Ten Questions with Naomi of IttyBiz.

1. Describe your blog in five sentences or less.
IttyBiz is for people who are working from home, or thinking about it. We have a marketing background, so in addition to work-from-home support and encouragement, we feature a big, juicy bunch of marketing tips for small businesses with small budgets. Or small businesses with no budgets, for that matter.

2. Link us to one post from your blog that best defines who you are.
How To Make Sure Your Ads Are Ignored And Your Money Is Wasted

3. What sets you apart from other bloggers?
We’re not trying to be John Chow. We have no interest in blogging bandwagons. You will never see a Widget Bucks review on IttyBiz. We don’t take internet business so ludicrously seriously.

Also, we’re kind of funny and we’re not afraid to say the occasional dirty word.

4. When and how did you first discover blogging?
I was reading some crap or other on the internet and there was a big ol’ list of sites on the sidebar. (I would later discover this to be called a blogroll.) There was a link to Dooce, with something like, “If you’re not already reading this, you’re a total f*&%ing idiot” written above it. Nothing like a vulgar insult or two to make me want to click.

5. What is your biggest pet peeve related to blogging or the internet?
I’m going to pick two things. One, the fact that otherwise intelligent people turn into lemmings the minute they get a Blogger account. (“Ooh. He has a shiny new widget. I should get one too!”) Trust in your own intelligence, people! Two, lousy advertising. There’s no excuse for it. Most people get excited if their blog makes them ten bucks in a month. There’s nothing wrong with that ten bucks, but people sell their souls for it. They put their name up on a really ugly blog and completely lose their integrity just so Adsense can pay their hosting fees.

Oh, and I used to hate MyBlogLog until I was on some really tiny, obscure site one time and saw that Yaro was the last one to be there before me. Now I don’t think it’s so bad.

6. Name one plugin, blogging widget, or service that you can’t live without.
I don’t do widgets or plugins. I don’t understand them and they make me feel dumb so I avoid them. (This may actually turn out to be false since I hired someone to design my site. For all I know I have more widgets than your average widget factory. If this is true, please don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.)

7. If you could choose anyone, living or dead, to write a guest post for your blog, who would it be and why?
Can it be a fictional character? I’m going to assume yes. I would pick House, the doctor, from the TV show of the same name. He’s brilliant and intriguing and shockingly offensive, all at the same time. When I say it that way, he’s kind of my role model.

8. How has blogging made you a better person?
It’s made me more compassionate. I always used to hate it when people asked me to work for free. Now that I’m blogging, I’m doing more free stuff than I ever would have imagined. It’s made me realize that the marketing profession is not all about arrogance and prestige and greed. It’s made me understand that this thing that I love can actually help people achieve their dreams.

9. What are your tips for becoming a better blogger?
Be yourself, but with better grammar. Don’t jump on every trend you see. You’ll just look stupid later. Think about what your readers want, not what you want. Remember that every single thing that happens to you can be spun into a topical blog post. When you click “Publish”, mean it. Make it count. Say something important, even if it’s just an important way to make people laugh.

10. Name one great blog that you read on a regular basis. What makes it unique?
I like Amalah. She is funny and heartbreaking and an amazing parent. She makes me, and all of her readers, feel like they’re not alone in trying to raise fun, responsible, well-adjusted children who will grow up to vote Democrat and give money to the poor.

Categories: Blogging, Business & Career, Ten Questions