Ten Questions with Mike of Ordinary Folk

1. Describe your blog in five sentences or less.
I operate two blogs. Ordinary Folk is just a collection of randomness that occasionally finds a way of making sense. Gummy - The Lovesick Alien is my web comic based on three little aliens. One of them is green and a little bit shy. One is pink and occasionally catty and the other is blue and extremely bratty.

2. Link us to one post from your blog that best defines who you are.
Just the facts, sir. - This would be punishment after accidentally calling Tish huge.

3. What sets you apart from other bloggers?
Other than probably having more hair than most, I don’t know that anything really completely sets me apart from other bloggers, however I just try not to take things too seriously. I think blogging is meant to be fun. I like to get around the blogosphere and meet other bloggers. I enjoy helping others out when I’m able to and most of all I’m probably one of the silliest bloggers you’ll meet. I like to make others laugh. The funny thing is I rarely smile, but I love making others smile.

4. When and how did you first discover blogging?
Well like Helen of HelenChatter I was technically blogging years ago before it was even called blogging. I started making my own simple little websites around 1995 or 96. Back then everything was written by hand in notepad. I’d write about my music, my art, things going on around me. Years later the term “blogging” was coined and that’s when I discovered I was apparently a blogger.

5. What is your biggest pet peeve related to blogging or the internet?
I really can’t stand the term “A-list blogger” and the egos that tend to be attached to it. I’ll just leave it at that so as not to upset anyone ;)

I will say this however. Should I ever reach that mystical A-list plateau of the blogosphere, I plan to totally rewrite the A-list handbook. Free backlinks for everyone!

6. Name one plugin, blogging widget, or service that you can’t live without.
I guess that would be a tie between MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog. Since joining those services I’ve met so many other really interesting and friendly bloggers. It’s amazing how people from all over the world are so willing to open up to strangers, share their experiences and bond with others that perhaps they might not under normal non-blogging circumstances.

7. If you could choose anyone, living or dead, to write a guest post for your blog, who would it be and why?
I’d love to have Jim Davis the creator of Garfield as a guest artist on my comic site one day. He’s my hero. I probably have a better chance of winning the lottery though :(

8. How has blogging made you a better person?
I’m a very private person, so I think it’s helped me to open up a little more. I’ve never been very social either, so it’s allowed me to learn to interact with people much better than I’ve ever been able to in the past. Now if I could just figure out how to do all of that in person without turning into a stuttering moron, we just might have something.

9. What are your tips for becoming a better blogger?
Write about what interests you. If you like to collect lint balls, write about it. Someone else on this planet is going to have a lint fetish too and feel like they can relate to you. Don’t try to be something or someone you’re not. Just be you.

10. Name one great blog that you read on a regular basis. What makes it unique?
This is so tough because I’ve made so many wonderful friends blogging and everyone has such exceptional blogs that are very special in their own way. I guess if I had to choose one though I’d go with Danielle’s Pink Internet Marketing. Though her blog is fairly new, I’ve really taken to it. She has such a great mix of silliness, whimsy and most of all intelligence. I love that I can read one post and find myself giggling hysterically and then read another and totally be wowed by how extremely well written, thought out and insightful it is.

To find out more about Mike, be sure to check out Gummy the Lovesick Alien - A Blog We Luv.

Categories: Art & Music, Personal, Ten Questions