I feel silly because I don’t know her name, but congratulations to AdTracker of Adsense Tracker on being the very first Polliwog winner of the day! May the little pewter guy bring you loads of good luck. :)
Thanks for helping support our cause. Let us know via the contact form where to send your prize and we’ll pass the word along to Polli, our gracious prize contributor!
Several of our friends and supporters are also blogging for their own charitable causes today. Please take a moment to drop by, say hello, and offer some words of encouragement!
If you’re participating in Blogathon and we missed you, let us know!
2. Link us to one post from your blog that best defines who you are.
5 Sympathies For The Devil Talk about striking a chord, this one really vibrates! I think this post helps define my more passionate side on things that affect us all.
3. What sets you apart from other bloggers?
I try to avoid becoming an echo chamber. I’ll leave it to the other blogs out there to talk about iPhone, Paris Hilton, Google Pagerank, or whatever. If I do write about this things, then I’ll work at finding a different angle on the topic, shed some light or bust through the hype.
4. When and how did you first discover blogging?
I started blogging in January 2005, when I started my blog about web safety. Before then, I never thought I’d do this thing called blogging. Up until then I thought blogs were only online journals for people to share with others. Well, of course, my thoughts have changed on that and have loved it ever since. So, being a technically-inclined creature, I started off with a web site about web safety. But I soon found myself yearning to have a more versatile platform, something I could use to easily deliver my thoughts in a more personal manner. After researching my choices, I landed on WordPress. After a couple of years of that, I then discovered that I had more to say and so started MeAndMyDrum.
5. What is your biggest pet peeve related to blogging or the internet?
People who can’t (or perhaps won’t) control their responses in a dignified manner. As I mentioned above, I’m an advocate for web safety. As such, I’ve written several posts about cyberbullying — a topic that really gets my blood boiling. The anonymity that comes with that act somehow causes people’s sense of courtesy to dissolve. So they feel free to lash out at others without the slightest bit of remorse. It’s not about not getting angry, just do it with control and respect.
6. Name one plugin, blogging widget, or service that you can’t live without.
Gosh, there are so many that I think are great. To choose one, that would have to be Akismet. It does a fine job keeping my comments virtually spam-free.
7. If you could choose anyone, living or dead, to write a guest post for your blog, who would it be and why?
Red Skelton, a comic genius. This is not a life-long dream of mine, having him write for my blog — just someone who came to mind just now. I’ve always thought of him as a gentle soul and funny. To me he represents simpler times, back when primetime television was really family time. He didn’t resort to foul language to get people to laugh, or indecent behavior like we see in so many comics today. No, he was pure funny. His was a time when family values meant something — something we desperately need today, on and off the television.
8. How has blogging made you a better person?
It has made me a better writer and thinker. A writer: not that the words now flow from me, but writing more frequently has definitely helped me organize my thoughts better and find my voice. A thinker: I ask myself more questions to get at what really matters to me, and to think how I can connect with readers. Blogging has also helped me come out of my shell a lot. I’m now more inclined to startup a conversation with people I meet in person and online.
9. What are your tips for becoming a better blogger?
It’s very tempting to copy other bloggers. In fact, if done sparingly, it can be a healthy way to learn something new or branch out into a different direction. But whatever you do, make it yours. Even with millions of other voices out there, there’s still room for one more that’s unique.
I can also suggest getting to know people and their blogs. Join and become active in a social community like MyBlogLog. That, to me, is a candy store of blogs just waiting to be discovered.
Lastly, read more about the things you enjoy and do so from many different sources. This tip alone has helped me discover what I think is important and worth sharing.
10. Name one great blog that you read on a regular basis. What makes it unique?
That would be Garry Conn’s blog. He speaks from his heart and does it with conviction. He’s not afraid to speak against the flow of things. And no matter the topic, no matter his position, he does so with respect and professionalism. (his blogging tips are good, too!)
For more information on Mark, be sure to read MeAndMyDrum - A Blog We Luv and Blog Spotlight - Darn Good Reviews.
Good morning, and welcome to Blogathon 2007! Mike and I have been anxiously awaiting this day for a couple of months now.
Thanks to you all for stopping by and lending your support! We will be posting at least every 30 minutes for the next 24 hours. If we’re coming up on 30 minutes with no post, please wake us up!
Thanks to our wonderful sponsors, we’ve raised $293 for The Glaucoma Foundation. And with your help, we can raise more! We’re only $7 away from the $300 mark! How about tossing in a few bucks if you haven’t already made a pledge? Remember that every $5 in pledges will give you one entry into the drawing for a $25 Amazon.com gift card to be awarded at the close of Blogathon 2007.
A special thank you goes out to Polli of Polliwog’s Pond. She has been very supportive in the weeks leading up to Blogathon. She was also kind enough to donate 12 little pewter good luck polliwogs for us to award today. We have 19 entries, so you have a great chance of winning if you blogged about our fund raising efforts!
We have had an incredible amount of support from so many people during the past few weeks, and we can’t thank you enough!
