North x East has a list up of the 50 Most Influential Bloggers (according to NxE). Out of 50, how many women? 7.
This is why BlogHer and other female-focused blogging networks exist. There should be more than 7 god damn women in the list. And don't give me that crap about how there aren't really any good women bloggers out there!
Slightly getting side-tracked this week, today's Women & Words is delving into breast cancer and blogging to get you involved in Breast Cancer Awareness Month...
Keris Stainton continues our Women who blog series...
I'm not sure how I discovered Karen Lynch's blog, Discussing Breast Cancer, but once I did, I couldn't stop reading. Karen Lynch talks about her breast cancer candidly and honestly while, at the same time, sharing empowering and informative news about the disease. It's moving, educational and inspirational.
What was the first blog you ever read?
The one my husband set up when we decided to adopt a child; I loved that I could journal about the adoption process and our personal journey and those that loved us could read about our adventure. The surprise (for me) was that people we didn't even know started reading ... and really began to care about us and our daughter as a result.
If you're a female entrepreneur that wants to start up her own business, Bootstrapper's The Woman Entrepreneurs Toolbox: 100 Networking Resources, Guides and Links is incredibly helpful and is sure to point you in the right direction. The list includes 21 blogs written by female entrepreneurs like Lauren Berger who writes for her blog A Savvy Start, which documents her own journey of getting her business off the ground and The Anti 9-to-5 Guide blog which offers "practical career advice for women who think outside the cube".
Woman Entrepreneurs Toolbox also includes "cool tools and web applications" to help build your business, the names of networks and organizations to help you hob nob and get connected with other successful businesswomen. Plus, numerous "how-to" guides, inspiring stories, and a list of books like How to Run Your Business Like a Girl: Successful Strategies from Entrepreneurial Women Who Made It Happen.
Women in the public eye just can't win these days. (Wait these days? I'm sorry. I meant EVER.) This week Newsnight's Emily Maitlis caused outrage by sitting on the corner of her desk, revealing that she was wearing a skirt that only went down to her knees; thus exposing said knees, her shins, her ankles, and the tops of her feet. Jesus, Emily! Why not just tear of your clothes and start pole dancing you filth!
One uptight viewer on the BBC message board said they found the sight of her legs "completely inappropriate" and that her actions were "thoroughly unprofessional and obviously meant to be titillating". Yes. Nothing gets men watching the BBC hotter than a nice pair of shins.
Keris Stainton continues our Women who blog series with a genuine celebrity!
You may know Emma Kennedy from the Heat magazine adverts. You may know her as Nostradamus in This Morning with Richard Not Judy. You may know her from Suburban Shootout. You may have read her new book, How to Bring Up Your Parents. Wherever you know her from, I bet you know her, but did you know she has a blog? Well you do now.
What was the first blog you ever read?
The first blog I ever read was Richard Herring's. I've known him since we were 18. He is determined to believe that I just copied him but actually the idea to write a blog was my literary agent's. It was supposed to just be an exercise in writing something every day. I never thought anyone would actually start reading it.
Keris Stainton continues our Women who blog series with a newbie blog...
Mid-lifer's is the newest blog we've featured at just three months old (which explains why we have fewer questions to ask her). Started as a way of chronicling what she considers to be a midlife crisis, Mid-lifer doesn't post as frequently as many bloggers, but what she does post is fascinating, compelling and honest.
What was the first blog you ever read?
Linda Jones blog You've Got Your Hands Full. I was a regular poster on a journalists' forum and Linda posted on there with links to some of her blogs. I liked her take on things and admired her humour.
Keris Stainton continues our Women Who Blog series with an online gratitude journal...
I love the idea behind 3 for 365: every day, Julia writes about three good things that have happened to her that day. What I love is that it's a reminder that it's not the big, exciting things in life that make a difference, but the tiny ones, like oatmeal, shoe protector, and playing in the sand.
What made you start your blog?
I had an aha! moment on New Year's Eve. I remembered a study I had read about last year, which measured the effects of writing down three good things each day. Just like that, I decided I'd create a blog. I have no idea why blogging or positive thinking were on my mind at that moment. It was a confluence of thoughts that merged into an idea.
Keris Stainton continues our Women who blog series with a dedicated wife and mother...
Just because I'm the kind of cynical old trout who complains about her husband on a wedding blog doesn't mean I can't appreciate some good old fashioned romance. And Stephanie Nielson's blog - The NieNie Dialogues - just oozes it.
What made you start your blog?
