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getting started with blogging

June 15, 2009 | bloggy things

This past weekend when I hosted the Chicago preBlogHer meet up, there was lots of talk about how we all got started with blogging. I don’t know if I’ve ever really talked about it much here so I figured I’d write about it. Plus, it’s very interesting to hear other people’s stories on how blogging came to be for them.

I started writing on Livejournal in 2002, way back before I even knew what a blog was. In the next couple of years, I found Dooce because someone mentioned she posted photos of her dog with spaghetti noodles around his nose and I thought it was the most hilarious thing. (Hey Heather, bring back the spaghetti and Chuck photos!)

Then that lead to other blogs, like Amalah, Joy Unexpected and Miss Zoot (who are still some of my favorites today). This was years before I knew there were 20somethings who blogged. I kept up with those blogs but stuck to Livejournal because blogs were where they big girls played and I just didn’t feel on that level just yet. I didn’t have anything important to say so I’d stick to my daily posts about my day and bands I seen in my locked LJ.

In fall of 2007, I created a blog that lived for a few short months then deleted it. I think it was once I discovered Brandy’s blog that I decided I was ready to have a grown up blog because I found someone (and a whole network) I could relate to and finally said goodbye to good old LJ. I jumped right into NaBloPoMo and into 20SB, where I was one of the first 100ish members (now there are over 6,000 of us!).

And the rest was history.

How did you get started blogging?

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I actually ended up with my current blog by following my roommate around the blogosphere. I used Xanga for the longest time, for four years from 2002 to 2006. Basically I’d only write about my day (which actually makes it fun to look back on and read).

In 2006, my sophomore year of college, I roomed with my friend Melissa. She used Diaryland, so I started using that for a short amount of time, just because I liked the format better. Then when she switched over to Blogger, I did the same a few months later, right at the start of last year. I didn’t really start reading other blogs and getting into 20SB until last summer.

And now here I am, a little over a year later. Which is kinda crazy when I think about it.
.-= Cait´s last blog ..and now, a really long rant about life. =-.

I’m like you, I started over on LJ (and I’m still there). I didn’t really know it was blogging, I was just writing out all sorts of crap and every now and then people commented.

A friend of mine started a blog with wordpress, and because I have no individual thought I decided ‘I want one!’, and that was that. I joined 20SB (but I am a bad 20SB and don’t go there much, sorry peeps!) and found other blogs I liked, and kinda got sucked in.
.-= Carrie´s last blog ..Travel Chaos =-.

awwww a lj girl after my own heart! I used lj from early 2001 until september 2007. Then Adam suggested i start a “real blog” and that i’d be good at it. I’d like to think he was right and moving to wordpress was one of the best decisions ever

I actually started out on Diaryland.com in 2002 or 2003 — I had at least four “diaries” over there (I even started my own community blog). I then found Xanga.com (in 2003/2004) when I had to move a couple states away for a few months. I still wrote personal things at diaryland, but I wrote for my friends at xanga. Eventually, that died out, and around the time I started planning my wedding, I found weddingbee.com. From the inspiration from that blog, I started my own planning blog on blogspot, but I realized I wanted a more personal blog, so I moved to wordpress … and that’s where I’m at now. I discovered 20sb around that time, too, but I was only nineteen, so I let it sit on the back burner. As soon as my 20th birthday came around, though, I joined!
.-= Megan/SomewhatVoluble´s last blog ..At least it doesn’t smell like pee anymore. =-.

I started back in 2005 as i was travelling alot and wanted a diary of all the places i visited. I didnt start personal blogging until October 2006 when i wrote a post about being a tomboy and the theme has carried on ever since!
.-= smidge´s last blog ..Self-loathing is quaint, you told me, showing restraint =-.

I actually started on livejournal too. Sometime in the late-ish 90s.

The first “real” bloggers I read were Wil Wheaton, Tony Pierce and Shane Nickerson.
.-= Peter´s last blog ..Peter e-mails bloggers: Megan Edition =-.

I’ve actually got a whole draft started on this story that’s a part of my grand plan to one day merge the two, but for now the short version of the story is similar to yours. I started on Xanga and LJ back in 2003 or so, posting random tidbits about my day or restaurants or music or movies. I moved to Blogspot within a couple of years and then eventually to Wordpress. It was about a year ago when I found Flippy’s blog where she had the 20sb badge. I loved her writing as it reminded me of what I was doing, clicked the badge for the 20sb network, joined, and my life has never been the same since!
.-= Doni´s last blog ..Happy in the Gray Areas =-.

Ha! I’m like Megan, I started on Diaryland too around 2000 and then went to livejournal. I alternated between the two, writing really personal entries for friends I made in the communities until about 2005 and then started journaling exclusively.

Then in 2007 I got the bug again, I started writing as Kyla Bea, then relaunched in 2008 and found 20SB- and the rest is pretty much history!

The earliest bloggers I read were The Sarcastic Journalist, Holly Burns, Petite Anglaise & City Wendy.

