My 100th Post

Nov 19

Copied from my old blog:

Good evening critters!

I am super excited to be sharing this moment with all of you. I know that some of you may be just new to the critter club (Welcome!), and others have been here and known me for awhile.
I thought really hard about what this post should be about, and then I finally decided that all of you needed to know a little more about me. Whether you are family, friends, or just some beautiful and wonderful passerby's, I thought I could take this moment to answer some common questions about my blog--what do I hope to gain from blogging, what inspired me, the different things I have learned because of it, etc. Today I will be answering all sorts of blogging questions that you guys asked me on Twitter, Facebook, and other general questions that I get a lot. Enjoy!

Do you ever force yourself to blog?
Yes and no. This past month or so, I have been really inspired to push out a lot of posts and generate some great content. However, I feel like any blogger you talk to will understand the meaning of the blogger lull. When I first created my blog I was all about it--I wanted to post all the time and learn everything I could. Then after a couple months the thrill of the entire thing wore off, and I began posting every other week or so. But I think what really pushed me forward and started my desire to post more was looking at all of the other amazing blogs out there. They taught me that there can be so much freedom in a blog, so much to learn, and there should never be a dull moment. Other bloggers give me ideas and inspire my work.

Is anything taboo for your blogging, or do you feel comfortable talking about anything?
Basically nothing is off limits on my blog. I post about a wide range of different things, and I am always open and feel comfortable in discussing whatever you critters want to talk about. However, I would say that I always consider the outcome that could happen in response to every single post. I never want to blog about something that will offend anyone or cause conflict. I enjoy a good debate, but knowing what's appropriate is important when I blog.

Are people generally supportive of your blogging, especially family and friends?
My family is absolutely supportive! My parents love looking at my different posts and seeing what I am up to while at college. They don't get to talk to me a lot, so this is their way of staying in the loop. My friends here at school are super into my blog. A lot of them have asked me to help them get started (check out Kaiti's Blog)! However, I actually just recently started sharing my posts on Twitter, Facebook, and InstaGram. Before these past couple months or so, the only way people new about my blog was if I personally talked to them about it, or if they happened to randomly stumble upon it. Sharing my blog publicly was a big step for me BUT I love it when new critters can learn more about me and get inspired by the things I post.

What websites and tools do you use to make your images and graphics?
For things very, very simple (like the image you see above and my Tuesday Twenty headers) I use a website called PicMonkey. I discovered it at the beginning of my blogging experience, and I love it's basic and easy to use design. Recently, I have been dabbling with photoshop and attempting to learn as much as possible on my own. Photoshop is how I create my images like the one in my Christmas list post, and they are usually more detailed and elaborate. The other day I discovered a site called Polyvore and am so excited to beginning incorporating the interactive images that I can make on their.

How did you get started blogging and why?
So, the other day when I started writing this post I thought that I would be able to condense the story of how I got started blogging. But the more that I think about it, the more that I realize this needs to be an entire post. I will being writing it soon, so stay tuned!

What do you hope to gain from your blog in the future?
My blog has completely changed my path in life towards a different future. Creating this blog got me interested in a Informatics and caused me to change my major! Therefore, I know that this blog can be used as a great resume item in the future, as well as, a potential career some day.

What has blogging taught you?
Blogging has taught me about me! I have learned so much about myself in these past months that I had never really discovered. It has helped me to be able to feel confident in expressing myself and care less about the judgements that people place. I've learned that you need to be happy with what you are doing or don't take the time to struggle through it. I have learned to be passionate, open-minded, and creative! I love Danyzell, the person that blogging has turned me in to.

How do you chose your topics?
I don't think that I have any specific means in choosing what I post about, but I get a lot of inspiration from other bloggers and YouTubers. I came up with the idea for my Tuesday Twenty posts because I wanted something that is constant and can be expected when reading my blog. I kind of came up with the idea out of no where, but other than that I just write about whatever I want to.

How much time do you typically spend on each post, and do you ever have to look up information to help you?
I would say that on average my posts take up to an hour for me to write (unless it is something more extensive like this one or my Christmas list post). On the other hand, some posts are super quick and easy, for example my Tuesday Twenty from a week or so ago. This doesn't really factor in the time that it takes me to edit my videos (which can be up to 2 hours); however, I am getting significantly faster and more skilled in that area. Lately, I have learned that the best thing for me to do is sit down on a Friday or Saturday night, do all of my editing and writing, and then just schedule the posts to publish at different times during the week. As for looking up information, I don't particularly do so. The only information I ever look up is to learn how to do a certain video effect or image edit and things like that.

Are you pleased with the attention your blog is getting?
Hmm, this is a hard one. I enjoy the attention and the ability for me to bring together some people and share my ideas with them. I didn't necessarily start this blog in order to make me famous or something, but that being said, I wouldn't be upset if something like that happened down the long run :) My only request for my viewers is to comment more! I love hearing everyone's feedback, getting ideas for new posts, and reading others' experiences that are similar to mine. I like the attention that my blog is getting, but like most people I would definitely be happy with more critters!

My advice for someone looking to start a blog:

Decide what makes this blog yours--for me it's the lips! I have adopted this symbol as a description of myself, and have allowed it to connect my personality to my blog.
Figure out what you want to write about--it's okay to say everything, that's what I do. You need to decide if you want a theme to your blog like organization, make-up, and video games, or no theme at all.
Be yourself--no more explanation!
Write for yourself first--I think that one of the best parts of my blogging experience was waiting to share Danyzell with the social media world. By allowing myself time to discover my blogging style and creating my website exactly how I wanted, I became confident enough to stand up when people had negative reactions. I simply loved my blog, and I didn't really need anyone else's approval.
Be consistent--this is probably one of the hardest ones, but you need to keep your readers engaged and expecting!
Give it time--its hard to become famous over night in the vastly growing inter web, so focus on your content and less on the amount of people viewing it. If your stuff is good people will want to see it.

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I love you all! Peace OUT