Reader Writers … !

Oh, now, well … !

THAT’s something you don’t see every day in the paper.

At least I hope not … !

But I’ve got to confess, the local newspaper — the Brentwood Gazette, so you know — has had a Reader Writers article running, now, for a while.

Well.

I SAY a while.

The Brentwood Gazette’s version of the series have going for all of two articles, and three weeks.

I should know.

My one, about blogging*, is only the second they’ve published.

I’m pleased: although I know Grub, bless him, isn’tº.

At ANY rate … ?

At any rate, if you click on the photo, you can actually have a read of it: it’ll show up in you’re browser the same way any other photo will.

But just in case … ?

Can I make a confession, here?

If I turned around and said “I’ve got two of them, you know,” you’d want to know what on Earth I was on about, wouldn’t you?

Just for the sake of clarity, if nothing else! So Iʼll be frank, I’m talking about Blogs, rather than anything else. Which has possibly left you none the wiser, hasnʼt it? Iʼd better explain ...

You see, blogs — ʻblogʼ is short for web-log, so you know — are basically an online diary: but usually one that doesnʼt necessarily stuck to the basic facts of what its writerʼs done at work, or had for dinner.

They also tend to be themed. They’re about something.

And I happen to think theyʼre some of the most powerful things on the net.

»»·««

Now ...

These are fairly recent things, blogs.

After all, I only started my first one — Nik Nak’s Old Peculiar — back in September of 2008.

Mostly as a way of advertising the pub quizzes I was running at the time.

I figured starting a blog would be a handy cheap advert for the quizzes, AND giving other pub quiz masters the questions I’d used — after Iʼd finished with them. I’d noticed there was a SERIOUS lack of freely availably quiz-question for others who, like me, were on a budget, and needed checkable questions they could copy, paste and print out.

It was also a handy way for the winners and losers to see their names in lights, even if the actual prizes werenʼt stunning.

But my original one has sort of evolved over the years: after all, itʼs now covering the films I and my friends have managed to catch, albums Iʼve listened, the ODD bit of technical stuff, the state of the local roads, AND some of my favourite TV shows.

Which is what lead to my second blog, I should warn you: An old friend, Grub, and I, recently started Nik Nak & Grubʼs Who Peculiar. Mostly to give ourselves the chance to air our opinions about our favourite TV show: and about any other bits of interesting science-fiction that happens to come our way.

Geeky, I know, and the Who Peculiar has a lot of competition. But my word, itʼs fun, if only for the arguments about punctuation, and the exact placing of an ellipsis…

»»·««

Now, I said, earlier, that blogs are important?

Yes, I think they are.

Now, Iʼll admit, my two blogs are relatively trivial: unless youʼre looking for a source of quiz questions — I post a free 60-question set every Friday — want a brain teaser — the Daily Teaser gets posted first thing in the mornings, and my regular commentors keep coming back for more — or two armchair critics talking about their favourite shows or DVD releases.

But Iʼm also very aware that blogs, and bloggers, come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and covering all sorts of areas.

From the assorted fan sites, arts and crafts blogs, celebrity blogs — Stephen Fryʼs is VERY good — through to various causes — Rethink has a very good multi-author one on mental-health, as an example — and various current event ones and the political.

But one thing that many of these blogs have in common ... ? Is that many of them are written by the likes of us.

Whatever our reasons for writing a blog — showing off a recipe, talking about the match, or just asking tons of silly questions — we have something to say.

And given that starting a blog is as easy as accessing Facebook? We have the perfect place to say it.

That’s the (unedited) original I sent to them …

About the ONLY complaint I do have about it … ? Is I think they’ve just done a basic look around for the ‘top ten’ blogs on the web: I’m fairly sure that Guido Fawkes, and Technorati would feature in there: although that’s just me.

I’m ALSO aware that I did happen to mention to Neville Wilson†, the Gazette’s hardy editor, about both Blogger.comª and WordPress.com, the two popular, current blog-hosting services.

Still …

I can’t complain, TOO much.

It is nice to see me name in lights … !

* Funnily …

º I’ll apologise, now, Grub, for not asking you first: but you’re too good a writer, when you’re on form, not to admit to having a knack for it!

ª As used by yours truly …!

† Neville’s also let me know where he got the Top Ten Blog list. AND about the rest of the Reader Writer series.