In The Immortal Words Of Richard Dawson...

This is going to be pretty much "off-topic" of the normal subject matter of this blog.  But my fellow blogger Broomhead (who I am a big fan of) is in a bit of a "crisis" and has posted a survey that I feel compelled to respond to.  It's nice to look inward once in a while to see what inspires me to participate in life the way I do.  BTW, the above title is a "not so" inside joke...

Why Do You Blog?

Goals:

Why do you blog? ~ To have an outlet for my passion for J-music, since there are very few people in my circle of friends who share this unique "interest"

What long-term goals do you hope to accomplish, if any at all? ~ I know this will sound warm/fuzzy/wierd, but to be more closely connected to the J-music world.  To make friends with people who share the same interests. 

Where does your blog fail to meet your goals? ~ Two ways.  1) I am envious of the people who are able to upload their own Audio/Visual Media.  I always feel kinda funny about "borrowing" from others around the net. And 2) I would love to get more comments/feedback from the readers.  When something I write doesn't get comments it leads me to believe that post isn't entertaining or informative.  But I know I would get more feedback if Vox didn't require people to join if they want to comment.

If you do have goals, what will accomplishing them do for yourself? ~ It would inspire me to keep going, and possibly encourage me to look into other opportunites that might be possible with the writing.

What do you want to gain out of blogging? A creative outlet? Praise from others? Personal satisfaction? Money? ~ Creative Outlet, Yes.  Praise, Yes.  Personal satisfaction, Yes.  I can make money doing this?  It's mostly a creative outlet, and the praise from others makes a big difference!

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? ~ My goal is two to three per week, but I am not militant about it.  Although if I go too long without a post I begin wracking my brain to come up with something new to talk about.  The length depends on the subject matter.  I prefer to do longer composition, but I am not against doing a quick blurb post once in a while. 

For any particular entry, what motivates you to start and finish blog posts? ~ I am almost always motivated by "current events", whether that is a current happening around H!P or a new DVD/CD I just bought.  Or sometimes it's just a thought that pops into my head.  I have never started a blog post and not finished it.  And if I am not happy with it when I am complete I usually edit it over and over until I am happy with the finished product. 

Do you actively consider long term goals for each individual post? ~ Not really, it's more of a short term goal.  Do I like what I wrote and do I think others will like it as well? 

Subject Material:

What do you blog about? ~ Mostly Hello! Project, but occasionally straying into other J-music realms.  Like AKB48, Ketchup Mania, My Japan experience, etc.  I have also written about Japanese Doramas, but those never get covered by IW.

Would you be keep a blog even if it wasn’t about the subjects you tend to cover? ~ I've never been inspired to. 

Do you write about the material to promote it to others? ~ Definitely, I promote my blog anywhere I can.  It is on my MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube pages.  And I am always inviting my friends and family to read it.  I also write them for the IW readers, although that is sort of "preaching to the choir".  I want others to understand why I love this musical genre so much! 

Readership:

How much do you care about readership? ~ A great deal!  If no one read my blog, or if Ray said "No Thank You" to my email when I first started, I doubt I would still be doing it. 

Does it satisfy you to know people are reading, even if they don’t comment? ~ Yes, although the comments make a huge difference to me!

What effect does receiving a comment have on you? ~ I feel totally validated, even if some of that comment was "constructive criticism".  I don't think that person would comment if they didn't at least like something about what I am saying.  I also like to comment on other peoples' blogs because I believe it encourages them to write more as well.

Do you write with a particular audience in mind or an unspecified general audience? Why? ~ It is obviously the J-music audience.  They would be the only one's who would be really interested in the subject matter.  And I love when I see that people are reading my posts from all over the world!

If you write for a particular audience, is it International Wota? If yes, why? ~ International Wota is a big part of it because if it didn't exist, we would all have far less readership.  IW is a vital part of bringing J-music fans the world over all together.  It's not simply for IW, but the audience of IW.

