Re: LEGO Blogging
Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 1:32 am
1) What is your blog?
BricksABillion
2) What is the general theme of your blog, or do you have a general philosophy that drives your blogging?
I call it a "catablog" of tools, tips, and techniques for building with LEGO. Mainly, as I come across something that I find useful that I want to remember, I blog it. So, the basic philosophy is I want a place to document the things I'm learning about LEGO building. But also make it available for other folks to use.
3) Why did you start or join this blog?
I felt that there wasn't really a single place pointing out tools, tips, and techniques to guide a LEGO builder in his journey to awesome MOC creation. And I had the blogging bug. I've also used the blog as a platform to be able to ask people questions. Like I've interviewed Nathan Sawaya, Joe Meno, Angus MacLane, and others -- working hard at not asking the same questions they always hear, but things I'd really like to know. And I also needed a place to blog things other than my own creations, since I do some freelance work and don't want to mix everyone else's stuff with mine on that site.
4) How do you go about blogging?
I subscribe to a lot of feeds from Flickr and personal websites and things like that. And some days when I have an idea for a tip or a technique I'd like to write about, I just go looking for examples.
I also will go into WordPress and start a post if I've thought up an idea, then just add to it for a few days, let it percolate a bit before posting. One thing I'm working toward is to have a "Smashing Magazine" approach to posts, e.g. 30 examples of really cool LEGO desks, or 15 LEGO Dogs, or 20 examples of sorting methods. That sort of thing. Of course, it's just me, and nobody's paying for it like they do at Smashing, so in the meantime it's mostly just the "Hey I thought this was cool because he did X, he did Y, and he did Z."
5) What is your biggest challenge with regards to blogging?
Finding stuff that hasn't already been blogged by The Brothers Brick? Finding the time to finish all the really cool ideas I'd like to cover; I have a full-time job that is not building with LEGO bricks, a wife and 4 kids. I also run a webcomic, The Brick Side, and occasionally do freelance LEGO building at Duckingham.
6) Do you have any advice for others who are considering starting a LEGO themed blog?
Don't just be another "me too" blog. I've nixed a lot of blogs from Google Reader b/c they are just re-posting the same thing that TBB just posted. This is starting to get bad with a number of the semi-big LEGO blogs all repeating the same Press Releases. Good Grief, if The Brothers Brick has already posted it, don't bother -- I doubt there is a LEGO fan on the planet who doesn't already read TBB, so why are you repeating what they just said? On the other hand, if your niche is posting Fabuland creations built by female TFOLs, and TBB happens to blog an example that you blogged, too -- fine, the world won't end.
P.S. Don't get me wrong -- I love The Brothers Brick, I just see a lot of blogs that try to copy them.
BricksABillion
2) What is the general theme of your blog, or do you have a general philosophy that drives your blogging?
I call it a "catablog" of tools, tips, and techniques for building with LEGO. Mainly, as I come across something that I find useful that I want to remember, I blog it. So, the basic philosophy is I want a place to document the things I'm learning about LEGO building. But also make it available for other folks to use.
3) Why did you start or join this blog?
I felt that there wasn't really a single place pointing out tools, tips, and techniques to guide a LEGO builder in his journey to awesome MOC creation. And I had the blogging bug. I've also used the blog as a platform to be able to ask people questions. Like I've interviewed Nathan Sawaya, Joe Meno, Angus MacLane, and others -- working hard at not asking the same questions they always hear, but things I'd really like to know. And I also needed a place to blog things other than my own creations, since I do some freelance work and don't want to mix everyone else's stuff with mine on that site.
4) How do you go about blogging?
I subscribe to a lot of feeds from Flickr and personal websites and things like that. And some days when I have an idea for a tip or a technique I'd like to write about, I just go looking for examples.
I also will go into WordPress and start a post if I've thought up an idea, then just add to it for a few days, let it percolate a bit before posting. One thing I'm working toward is to have a "Smashing Magazine" approach to posts, e.g. 30 examples of really cool LEGO desks, or 15 LEGO Dogs, or 20 examples of sorting methods. That sort of thing. Of course, it's just me, and nobody's paying for it like they do at Smashing, so in the meantime it's mostly just the "Hey I thought this was cool because he did X, he did Y, and he did Z."
5) What is your biggest challenge with regards to blogging?
Finding stuff that hasn't already been blogged by The Brothers Brick? Finding the time to finish all the really cool ideas I'd like to cover; I have a full-time job that is not building with LEGO bricks, a wife and 4 kids. I also run a webcomic, The Brick Side, and occasionally do freelance LEGO building at Duckingham.
6) Do you have any advice for others who are considering starting a LEGO themed blog?
Don't just be another "me too" blog. I've nixed a lot of blogs from Google Reader b/c they are just re-posting the same thing that TBB just posted. This is starting to get bad with a number of the semi-big LEGO blogs all repeating the same Press Releases. Good Grief, if The Brothers Brick has already posted it, don't bother -- I doubt there is a LEGO fan on the planet who doesn't already read TBB, so why are you repeating what they just said? On the other hand, if your niche is posting Fabuland creations built by female TFOLs, and TBB happens to blog an example that you blogged, too -- fine, the world won't end.
P.S. Don't get me wrong -- I love The Brothers Brick, I just see a lot of blogs that try to copy them.