Me(me) Blog tag: Give me the blogging life

I've been tagged for this meme by Janet Riehl, Riehl Life; Village Wisdom for the 21st Century. and I'm tagging Mary Cunningham;Cynthia's Attic Blog

Here are my answers to the blog tag about the blogging life:

It's All About Me(me) Blog tag questions and answers:

1. How long have you been blogging?

I'm quite new to the world of blogging and learning slowly as I fight for time out of a busy schedule that includes publishing, marketing, and writing new books. I published my first blog post on June 5, 2007 just after returning from PMA's Publishing University and the Book Expo of America in New York.

2. What inspired you to start a blog and who are your mentors?

While in New York, I heard lectures on the value of blogging as a marketing technique. Enthusiastic bloggers convinced me that it is also easy, fun, and a great way to meet people, which has proven to be true. Other bloggers have mentored me, especially Janet Riehl, who has become a great support and encouragement as well as giving me good examples to follow.

3. Are you trying to make money online, or just doing it for fun?

I have to say both. As I've already said, blogging was touted as a way to get myself and my books and even my company more widely known. If it will help sell books, I'm all for it. But the benefits reach far beyond that. It IS fun, and it opens up my world to a whole new community of friends I may never have met otherwise.

4. What 3 things do you struggle with online?

I detest spam, pop ups, and especially those flashing lights and dancing graphics that some sites have. Worse, though are the online predators taking advantage of the unsuspecting, especially young people. I wish there were no predators on social sites like My Space and others so that our kids could safely surf the web and enjoy cyber friendships without fear of cruelty and exploitation. I wish that on the internet as well as in real life, we could only find knowledge and wholesome entertainment and interaction. I'd wish away pornography and violence, if I could, but of course that is not the way life is, and why I am not God. As I learned in physics, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So my wishes are mere fantasies of what I perceive to be better for us—for me—when looking at the little picture.

5. What 3 things do you love about being online?

I love the new friends and contacts I've made by visiting other people's blogs and from their posts on mine. I love the things I learn from them, from their blogs, and websites. I love the easy access to the world and answers to the questions I pose; answers readily available at my fingertips.

Tag, Mary Cunningham, you're it!