10 Questions with Graham of One Man’s Travel Blog

1. Describe your blog in five sentences or less.
My blog was originally purely going to be a means to share my experiences from around the world. However, since starting it, it has become an account of my journey through life – the ups and the downs, the trials and the tribulations.

2. Link us to one post from your blog that best defines who you are.
This is a difficult one to answer, as I think each of my posts reveal something about me. However, the post I think represents me the most is Just Wandering Through Life.

3. What sets you apart from other bloggers?
I may not be the worlds best technician of the English language (although I live in England and was born in the same town as William Shakespeare). However, I think I have a unique way of representing my thoughts through my words and photographs. I have a passion to share and reflect on the wonderful places around me. I am not afraid to reveal my emotional side as I strongly believe that one’s emotional quota (EQ) is more far more valuable than ones’ intelligence quota(IQ).

4. When and how did you first discover blogging?
It was back in the early part of this year (2007). I was at home recuperating from a serious accident. I had recently broken up with my girlfriend and, as a result of my accident, had lost my confidence to travel. I could feel myself falling into an abyss of procrastination. I knew inside that I had to do something, so decided to create a website to hold my travel memories. Something that would inspire me as well as something I could look back on in years to come. Following a few Google searches, I discovered Blogger. I originally saw this as a means of trying out my ideas before building a proper website, but soon realised that this was actually the perfect medium. Soon people started to visit and leave comments, all of which filled me with great encouragement. I also began to visit others’ blogs and became enlightened by the many things that people write about. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever realise that I would build friendships with so many people from so many wonderful places around the world.

5. What is your biggest pet peeve related to blogging or the internet?
My biggest pet peeve about blogging is when people sell their souls to Adsense or other advertising companies. I have absolutely no objection to people adding the occasional advertising widget to their blog, (who knows, I may even add one to mine one day), but people should never let go of their true core values.… The beautiful thing about blogs are that they are a personal reflection of the writer.

6. Name one plugin, blogging widget, or service that you can’t live without.
It would be the “comments” feature on each post. Reading comments from others has inspired my to continue with my post writing. Also it has become a medium for me to forge friendships with people of whom I otherwise would never have known. A service of the blogging world that I am truly grateful for.

7. If you could choose anyone, living or dead, to write a guest post for your blog, who would it be and why?
It would be Earnest Shackleton. This man is a life-long hero of mine. He is remembered today for his expedition to the Antarctic from 1914 – 1916. The expedition met many difficulties and disasters, but because of his ingenious crew selection (focused as much on the personalities of individuals as their skills) the expedition ended up a success and the adventures from the epic journey live on to this very day. It would be an honour for me to invite him to write, not only about his adventure to the Antarctic, but also about his motivation, his passions and the things that he learned through his life.

8. How had blogging made you a better person?
I have never been a person to keep a diary and have never really understood what life is truly all about. Since starting my blog I have had the opportunity to reflect on who I am and learn so much about myself.

9. What are your tips for becoming a better blogger?
I think the biggest tip I can offer any blogger is to be whom you really are, to be your true self. Share with people the thoughts that wander through your mind. Show people what you see through your eyes. And never forget, what seems boring and trivial to one person is a dream to another.

10. Name one great blog that you read on a regular basis. What makes it unique?
This is a difficult one, as there are so many. One of the many blogs that I do enjoy belongs to Muse. The thing that makes her blog, Xanadu, so unique is the way in which she views and recounts the idiosyncrasies of the world around her. Truly magical and so interesting.

Categories: Ten Questions, Travel & Culture