We love to learn more about our BritMums bloggers through our recurring "Why do you blog?" feature. It's fascinating to see how a blog is "born" and to learn more about individual motivations and goals. We hope that you will find some inspiration in the following post from Hayley Glenister of Simply Hayley.
What is your Blog Name/Url? (Twitter ID & Facebook Fan Page URL)
Simply Hayley is my blog. You can follow me on Twitter (@Simply_Hayley) and on Facebook.
What is your name/alias?
@Simply_Hayley is my current name I'm using, obviously keeping my name in keeping, Hayley, previously I've been Angelhales and Singlemummynet.
How did you come up with your Blog Name?
I knew that singlemummy.net had to die seeing as I was no longer a single parent and so I needed something else, with so many blogs out there most of the obvious things you come up with are already taken and so it was a case of creating something. I wanted it uncomplicated and relatively short. Someone suggested Simply Hayley and I decided it was just right!
When did you start blogging?
June 2009 was when my first "Mummy Blog" begun which was Singlemotherhoodchallenges, however I had previously used myspace for more of a personal intimate blog.
Why did you start blogging?
I've always been someone who has a diary, I still do, but I type far faster and better than I can handwrite and so it made sense to find something online that I could use as an outlet and a release, somewhere to rant and rave about the things that bugged me! When I first started blogging I knew nothing of the "Blogging community" as it were, I stumbled across it a few months after singlemotherhoodchallenges started!
Has blogging met your expectations so far?
I didn't start blogging with expectations, when I found the community I was shocked to find out how big it was and that people were being paid for writing and were getting products to review etc. 2010 was a whirlwind of events which was a wonderful opportunity for both myself and my son who got to experience a whole range of different things he never would have done before such as going to Innocent HQ, working with Toys R Us etc. Last year I felt my blog did get taken over by PR events/reviews etc and so decided this year I would focus more on me and my writing and be more picky about events etc that we took up.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Tackling negative comments. One post I wrote got an extremely negative reaction from a group of parents and within 4 hours I watched google analytics go crazy as my hits for the day reached nearly 4000, it was mental and hard to swallow when many of them were making personal attacks but it hardened me to the fact that not everyone is always going to agree with what you write and you have to accept difference of opinion.
Share with us your blogging HIGHLIGHT and LOWLIGHT.
Highlight? Oooo there's been many! Probably Cybermummy though, being in a room with hundreds of women who all have one thing in common was really special I thought.
Low light? Well I can’t pick anything specific but the general bitchiness that has at times taken over a bit too much with various "websites" etc being set up to attack individuals, I think it’s a shame but it does make for a dramatic twitter evening when these things do occur which has happened on occasion.
What do you hope to achieve through your blogging?
I just want to keep blogging for myself. With my current pregnancy I want my blog to be somewhere I can look back over to see how things changed and grew and developed etc and how I coped post birth etc. I want to continue to write about issues that affect young parents and single parents having been there myself and even though I may not be single any more having been for 4 years I'm all too aware of the stigma etc that surrounds it.
What has been your favourite post and why?
Favourite, well it does have to be my controversial one! I took ages to research facts and figures etc from both sites concerned and such and felt I wrote it very well. I was pleased I did get some feedback of well written piece, it was just a shame not everyone agreed! But after all you can’t please everyone!