I was living in New Jersey and very homesick. In my 23 (then) years of life, I never had been away from home (in Utah). Now I was living in different state very far away with three small children. I needed to connect and feel creative, so I started a blog. It started out a family journal and evolved into sort of an approach to illustrate my talent as a mother, wife and homemaker-and showing my life through pictures I take everyday.
Meet the fabulous Miss Scotch, shopgirl extraordinaire, who's living in Hawaii as an apprentice woodworker learning to build custom furniture. In part one of our interview, Miss Scotch shares with us what it's like to be a female woodworker in a predominately male industry, and how she utilizes her blog and her online Etsy shop to promote and sell her custom made furniture...
Name: Miss Scotch
Birthday: December 12, 1979
Favorite Drink: Coconut milk from the palm trees in my front yard; Oban scotch, a close second
Favorite Food: Uni with quail egg (sushi)
What does the typical day in the life of a Shopgirl look like?
I am a very regimented person that thrives on routine. My life right now is not unlike the life of a monk or ascetic. My average day is this: wake up at sunrise, drink one cup of coffee, do push-ups and sit-ups followed by yoga. Meditate. Drink one cup green tea. Build furniture until my arms are rendered useless (usually around 3 or 4 in the afternoon). Shower. Read about the construction/drafting/history of furniture. Blog. Sleep.
Not very exciting, I know...but it feels right. I sense this dedication will pay off eventually and I can't say I really miss the hard-partying lifestyle I left behind in San Francisco.
Keris Stainton continues our Women who blog series with a Scottish Australian in Switzerland...
I discovered Ms Mac's wonderful personal blog via Blog Explosion, an utterly ridiculous blog exchange thing on which I used to waste many hours when I still had a proper job. Sharing my love of George Clooney and Gilmore Girls (but we disagree - violently - on The West Wing), Ms Mac is No. 1 on my list of bloggers I really must meet.
What was the first blog you ever read?
I really can't remember. I've been reading Bigmouth Strikes Again since just after I started blogging but there were a few others that I really enjoyed reading but are now defunct. I've been reading Struggling Author for a couple of years now. I've never read any of the bigger, more famous blogs. I have visited but none of them have managed to capture my attention for longer than the first couple of sentences. I'm sure for them, the feeling would be more than mutual.
Keris Stainton continues our Women who blog series with the mommy blog to beat all mommy blogs...
I discovered Melinda Roberts when she sent me her book, Mommy Confidential, to review for Trashionista. 500 pages later, not only did I feel like Mindy was my new best friend (that's why I can call her Mindy, you see?), but I also thought she was one of the most amazing and inspirational women I (virtually) know. There are loads of mommy blogs, but if you only read one, it should be The Mommy Blog.
What was the first blog you ever read?
The first one was Chasing Daisy, followed closely by Amberbamberboo, chiefly because they were the very first to read and comment on my blog. Amber and I went on to be good friends, and I traveled to Brussels to stay with her family for a couple of weeks in 2004. I’m still waiting for an invitation to Wales from Daisy. : )
Keris Stainton continues our Women Who Blog series with an Australian in Paris...
Gabrielle Luthy and I have got a lot in common. We both love US dramas, San Francisco, Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series, and margaritas. But while she sits gazing out at the Eiffel Tower from the balcony of her Paris apartment, my view is of the neighbouring factory's car park wall. But is she happy? Well, yeah, of course she is...
What made you start blogging?
In late 2004, I moved from Melbourne, Australia, to Paris. Being splotchy (ha!) in answering mail, I figured a blog was a good way to let friends and family know what was going on, as well as being a good way to keep a record of my time here, and to amuse myself.
Keris Stainton continues our Women Who Blog series with a woman living the bloggers dream.
A month after finishing her novel, In Search of Adam, Caroline Smailes was discovered by a publisher through her blog. (The posts about the first contact from the publisher and then the offer of the deal are two of the happiest and most exciting posts I've ever read.)
Her blog makes me very happy and also, frequently, gives me a quivery lip. In Search of Adam was published by The Friday Project last week!
Is blogging addictive (and, if so, should it come with a health warning)?
Yes blogging is addictive. I no longer watch Hollyoaks as a result of blogging! I don’t feel that it should come with a health warning. Blogging can assist weight loss and often leads to exciting adventures.
Linda Jones continues our Women who blog series, Dahling, with a chat to a simply divine blogger who's an inspiration to us all.
This week, I give you Rillysuper.blogspot.com - the best thing to come out of the North since Alun (give that man a knighthood) Armstrong.