I still am a secret LJ girl. I was on there since I was about 18 years old, so it’s more for personal personal stuff.
.-= Beauty of Argument´s last blog ..Public Service Announcement of Utmost Importance =-.

I didn’t really think of myself as a blogger at first. My blog started out as an open-ended email to my friends (who actually read it very rarely). I kept it at, discovered more and more twenty something bloggers, joined 20SB and never looked back. That was a year ago.
.-= Mishi´s last blog ..The computer LIVES (and gets a new name to boot) =-.

I too, was an LJ girl. I blogged there from 2002-2008. All of my favorite LJers were moving to blogger or wordpress so I decided to take the leap too!
.-= pinkie´s last blog ..power-less =-.

My mom! She convinced me to start blogging after a really, really bad break-up I went through to just kind of vent, get other people’s perspectives and etc. Once I was over him, it turned into my ridiculous dating stories journal and then… well it’s evolved into whatever my blog is today. I’ve had three different blog address: one on blogspot, two on wordpress and I plan to buy my own domain later this summer! =)
.-= Nora´s last blog ..Monday GiST =-.

I was on DeadJournal in high school. Then I stopped blogging for a couple years but after college started reading a couple of my friends’ blogs that I found through their Facebook pages. Then I decided to start one of my own. I didn’t really get into the blogworld for quite a few months after that, though, and when I did it started with Sundry, Dooce, and Swistle.
.-= Jess´s last blog ..Closet space =-.

I had a couple of friends that were doing it at the time and it was an easy way to communicate. Then it turned into something bigger and bigger until I had to create my own grown up blog. Now it’s a platform for me and my writing. And that’s a very good thing!
.-= Kim´s last blog ..I Just Can’t Get Enough (of the Hospital) =-.

I was an EARLY blogger… we’re talking 6th grade early, on blogger when it first came out. Then I moved to LJ from 8th grade until the end of high school, then to Wordpress, and finally to a self-hosted Wordpress about a year ago.

Once an internet fiend, always an internet fiend… hahaha.
.-= Teresa´s last blog ..A Pretty Fantastic Weekend =-.

I started out waaayyyy back when on Livejournal and Xanga, which was just personal, I had no followers, didn’t follow anyone else and it was just a way to vent frustrations, telln the stories of my life. Eventually I made my way over to Blogger but never really fell in love with that platform.

Two years ago I discovered The Company Bitch, Clink and Molly and I was introduced to this amazing community of twenty somethings and I decided that I was going to make the switch from Blogger to Wordpress. It was right around the time 20SB was born too, so its very exciting to see how far its come from its early days!
.-= ashley´s last blog ..Reminiscing on Summers Past =-.

Funny. I started off in LJ, too. Actually, I had a DeadJournal first, then graduated to an LJ my freshman year of college.

I started my blog my (final) senior year of college. The rest was history.
.-= E.P.´s last blog ..If you didn’t know I was lazy before… =-.

I dont even think I can remember how I got started! I think Xanga was my first blog and I had 2 of those, then ditched those and wrote on myspace blog, then onto blogspot and finally onto wordpress. I’ve moved around quite a bit. I have a problem with letting IRL friends know about it, then things go wrong and I ditch the blog to start anew. But I’m at my final place at ReinventingAmy. Previously I’ve blogged as It’s A Glamorous Life (fav blog- but had 2 IRL stalkers) then EmmaElizabeth (a disguise from the GlamLife blog) and now ReinventingAmy because….well I’m not sure, but it is fitting
.-= Reinventing Amy´s last blog ..Conversation with Casey in her cube. =-.

I started out using b2 and the beginning stages of wordpress as an updates section for my websites.

Over the years I started slipping bits and pieces of my life into the updates until they became full fledged posts and voila.
.-= Melissa´s last blog ..Ethiopian Chicken =-.

I began with LJ in 2005 until 2007. I used to read brandy’s blog and some other girl’s (who has since stopped blogging) and I thought I should start a “real” blog.

I read that using blogger would be easiest for someone with my lack of skills and I’ve been using blogger ever since Jan. 2008.

Roughly 38 years ago (or more like 2001) when in college to keep my friends back home updated on what I was upto when not returning calls.
.-= Meghan´s last blog ..Summer Lovin Gal =-.

I think it was 2000 or 2001?? Can’t remember. I started with a livejournal for a while…it was just my RL friends though. Then I had a Xanga for a bit. Then I didn’t blog for a few years…then my RL buddy “stephcorwin” forced me to make my current blog about 1.5 years ago.
.-= Alyssa´s last blog ..A big fat FAIL =-.

I think we met thanks to NaBloPoMo! Which then led me to 20sb, where I was also member 100-something (180-something, I think; scary that I actually remember these things).

I started blogging in 2005, myself, on a network called Yahoo!360 (it’s now shut down). After a little less than 2 years there, I jumped ship and went independent in 2007. Best decision EVER.
.-= Phil´s last blog ..Drink Up Los Angeles =-.

