Blog Question Challenge 2025
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A few weeks ago I saw fLaMEd post about this challenge in the fediverse. His blog about it is here. I wanted to take part as well, so here are my answers:
Why did you start blogging in the first place?
Hmm, this question is not as easy to answer I you might think it is. I don't know why I started blogging really. I always thought blogs were cool, personal websites were cool. But I never knew what to write about. I didn't think I had anything to say, to contribute. That didn't keep me from having my own little websites back in the late 90s though, and some blogs in the early 2000s. But they all died rather quickly and none of them exists anymore. I don't even remember where exactly I hosted some of them and I don't seem to have saved the files.
I started again about 2 years ago after finding the fediverse. I found a lot of people who do have their own website and blog. Most of them are professionals in the realm of webdesign or adjacent topics, so very very far away from what I do and know. But still, their posts inspired me to make my own website, and I started to learn HTML and CSS. After a while I added a blog to my site.
What Platform Are You Using To Manage Your Blog, And Why Do You Use It?
I write my blog (and my whole website) in VSCode with totally rudimentary and unprofessional HTML and CSS. That includes the RSS. I do everything by hand.
I am using this simple setup because I think anything else would be too much for my purposes. I have heard of static site generators, but don't really know how they work. And right now I am not interested.
My site lives on Neocities.
Have You Blogged On Other Platforms Before?
In the past I have used Blogger, Jimdo, and Tumblr for my blogs.
How Do You Write Your Posts?
I write them in a simple text editor on either my iPad (at work), or my laptop. Then I copy and paste them into VSCode and do the HTML around it. I have a blog post template for that.
When Do You Feel Most Inspired To Write?
Mostly at work. I have a lot of time to think there and the possibility to type up thoughts in between.
Do You Normally Publish Immediately After Writing, Or Do You Let It Simmer?
Writing a lot at work means that I do not publish immediately after writing. Mostly at least. I have to interrupt my writing a lot (because I'm at work after all), so it often takes a while to finish it. Which also gives me time to think some more about a topic, which sparks re-writes -- and sometimes I even scrap an article completely.
I think writing for my blog sometimes is like journaling for me: Sometimes thoughts just need out of my body and that's all.
What's Your Favorite Post On Your Website?
I only publish texts that I am really happy with. So, all of them?
However, I do want to share "Times are a-chinging", in which I talk about daylight saving time and why I don't like it. I really do not like it.
And also maybe "Summer List Check: I hand sewed an 18th Century Petticoat and Pockets", in wich I show some photos too. Don't look too closely at where the photos sit on the page though. How to get them where I want them to be is still on my list to learn.
Oh wait! I also wrote about "Why I have my own website", for which I got a really nice comment recently. So maybe you'd like to read it, too.
Any Future Plans For the Website? Maybe a redesign, changing the tag system, etc.?
Right now the CSS is very basic. I am dreaming of a navigation bar where when you scroll over an item a list of sub items rolls out. I want more columns than just the one I'm having now. I want to integrate images in blog posts and throughout the site in a way that is smoother and more beautiful than it is now. For that I need to learn much more CSS. It's a very slow process though. And that's ok. It's my little hobby. I'm not doing any of this for a living or to reach some big goal. I am doing this for myself and for the sheer fun of it. So please keep that in mind when you look at all of this.
I also want to re-structure the whole site a bit and add more and more pages over time, not just blog posts.
Tag, you're it
I understand it is common to invite other people to do challenges like these. I don't think these kinds of things should rely on personal invitations though. Anyone who would like to participate should do it. I did, too. So take this as my invitation to you to copy the questions and answer them on your blog. Feel free to tell me if you do!
-Elena.
Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu