Monday, January 16, 2012

January 16, 2003.....and how I started blogging..

Thanks to the jurors who have shortlisted me in two categories for the 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards! Very  exciting. Click the link to see all the categories and visit the top 5 blogs in each. Lots of great blogs to visit.
Hard to believe I've been blogging for 9 years. I first started blogging on LiveJournal because of an old school friend I ran into one day on the boardwalk in Halifax. She was a photographer and we had a great time catching up on news etc. She gave me her card and said, "this is the address to my blog." Blog??? I had never heard of such a thing. It fascinated me and I remember thinking how brave of her to post things that "anyone" could read. I started reading and became hooked. I soon found other blogs of people in Halifax and then Nova Scotia and then all over the world!

January of 2003 I decided to dip my toes into the blogging pool. I've never looked back:)

Here is the entry I wrote nine years ago today on January 16th 2003.
" I took a break from jotting things down. Actually, I forgot I had this blog and then when I remembered, I got all self conscious, wondering what on earth am I doing with a blog? It is fun to browse other people's bits and pieces and see what sorts of things make them happy, upset and generally tick. We are all so similar really. I was starting to feel like a lurker/voyeur just reading blogs so voila, here is mine! I am bumbling along.

These journals I read belong to people I don't know. They are so far reaching you can read the thoughts of someone in Australia one minute, and then be off to Alaska and then Italy the next and yet, they are all here and now on our little screens in our own little worlds......magic really.

We are up to our necks in snow. It is -10 degrees outside.Woke up to -25 with the wind chill factored in! Needless to say, I am not venturing very far today. At least it is sunny outside. I do feel sorry for our dog, she really has not been getting much exercise these chilly days. We can grow fat together."

I was thrilled and excited by the world of blogging and still am. It helped promote my art to a wider audience, I got to indulge in writing which I love, and photography, and some of those strangers I read from far away have now become my friends! It really is an amazing phenomenon. I love that those of you who visit me comment sometimes, I love that I can share my world and thoughts here with everyone who happens by...  How did you start blogging?

15 comments:

Laurita said...

I was excited to see you shortlisted too, since this has become one of my favourite stops. That photo of the frozen lighthouse is gorgeous. A perfect scene of an east coast winter.

aliceinparis said...

Hi Laurita:) I just popped by your blog!

Cathy Olliffe-Webster said...

Two of my favourite bloggers, both in one place. Again, the magic of the internet!

Congratulations on your anniversary, Shelagh! Oh, by the way, I have your calendar hanging in my office and just a few minutes ago a lady I work with stopped by to compliment me on it and look through all your beautiful paintings. I do believe you have yet another fan!

I started my blog because my husband farted in bed one night.

Prairie Jill said...

Hmm, I'm not quite sure how to follow Cathy's comment! My story is much more mundane. I was trying to find somewhere to put my photographs online and saw that flickr would let me link to my blog. So of course I had to go out and start one! Like you, Shelagh, I love reading blogs from around the world. And yours is one of my favourites!

aliceinparis said...

Haha Cathy, you cannot leave us hanging like that!
Jill, Thanks so much. It is so rewarding isn't it.

Unknown said...

I started a health travels blog in 2005 to remind myself of what I went through to get better - (http://wellforoneself.blogspot.com). Then I did a blog while I was in China in 2008 because I spent a lot of time in our hotel - it was fun but it was just for that trip (http://chinainjune.blogspot.com).

Debra She Who Seeks said...

You're a true pioneer!

Alice said...

Congrats Shelagh!

I'm so glad that I found your blog - ooooo, a few years ago now??? because I love your work and I love to read about where you live and your life!

One line in your post today really struck a chord with me "I got all self conscious, wondering what on earth am I doing with a blog?"

I started blogging in 2007 because I wanted to document our move from a house to the road... but I have gone through so many 'self conscious' moments wondering why I have a blog, that I often take breaks, take my blog down etc etc. This time I am trying to remind myself that it's OK to blog, that it's OK to think you have something worth sharing, and that connecting with people across the world about life is one of the most important things we can do to help work towards a better world.

So, that's how I started blogging... and that is why I continue to blog :-)

xx

aliceinparis said...

Dorothea~ I remember your health blog!
Debra~ Haha
Alice~ If you had not started blogging I would never have "met" you! I know, I still feel self conscious:)

Kerry O'Gorman said...

I was introduced to blogging 4 years ago by a woman from Newfoundland. I told her how much I liked to take photos but didn't know what to do with them all...introducing, BLOGGING!
I found it an excellent form to document a trip to Ireland with my dad as well. It's a fantastic way to look at the world in a new way. It seems everything and everyone has a story to tell. I like that. I also find it a great networking/pr medium.
Cheers and congrats!

Anonymous said...

Dear Shelagh,

Hearty Congratulations! I'm thrilled for you and today's picture is as beautiful as ever. It sounds very cold where you are and what a gorgeous landscape!

Your web-design is optimal and quite deserving of a Canadian Blog Award 2012.

How I Started Blogging(Thanks for asking):

Something about Vox.com made me feel safe.
My mother and brother preferred watching the multi-media platform to reading my political rants on Blogger, too.

Vox ended when we got too much porn-spam from Russia. But I miss writing long-form. Most of what I write today is in 2d or 4th grade-level headlines!

I also miss the sense of international community.
It was so fun.

aliceinparis said...

Kerry~ That is interesting, Jill wanted a place to post her pictures too.Yes,the social networking is wonderful!
Zottal~Why not try to write long form again. Start a new blog:)

Anonymous said...

I write no blog but write to say I LOVE your blog! I can't remember how I stumbled on your blog about 2 years ago but I'm so glad I did. My brother & sister-in-law, both Nova Scotia lovers, are the proud owners of 2 of your calendars & one of your prints I gave her for her birthday. They love your work as much as I do.

Take care,
Marsha from Massachusetts

aliceinparis said...

~ Marsha! Thanks so much, what kind comments. If you are ever visit Nova Scotia, let me know!

Tammi Hayne said...

As you already know we found each other through the very same mutual friend! Hard to believe how many years have gone since then. I looked back at my first blog entry on LJ...the night before my 30th birthday. Wow! So much has happened since then. It is nice to have that chronicle of those years to reflect upon, isn't it?