Sooo long ago… (2004) I joined this social network called LunarStorm and you could blog on it, but I joined Blogger three times before I finally settled with it in 2007. One of the best things I’ve ever done!
.-= Nicole´s last blog ..For some reason I always text in full English. =-.

I started blogging on Myspace. I used to blog two and three or even four times a day. Now I’m down to one since I’ve joined the real world of blogging. I’ve been in the real blogosphere since September and I love it way more than Myspace.

I hardly ever log into Myspace anymore…
.-= Jaime´s last blog ..Tuesday Ponderings In Which I Talk About Salad Again =-.

I’m a ex-LJ person too! I started mine in the summer of 2001 because my friend Joe had one and it seemed like a fun thing to do. It was right before I went off to college and I kept it through, um, 1/2 way through my 1st semester. Heh. My sophomore year I brought it back because a guy I liked had one. I wrote in it occasionally, but didn’t really know of blogs outside of it. In, hmm, 2005ish Samir created his music blog (areyougenehackman.blogspot.com) so I learned about blogger. In 2007 we broke up and I moved to blogger because I didn’t want him reading my posts. NO JOKE. The blog evolved, just like our (now back on) relationship.

And that’s the story of HDS. WOW, i’m sure you didn’t care to hear that much.
.-= Lauren´s last blog ..Transparency Winner =-.

I started keeping a journal online back in the 90s. Then I went to livejournal…and was there a LONG LONG time. When I finally grew up and got my own blog. First on wordpress, then on my own domain names.

I also started with LJ, back in 2001, I think. Had it for YEARS. I tried starting a writing blog on Xanga – remember that site!? – a few years ago, but never kept up with it. Then, after reading the Strict Shenanigist (we also went to college together), I created A MinD in MoTown, found 20sb, and one year later, here I am.
.-= MinD´s last blog ..Walk the plank. =-.

I started blogging 2002 with LiveJournal but I didn’t like LJ anymore so I slowly stopped blogging and then decided to blog again and make it public this time with my own website. I also found 20sb from someone who mentioned it on LJ.

i started a group blog with my friends for fun that went nowhere so i decided to try it on my own and was much more successful and i sort of love it
.-= katelin´s last blog ..How do you do Hollywood? =-.

When I first started my blog, I had no intention of making it public. Now, I don’t know what I’d do without the 20SB community.
.-= Lindsay´s last blog ..Mind Like a Steel Trap =-.

It’s all about Xanga! Woot woot.

Aww, I wish I had known all y’all earlier. Blogging would have been much more fun!
.-= michelle woo´s last blog ..Week 2: I’m (still!) taking the EA Sports Active Challenge =-.

You know you’re one of the first 20 something blogs I found on the internet. SOOOOO awesome, Jamie! Blogging is one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.

That’s awesome.

I was blogging before I knew what it was too!

I was using Xanga and Blurty.

Then switched to LJ where I let some of my real friends read and wrote about my day to day life.

I gave up on that when I graduated HS and then came to blogger last year!
.-= Jessica´s last blog ..A Fab Week In Roma =-.

I started on Xanga, and then quickly got my own web space. I was making layouts by hand at first, then started using MoveableType. Back then, half of being a good blogger was having a well-designed site, so I was spending a lot of energy on creating blog layouts.
Once I got MoveableType though, I started focusing more on writing, and I have been writing ever since (on my own webspace – always. I love versatility and can’t stand to be restricted by free blog sites).
.-= SassyGirl´s last blog ..A Drama Three Years in the Making =-.

my friends urged me to do it. little did i know that 400 (today’s!) posts later i’d still be happily blogging and would have made so many friends from it.

i honestly don’t know what i’d do without it.

ALSO you were one of the VERY first blogs i read AND the first non real life friend/family member to leave a comment on my blog!!

I actually started seriously blogging last year while looking for work. I follow a number of web design, web development, and gadget blogs and decided starting my own self hosted Wordpress blog would be a great way for me to get acquainted with a popular CMS, improve my writing skills, increase my web presence, and aid with my online networking and job hunting.
.-= Wardell´s last blog ..Simply the Best Email Client =-.

2005, back on Blogger where the red stapler on my desk inspired the first go at writing – mainly about work. A friend who I frequently emailed with amusing anecdotes about my job suggested that I share them with the world.

Then my job got boring and I quit writing for awhile. Then my life finally go interesting, and I’m back.
.-= Rebekah´s last blog ..How very, very convenient =-.

I started out on a Xanga and enjoyed the concept. I decided to become a “real” blogger because I was tired of the limitations of Xanga and it was finals week. I started my Xanga during finals week too…it always happens that way.
.-= Ronnica´s last blog ..Assumption =-.

I started back in 2005 as i was travelling alot and wanted a diary of all the places i visited. I didnt start personal blogging until October 2006 when i wrote a post about being a tomboy and the theme has carried on ever since!
.-= smidge´s last blog ..Self-loathing is quaint, you told me, showing restraint =-.

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