Simon Sellars: Sleepy Brain Archives

Interview by Meredith Badger

If the internet were a sentence, weblogs would be the conjunctions: the ‘ands’, the ‘buts’, the ‘ors’. Weblogs add to online conversations, or refute them. They may provide a different perspective altogether. A first time visitor to a weblog may wonder what all the fuss is about: there’s no Flash intro to skip, no drop-down navigation, just a page of text that reads something like a personal diary, something like an editorial column. There are archives on one side, a list of links on the other. But the power of weblogs comes from the connections they make: between ideas, between people. Weblogs run between the online newspapers and the never-updated home pages like water around rocks. Sometimes weblog communities start to emerge, forming around ideologies, concepts, geography – like Melbourne Blogs, formed by Natalie, of Pixel Kitty fame and Scott of Darklemon (Scott is no longer involved). The group meets once a month and provides an opportunity to put faces to the words. Natalie speaks to Meredith Badger about how she became involved in weblogging, and the genesis of Melbourne Blogs.

When did you start blogging?

In 1992. “Weblog” is a recently coined term for “personal, regularly updated personal website” – at least I think so – but my site was always a personal space to rant about whatever I was interested in at the time.

How would you describe blogs to people who haven’t heard of them?

The pedant in me says that a weblog is a website, generally of a personal nature, that consists of entries kept in chronological order. Entries generally have links to other websites that are of interest to the writer, or are relative to the content of the entries. You can have all or any of these ingredients, but without these links, a weblog becomes a journal or diary. Generally, I say they are much of a muchness, except the links part – which I believe to be the defining part of a weblog.

How long has Melbourne Bloggers been running? Who worked on it?

In its current form, several months. I worked on the current design and set up the backend, predominantly in MovableType and PHP. As I’m not really a developer, it’s still a little rough around the edges. Without the initial push from another Melbourne weblogger though, I doubt the site would be on its own domain, or as popular as it has become. Currently I run the site with the help of Vlado (our Membership Manager; he publishes Keks) and a slew of regular columnists (Beth from fridaysixpm.com and Graham from Virulent Memes).

Why did you create the site?

I love that the Melbourne Blogging community seems to be so closeknit and sociable. I wanted to create an online presence that would give all webloggers in Melbourne the opportunity to meet and get to know each other.

How come Melbourne bloggers have their own site whereas no other Australian capital cities do? Why do you think it has become so popular?

I’m not sure why none of the other capitals have done this yet. Maybe they don’t all have a megalomaniac web designer/weblogger in their midst. The site basically publicised itself. Once a few Melbourne webloggers linked to the site, it snowballed. If it wasn’t for Vlado coming on board to help run the member list, I’m not sure I could have coped with the sudden burst of visitors.

Do you think it would be possible to pick an Australian blog from, say, an American blog?

Personally I find it quite easy to pick an Australian blog from the rest, although I’m not sure I can put my finger on why that is. It could be our penchant for the footy, and bagging John Howard – and words like “bugger”.

What are some examples of well-designed blogs?

Dan Bogan’s waferbaby is an excellent example of usability, accessibility and great content all rolled into one. Jeremy Hedley’s Antipixel is another fabulous example. Both have entirely different content and styles and are my top two favourite sites.

How much time do you spend blogging?

Probably far too much. I spend maybe 20 minutes a day writing a weblog post. Some days I have nothing to say, so I spend that time reading other weblogs instead. I spend about an hour or so each day reading my favourite blogs and discovering new ones.

You change the design of Pixel Kitty frequently. Why?

Boredom and the need to challenge myself leads me to create new designs. I basically create a new design every week, but only make a change to my live site maybe every two months. For my readers, I think they couldn’t care less what the site looks like, although it could be an attraction, I really don’t know.

Do you censor yourself?

I would like to say no, but that would be a lie. I toned down my swear words when I discovered my parents were reading my website. And one ex-employer tried to censor my commentary about a particular subject, which lead to me leaving their employment. I believe that you should write what you want to write, what you feel and what you like, but really, you have to be aware that all action has consequence, and unless you can write totally anonymously, those consequences will catch up with you.

Is there an unwritten blogging code of ethics?

I think we all have our own ethics and values, although they can be influenced by the vocal minority sometimes. Plasticbag wrote a great essay on this subject, which I think is a much better read than anything I could tell you. Basically, I go with what I think is best for me.

Do you tell people where you work about your blog?

The whole issue with an employer who thought they had the right to censor my private website, maintained in my private time, means I had to stop telling employers or even potential employers about my personal website. I have even gone so far as to try and remove any instance of my real name from my site and sites that link to it. If you have read my site, you will see that I can be very opinionated and not very tactful. And I’d like to keep that freedom.

Do you ever write about personal things on your site?

That depends on what you call “personal”. I write about my cat, Pixel, about the bad day at work or the people I saw at the train station. I don’t write about my sex life, health or family. Anything that I wouldn’t want to talk to the guy at the coffee shop about doesn’t go on my website.

Are there any common usability errors that you see in blogs?

The most common one is when there’s no obvious navigation. You might know that that little red triangle surrounded by a circle is the Archives link, but nobody else does. The other big issue for me is links that open in a new window without warning me first. I hate that with a passion. If I wanted a new window, I would right click and do it – or use Internet Explorer, which I don’t.

Do you have any tips for keeping a good blog?

A good blog should be updated regularly. At least twice a week, preferably every other day at the least. Blogs that describe situations and places, that are funny or showcase obvious talent always attract me, but content is the key. I visit the blogs I do for the technical content – like Phil Ringnalda – and for their beautiful prose – like The Hole in My Head – or just because I find something attractive. You should choose a writing style and try to stick with it, and remember that it’s your site. Write for you, not for the anonymous visitors you may never know.

From your webstats, what’s your favourite search query leading people to your site?

It’s a little rude, but “mashi maro sex boots horse” made me snort my drink through my nose.

Is blogging here to stay?

Personal websites will be here as long as the internet is. People will always find a forum for their creativity and individuality, and weblogging is a modern and easy to use tool for that.

Do ever get sick of it?

Oh yes. Every other day! But I still come back, because what use is design without content?

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