At http://thekorystory.blogspot.com I very rarely keep to a focus, the blog turns into more a diary, focusing on what I think is interesting, funny or desiring to be said more then anything else...
But, what I am interested in knowing is two fold... the first is how important is blog focus, how crucial is it to grab a topic or motivation and stick to it... seems to me that homogeneous blog posts would lead to a bland blog... but maybe being too diverse in focus (or all over the place) maybe not be favorable? Thoughts? Agree? Disagree? Outraged?
The second and possibly more interesting for those who aren't concerned with focus is a post that I put up a little while ago on Internet Routine, which can be found here http://thekorystory.blogspot.com/2008/05/computing-time-outlined-in...
I find how people use the internet, especially blogging peers, quite interesting, so take a second and let me know how you spend your internet-ing time... feel free to comment on thekorystory, in the comments here, or take the inspiration and make a new post on your blog and then link here...
Yes this is a great insightful opinion. This is particularly true for those marketing themselves, I would assume. As I don't see The Kory Story having much branding capacity. Your comments on focus were also really nice...
My blog doesn't have a certain topic that I stick to. Mine's sort of like a diary--I post about my day, my plans, things I think are interesting, emotions, and just anything that I feel like writing about. There's no way that I could limit myself to any one thing like fashion or current events--I'd run aout of things to say really fast. So this way I keep it interesting for myself and keep my readers entertained by not droning on something for too long.
As for my internet routine, it just depends, I guess. I always first log onto gaim (I guess the newer versions are called pidgin, for those who don't know), check my yahoo home page for anything interesting, check my blog for new comments, comment on other blogs, and then check my email. The rest of my time on the internet gets split up into anything. Time on Amazon, wikipedia, 20somethings, catching up on missed tv episodes, and so on.
Yeah, sort of a diary, but with some non-personal stuff, that is the only way to keep it somewhat interesting for readers, but especially for yourself, because think of how limitless the possibilities are when you do not impose any restrictions on the topics you choose top write on...
As for your routine, I would assume that gimp/pidgin is some sort of IM sys?
Is your Amazon time more shopping, or more researching products?
gaim/pidgin is an IM thing. i got an AIM virus a couple years ago, and a friend told me about gaim. i love it SO much more than regular aim. but the newer versions, called pidgin, suck in my opinion.
amazon time is spent browsing. i like to "window shop" more than spend money.
In terms of focus, I guess mine would be classified as personal. I just write about whatever I happen to be thinking about at any given time. Sometimes I feel like commenting on something of relevance, or I'll just recount a story. Maybe I'll just go over how my weekend was. It depends. I find it's an easier way to write because to force a focus into your writing can keep you from writing about something that really inspires you. Giving myself free reign gives me a chance to explore different types of things.
As for my e-habits...
Wordpress hosts my blog http://whatlizsaid.com, so I'll check my stats, read/respond to comments, etc.
Google Reader for my blog feeds.
Cnn.com for news and such.
Gtalk for chatting.
Craigslist for reading, apartments, and other things. (DC version.)
DCblogs.com for new DC reading material.
ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com for celeb gossip.
Amazon.com to check out new books and such.
Twitter for twittering.
Goodreads occasionally when I have updates to my reading list.
Facebook & MySpace, while popular... are pretty secondary to me.
Theknot.com for wedding planning.
Flickr.com for my photography.
I think you perfectly embody the free reign theory, I would enjoy seeing that ideal contested, by someone who is somewhat focus oriented...
E-Habs:
I really like getting input from peers on this type of thing, cause you really learn what is best/most useful for activities that you may be trying to accomplish with something inferior.
What is twitter most useful for? and does CNN do an RSS feed for gReader?
Twitter is just a silly little thing for me. It's fun during work hours. Keeps the day going along. Sometimes I have random thoughts I really want to share but they don't warrant blogging or even a response.
I don't know if CNN does but I'm a little weird about that. Unless it's like DCist (even though it's still a blog) I tend to avoid putting anything non-newsy in my reader. I like my reader to be fun and enjoyable. And while news is fun and enjoyable, I really like going to the website and deciding what I want to read up on.
I don't spend much time online really. I read blogs via my goggle reader and news via a different reader or home page.
I answer email. That is about it.
My original blog has no focus, though people who read me know I'm going to be writing social, political, and pop culture commentary more often than not along with bad poetry there is no specialty there.
My other blogs are more specific.
I think it depends on the purpose of your blog.
I use very little else though I have twitter,l inked in, pownce, and all that stuff I just don't have time for it.
I find that so surprising, but I guess that the number of things you do and the amount of time you spend surfing, is inversely proportional to how busy you are... I feel another graph coming together...