You obviously have a literary bent, please do share with us any joyful news about a future publishing deal.
Publishing deal? Linda, darling, why don’t I just present you with a wound, some salt and a rusty medieval implement with which to rub vigorously the later into the former. Can we move along please?
Some people who comment on blogs can be frightful, can't they? How do you cope with such mischief makers?
If one bares one’s soul to the world, it is bared to those who will dislike what they see as much as to those who will like it. If someone takes the time and trouble to comment then they should be treated the same as anyone else, as welcome guests. When Northerners visit I just nod and pretend I understand them.
Linda Jones continues our Women who Blog series, shining a light on a site with quite a rude name, but one that has her in hysterics anyway. Perhaps it's the twin thing.
Is your boyfriend a twat? I suppose mine must be some of the time, as am I. But I'd never broadcast this to the world. Hang on. Just did.
Anyway, the My Boyfriend is a Twat blog has a loyal following and has won a clutch of awards.
It also has a book of the same name coming out next month.
Belgium-based blogger Zoe McCarthy made me laugh out loud with some of her answers and then accused me of drinking. Nice. (Shouts: I am joking.)
I'll also gloss over the fact that she told me she was sorry she couldn't answer my questions earlier as she was engrossed in a Sudoku puzzle and missed her tram stop. I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt as she doesn't like marzepan or exclamation marks, and well neither do I.
See, even writing that makes me laugh. So here's Zoe's answers. Enjoy. Sorry, I obviously mean Enjoy!!!
Linda Jones continues our regular Women who blog feature with a look at a poacher giving the gamekeepers an insight into her world...
We all know about the on-going debate about the opposing interests of PR and journalism, now don’t we? PR and journalism can only ever rub along in a rather strained atmosphere of mutual mistrust, we are told.Rod Liddle once told the Independent that it was a journalist’s job to expose the truth, and a PR’s job to hide it.
Phew. Say what you mean Rod. Get down off that fence.
Journalist Sally Whittle is another straight-talker. Her blog, along with media trainer colleagues, at Getting Ink is a fantastic read – for the insights it gives to PRs on how a journalist’s mind works – and the debates this can provoke.
Linda Jones continues our Women who blog column with a chat to the editor of another kick-ass blog for women, by women. (Have I said 'women' enough?)
Jess McCabe is editor of the F-Word, a must-read "contemporary feminism" blog which I've only recently discovered, but enjoy immensely.
I laughed as I sat down to read it this evening, fresh from a spot of washing up, bringing the clothes in off the line and reading The Enormous Crocodile with my daughter.
But seriously, it's a brilliant read and answers many questions you may never have dared ask, but would still like to know the answer to. Have a good old trawl through its archives to see what they are.
How much time does it take up? Is this a paid or voluntary blogging position?
It's all voluntary - we don't have any advertising on The F Word. When I was just blogging, the time commitment wasn't that great. But I took over as editor of the site earlier this year, and so obviously it takes up a lot more of my time! But I love doing it, so I don't mind.
Linda Jones continues our weekly look at women who blog, with Little Red Boat in the hotseat.
Name: Anna Pickard
Occupation: Writer
Blog: Little Red Boat
Blogging since: 2001
I'm a relative newcomer to the must-read Little Red Boat."God she's good. What's even better is she's good for reasons nobody else is." That's what Gaping Void had to say about Anna Pickard, and there can't be many out there who disagree.
On a scale of one to ten, how much fun is blogging, and why?
It should be almost always a ten, surely - or what's the point? There would clearly be no reason to do it if it was a chore, it's a hobby, after all (well, it is for most of us, for you I realise it's more of a work thing) - and when I get to do it at the moment, it IS 8, 9, 10. When I can find the time and energy, which is being a bit hard. THAT's a 1. Booooo.
On the 28th of April, Bruce over at Crablaw is hosting the Take Back The Blog! blogswarm. This idea makes me so excited that I can barely write this without drooling all over my keyboard. Bruce says that this blogswarm is "in support of the rights of women to participate fully in all aspects of our society, including specifically online in the world of blogging but indeed everywhere and at all times, day and night, without fear of harassment, intimidation, sexual harassment, online stalking and slander, predation or violence of any sort." Amen! With the recent harassment of Kathy Sierra, Devious Diva, and proposed Blogging Code Of Conducts, I encourage bloggers everywhere -men and women alike- to please participate in this, as it is incredibly important. Head over to Crablaw for more information on this fabulous idea, and to find out how you can Take Back The Blog!