Grab your coffee and refresh your page often! This is going to be one wild ride!
Polli of Polliwog’s Pond has been gracious enough to donate 12 small pewter polliwogs for us to award during Blogathon 2007. I am embarrassed to say that I had no idea what a polliwog was, so I googled it. It’s what I refer to as a “tadpole”. These little polliwogs are considered good luck charms, so if you could use a stroke of good luck, be sure to enter the contest!
Here’s how you can win a polliwog:
1. Spread the word about our efforts to raise money for The Glaucoma Foundation by creating a post on your blog.
2 . Encourage your readers to make a pledge. Every $5 in pledges will get one entry into a a drawing for a $25 Amazon.com gift card.
3. Discuss the other ways in which your readers can help. They can: (a) hang out with us during Blogathon 2007, (b) spread the word to their own readers, and (c) submit a 10 Questions post to BlogsWeLuv.
4 . Leave a comment or pingback on this post to let us know that you’ve participated. For those of you who have already posted about our efforts, you are automatically entered into the contest.
Participants will be entered into a drawing for the polliwogs. 12 winners will be chosen at random times during Blogathon.
Blogathon 2007 begins at 9 AM Eastern on Saturday, July 28th and ends 24 hours later. Thank you for your support!
My blog is just a fun place to visit. I try to keep it as far away from serious as I can! I love gossiping, gadgets, music (couldn’t live without it) and movies! I just can’t get myself to focus on one subject! I love comments and I always reply, my goal is to make blog friends and interact!
2. Link us to one post from your blog that best defines who you are.
That post has to be my 100th post. 100 facts about me!! :)
3. What sets you apart from other bloggers?
I don’t know if i should be saying this but i’m totally completely in love with my blog, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for it! I’m getting less and less hours of sleep and I use my free time to read other blogs!! So I think what makes me different is my passion! :D I stay honest to myself and if I don’t have anything to say I won’t!!
4. When and how did you first discover blogging?
To tell the truth before my 7Confessions blog I had this MSN space blog and it was always so difficult for me to find things I could write about in there! I don’t feel really comfortable talking about myself and my problems and that blog was only read by friends. I’m really afraid to give the impression i’m always complaining!
So I got this blog where I’m totally anonymous and I can say and gossip about anything I feel like!! Ah I guess I didn’t really answer your question, I knew about blogger from a friend and I decided to try it myself without any one knowing about it. I started reading about everything blog related and I made myself 7Confessions!! My original idea was to make it a little more personal but it got its own life. Maybe I should do a spin-off and start a personal intimate blog!! :D
5.What is your biggest pet peeve related to blogging or the internet?
Stealing content, fake bloggers, selfish bloggers, show off bloggers like “I’m better than you, I have a bigger pagerank cause I bought some links” type :)
6. Name one plugin, blogging widget, or service that you can’t live without.
Ahh the IReply badge! I’m proud! :D And my Buy me A Coffee button cause I can’t live without it (too bad no one wants to buy me some)! and of course my Blogroll!
7. If you could choose anyone, living or dead, to write a guest post for your blog, who would it be and why?
Ah that’s soo obvious it would have to be Johnny Depp!! I’m almost in tears thinking that someday it might happen! I’ll keep on dreaming!! And if I’m allowed I would want to invite everyone to visit Johnny Depp Obsessions and I want to thank my girls Lisa and Taylor_Blue without them this project would never happen!
8. How has blogging made you a better person?
I can be myself and I’m meeting a new world, new people and I’m loving every minute of it! I found out that I’m not alone on my opinions, tastes, routines and feelings!
9. What are your tips for becoming a better blogger?
Be yourself, be honest, don’t be rude, be open, discuss your opinions in an adult way! Make friends. Blogging is not a competition!
10. Name one great blog that you read on a regular basis. What makes it unique?
I’d be breaking rules again in this answer I can’t choose only one blog! I have my daily fix of at least 5 blogs! But I’m just going to say Lemonade Designs , this girl is giving away free classic blogger designs and doing an amazing job!
Our good friend Christy has bestowed upon us her Charity Blogger Award which in her words is “for those who use blogging to help others and to raise awareness of those in need. Those who post missing persons posters, charity links, or who are involved in fund raising campaigns, or who make posts about charitable causes. Those who care enough to help others deserve this award.” Thank you, Christy! We would like to pass this award along to the following people.
UPDATE: You’ll have to excuse me for having a HUGE blonde moment. While we do love Bob of Bob Meets World as well, it’s Bob of Bobbarama that we meant to award…lol. Sorry to both Bobs! :oops:
Just a quick note to let everyone know who has had their Ten Questions answers already posted or have sent in answers to be posted soon, there’s now a couple buttons to choose from which you can use to link to BlogsWeLuv if you’d like. You can find them here on the links page! Thanks so much to everyone who has participated. Please let all your friends know about the Ten Questions opportunity. Every blogger is welcome! Remember Tish and I will be posting a whole lot more of the answers during the Blogathon, so stay tuned! =)
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