5 Questions For Linda Wilkinson

Linda Wilkinson was next up to answer my request.
Her blog is Practical QA

1. Why did you start blogging and what were you hoping to get out of it ?
( and have you got what you hoped for ? )

I participated on QAForums for 7 years, was a moderator for 2 (I think) and was Really Hating it. I was spending 6 hours a day (gratis) reading and moderating stuff I didn't care about and didn't believe added anything to the field. Made a lot of friend there and still like/respect them, but I just couldn't do it any more. It was sucking me dry.

I thought a blog would give me an opportunity to present my own views, experience, and comments. I had no expectations in regards to readership; I hoped people would eventually "find" me and that I'd have some interesting, thought-provoking conversations. It's been all that and more.

2. What have you learned from doing your blog ?

People comment on controversial and/or humorous content.

3. Do you track your visitors - if so, any unusual searches to find your blog ?

Nope. I didn't know if my blog would ever "take off" and I didn't want to depress myself!


4. Do you have a favourite post that you have written ?

I liked "QA Your Resume", because a lot of our consulting firms read it and we started to get better candidates!

( note - I like this post as well as I get quite a few visitors to my blog from it due to linking up to it )

5. Any advice to new bloggers ?

Just do it. Don't overthink/overanalyze it and don't worry about making mistakes/blunders. I consciously decided not to do any advertising (vendors or other blogs) for a year. I just wanted to write for a while and not worry about recommending/maintaining anything else. My anniversary is coming up, so I'll be adding a blog list. I haven't decided about other ads yet. My point is that you can start out small and add layers of complexity later. Just do it. Set up the basics and add your voice to the blogosphere. Don't obsess over traffic, especially at first, and just enjoy yourself!