community. I’ve picked up some blogs that I really enjoy, so even if I stopped blogging (which I doubt I will), I’d still be somewhat active within the community by reading others blogs and commenting on their posts.

For my personal blog, I definitely will still be blogging in 6 months… My friends from university would kill me if I didn’t.

Personal:

Would you say you blog for yourself?
I definitely blog for myself. As I said, I like to look back on what I was thinking at so and so time. I’ve looked back at my original Berryz Koubou rankings, and it’s completely different from how it began (excluding Miya being #1, of course). It has even changed since I did an update on my ranking when Paul from Hello! Blog put up his H!P poll. Also, I find that my writing amuses me to no end… Not in a big-headed “I’m a great writer” sort of way… It’s just that I feel the enthusiasm that I felt when I originally wrote the post when I go back and re-read it later.

What is your feeling after posting an entry? Is it relative to the time and effort you put in an entry?
I feel anxious after posting an entry. The longer the entry is, the more anxious I feel. Generally, it’s because I know that I probably have a billion typos in my entry, and typos make me antsy. I’ve gone back a few months later and re-read a post, only to find 4 or 5 mistakes… And being as anal-retentive as I am, I go and fix them, even though it really doesn’t matter 2 or 3 months later.

What needs does blogging fulfill?
Blogging fulfills my need to talk about H!P things. I am a frequent visitor (practically a resident) of wotachat, a chat room that many IW contributers and bloggers visit, and I definitely get to talk a lot of H!P in there. However, I find that my blogs allow me to articulate my ideas more. The chat is fun, but topics switch quite frequently. In my blog posts I can talk for as much or as little as I want regarding whatever H!P topic strikes my fancy.

Do you consider yourself a writer?
Do you consider yourself good at writing? Good at blogging?
I consider myself a writer in the sense that I write… >_< I think I'm an okay writer, but writing is not my forte. English was always my worst subject in school. I am a math/science geek. I have my bachelors degree in biochemistry. The majority of writing I did in university had to do with lab results. That requires a completely different thought process than creative writing.

What defines a good blogger? I think I'm doing okay, since people seem to be enjoying my blogs. However, I read amazing posts that are well thought out and in depth, such as broomhead's Suspicious Minds post, pengie’s I-do-ru post, and a whole load of Ray’s posts, and while I wish I could write posts like that, I don’t have the drive to plan it out. So, in that sense I don’t consider myself a real writer. I’d call myself a babbler who writes up her babbles…

How much of your personal life do you share on your blog? If none, why do you leave this out?
I don’t share much of my personal life on my H!P blogs. I make a random comment here or there, but generally, I’m here to post about H!P related things. And anything that my friends wouldn’t be interested in reading about on my personal blog.

So, part of the reason I don’t post personal things here is because I post them somewhere else.

Okay… So that was long. XD Thanks to anyone who stuck it out with me!