Community: (The International Wota section)

If International Wota didn’t exist, would you blog? ~ I probably would never had started blogging if it wasn't for IW.  But if it disappeared tomorrow, I would begin looking for another similar site.  Although there is nothing quite like IW, and message boards just don't do it for me! 

When IW covers an entry of yours, are you encouraged to blog more or less? ~ I'm like a kid at Christmas, and it does encourage me to write more. 

When IW does not cover an entry, are you encouraged to blog more or less? ~ After I get over my intitial sour grapes, I remember that IW is doing ME a favor by posting what I write, and is under no obligation to do so.  I then analyze why that particular post might have been skipped over, and try to adjust for future posts.  It encourages me to write more.

How often do you read other blogs? ~ Every day!

How often do you comment on other blogs? ~ As often as I feel inspired.  But I make it a point to try and comment as much as possible because I want to encourage the other bloggers to keep going.  Without them, I would be missing out on a lot of information I may otherwise not find on my own.  And I know how good I feel when someone comments on my blog.  So I like to do the same for others.  I always do my best to keep my comments positive, even if I am going to make a point of disagreement on the subject matter.  I'd rather not comment than tell someone I didn't like their post.  I'm not a critic, and this is mostly about having fun!

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? ~ LOL!  This question...it depends on the subject matter.  If I want to comment on the new C-ute PV, obviously tons of people are going to do the same thing.  If IW has already posted some reviews, I look at what has been said so I am not just parroting everyone else and try to come up with something original to say.  But if someone is going to do a post on "bad costumes" or "AKB48 bios", then I will look for something else to write about unless I feel that I have something so compellingly original about it.  Not that I will never talk about costumes or AKB48.  I'll just wait until I am inspired to do something I think is original.  But truth be told, most of us are repeating something that has been said somewhere else.  I did a post recently on H!P smiles, but I'm sure I wasn't the first person to ever post about that!  Now I know it's my blog and I should post whatever I want, but I think most of us hope our posts get covered by IW, and just imitating someone elses work doesn't seem to me like the way to have that happen. It would be like reading the Boston Globe with all of the writers writing a different version of the same article.

Commitment:

How serious is your attitude towards blogging? Do you consider it just as something to do for fun? ~ I'm doing it for fun, but I am very serious about it in the respect that I always want my posts to be good, and I always want them to be well-received.

How often do you blog? How often would you like to blog? ~ On average once every 2-3 days.  I think that's enough for now.

What priorities do you or have you put aside in order to blog? Why? ~ Excercise, because I'd rather write about H!P than go jogging!

Do you see yourself blogging in 6 months? Why or why not ~ If everything stays status quo, then yes!  I don't anticipate my interest in the subject matter to lessen.  And I am planning to go back to Japan very soon.  So I'll have more to write about! 

Personal:

Would you say you blog for yourself? ~ Very much so!

What is your feeling after posting an entry? Is it relative to the time and effort you put in an entry? ~ I feel a sense of accomplishment, and the longer the blog the bigger the sigh after I hit the "post" button!

What needs does blogging fulfill? ~ The need to feel connected.

Do you consider yourself a writer? ~ I write, therefore I am.  But a professional writer, no.  Although when I was in the radio biz I used to write news copy.

Do you consider yourself good at writing? Good at blogging? ~ I was happily surprised with my initial results.  I used to do morning radio, so I know I have the ability to be funny.  I wasn't that great at composition when I went to school, but when I read my blog I think it's pretty good.  And if I don't like something I change it until I do like it. 

How much of your personal life do you share on your blog? If none, why do you leave this out? ~ I share a lot of my personal life.  In fact the whole thing is written from the vantage point of Chris' experience of the subject matter.  And I have mentioned many personal things about myself in the posts.  I think that is one of the good things about my blog!  Although I am beginning to come to the realization that the more a post is about "me", the less likely it is going to be covered by IW.  Just something I need to be aware of with my writing.

Thank for any time you spend doing this! ~ You're welcome!  Broomhead, now get back to posting the Haromoni@ reviews, and I would love to find out the winner of March Madness before the next basketball season starts!  Here is something to cheer you up...

CK in California