Linda Jones continues our look at the diversity of women bloggers with the lowdown on a Russian poet inolved in the Manchester blogging scene.
Name: Julie Delvaux
Blog: Notebooks
Blogging since: August 2006
Why did you start to blog?
I have seen many blogs between, say, 2003 and 2006, but virtually all of them struck me as following too narrow a path or pursuing one single subject. I was a writer, historian, journalist, and also had many interests, so I didn’t really want to restrict myself.
Then two things happened. I was doing a programme on the local web radio, for which I had a homepage. And on that homepage I began to put up different quotes or news items that I found interesting.
Cate Sevilla discusses the Alpha Mom controversy, and why these women shouldn't be viewed as a threat to other Moms...
Now while I'm not a mother, I still have some strong opinions on what the term Alpha Mom means. It really bothers me that people have started to think that Alpha Moms are out to "make the rest of us look bad". Despite being childless, I'm still a huge fan of websites such as Heather B. Armstrong's blog Dooce, and Finslippy, which is written by Alice Bradley. Both of these fabulous bloggers write columns for the popular website Alpha Mom, and Bradley was even recently featured on Good Morning America as an Alpha Mom, and was asked to explain what exactly an Alpha Mom is.
Now, I've read a lot of Alpha Mom-esque, Blogher blogs, and I have to say, the way they portrayed Alpha Moms in the segment is ridiculous. My personal take is that GMA made the overall image of Alpha Moms out to be uptight and portrayed being an Alpha Mom as if it required a membership card and monthly fee. However, if you actually read Finslippy and Dooce, you realize that these Alpha Moms are incredibly down-to-earth, humble, and are just doing what every mom is trying to do. (You know, not F-up your kid.) The difference between your "regular moms" and mothers like Bradley and Armstrong is that they're incredibly talented writers, and are putting themselves out there to explain their take on parenting, and life in general. Just because we don't read about other women's Alpha Mom-ness or see it on TV doesn't mean that it does not exist.
While reading about CBS news anchor Katie Couric's recent bout of plagiarism, I stumbled across this video clip of her segment "Katie Couric's Notebook", where we get in touch with what is currently running through her pretty little -yet ever so slightly robotic- head. In this "episode", Katie discusses how only 10 to 20 percent of newspaper opinion editorials are written by women. Apparently Gayle Collins, the first woman to run the New York Times' editorial page, says that it's because not enough women are "asking to be there" and men are about five times more likely to submit Op-Ed essays. But don't worry! There's hope for us yet, as author Catherine Orenstein has seminars on how to TRAIN us to write opinion articles.
Does anyone else find this really irritating? Perhaps women don't want to write Op-Eds for newspapers because we've found other outlets of voicing our opinion and reaching large audiences. Ever heard of BLOGS, Katie Couric?
Linda Jones interviews Ellee Seymour for our weekly Women who blog column...
Name: Ellee Seymour
Occupation: PR consultant and journalist
Blog: Elleeseymour.com
Blogging since: February 2006
Deep breath, here goes. I don't share many of Ellee Seymour's party political views. (Okay, scratch that, I possibly don't share any of them) but I'm all for honesty, decency and warmth - which even a soft-hearted leftie like me can see ooze out of her blog.
What’s your blog about and what inspired you to write it?
I met Geoff Jones at Cambridge Toastmasters. He offered to set me up with a blog. I now write about news and politics, women's issues and the environment, PR and social media. It's very much a miscellany of life.
Linda Jones interviews Emily Turner about her blog "Doing It All Again" for our weekly "Women Who Blog" column...
Name: Emily Turner
Occupation: Mum and writer
Blog: Doing it all again
Blogging since: October 2005
One minute it's spit-your-coffee-out hilarious, the next it's so very thought provoking. Always eminently readable and compelling, it's a blog I visit every day. Even if she hasn't posted, she will have taken the time to respond to her commenters, having mulled over experiences they've decided to confide with her and sharing her own sensitive view or advice.
What's your blog about and what inspired you to write it?
I started blogging to vent my worries about being pregnant for the second time and "doing it all again" while dealing with a toddler and the stresses of an insecure freelance career as a journalist/PR consultant. It ended up being a frank, open and honest account of my life, including the 10 years of child abuse I suffered and my teenage pregnancy. The internet gave me a place to write about my experiences. Discussing them in the comments section and on other blogs strengthened my opinions on such sensitive issues. I could have written under a pseudonym or anonymously but I felt strongly that I should use my real name to show I was real and that I was not ashamed to tell it how it really is.
