The Blogger Interviews: Sian Meades

I have no idea how it’s Monday again already, but it is, which an only mean one thing: time for another Blogger Interview. We’re into week four of our interviews and so far we’ve had three people who write largely about London, all be it from a very different viewpoint. This should hardly be surprising given they’re all members of the London Bloggers Meetup. Anyway, you can read the previous interviews here.

Next up we have the irrepressible Sian Meades. I suspect there is very little introduction required for Sian but I’m going to try anyway.

I first met Sian around two or so years ago at one of our Blogger meetups. I always thought Sian was one of the Londonist team, but until this interview I couldn’t say for sure. Perhaps this is because Sian tends to be one of the last drinkers standing at the end of a bloggers meetup, alongside some of the Londonist guys, or it could be because of the sheer volume of online content I know Sian is responsible for.

It’s been a pleasure getting to know Sian, both personally and professionally. I admire her tenacity when it comes to getting projects going, not least in her venture as head slut (I hope it’s OK to call you that Sian) for Domestic Sluttery, a new women’s lifestyle blog. Sian has also been one of the few bloggers to get heckled when speaking at a London Bloggers Meetup, when a friend cried out: “get your t*ts out Sian”. Thankfully she overcame this and carried on talking, great stuff.

Anyway, I won’t bleat on any longer. It’s time to hear from Sian about the ins and outs of her blogging and hopefully some useful tips along the way. Over to you Siany…

1. What’s your blog called and what’s the URL?

I’m all over the internet, but I blog personally at http://www.sianyland.com/ and run the lifestyle website Domestic Sluttery.

2. What’s your blog all about ( in 20 words or less)?

On my personal blog I write about things that make me smile, think, or angry. On Domestic Sluttery I write about interiors, shoes, cake and cocktails.

3. When and why did you start blogging?

I started three years ago, writing for Londonist, I wanted something to do, someone pointed out that they were looking for writers. My first piece was slating Pete Doherty. It was pretty popular.

4. Which blog platform do you use?

I use blogger, because it’s easy to set up (I am not friends with html and webby stuff), but I’m going to move to WordPress at some point. I don’t mind where I blog as long as the page looks nice and the software doesn’t crash.

5. Can you give an example of how blogging has enriched your life?

Well it pays me now. Can I say that? Erm, seriously… I think I’m happier. I need to write.

I’ve met some amazing people through blogging, done some really fun things, and even seen a little bit more of the world.

6. Are there any blogs you recommend reading and why?

I actually just wrote a blog post about this.

There are many more, but they’re the ones I kick off my day with.

7. What three tips would you give to someone just starting out in blogging?

Set up a blog. Sounds crazy but so many people say they want to blog, without trying it first.

Read other blogs. Constantly. It’s the best way to improve.

Write about what you want, not what you think people want to read.

8. If you could change one thing about your blog what would it be?

The Domestic Sluttery design is being tweaked as I type. But blogging-wise, I’m learning to think before I write. It’s easy to get excited about something, but my best posts are the ones I put some thought into, rather than going off on one.

9. What is the key to getting readers to your blog?

Using Twitter helps.

Linking to other blogs.

Replying to comments. I hate it when people don’t reply to comments.

10. And finally, why do you come to the London Bloggers Meetups?

Free beer! Not really. OK, a little bit. But really, I want to hang out with my online friends. I want to meet the people who inspire me online. I listen to talks that interest me, and then have a giggle with some awesome people. And sometimes, even have a bit of a blogging spat.

They’re quite fun too. Bloggers are interesting, passionate people. There’s a common thread that links them, but the people at LBM all write about such different things. You always meet someone new.

Christmas Bloggers Meetup

We held the Christmas edition of the London Bloggers Meetup last night and if I had to describe it in one word I’d have to say it was simply great. There seemed to be a lot going on so it’s difficult to know quite where to start, but I have to start somewhere, so here goes. Let’s kick off with the speakers.

Stefan Wesche from Symantec kicked off with a talk about staying safe and secure online. He ditched the PowerPoint and adlibbed his way through, which was refreshing given he represents a big old company. He’d also come across from Munich to be with us, which means Stefan has made one of the longest LBM commutes to date. Good man. He took a difficult question about pricing on the chin and moved on to deliver some useful pointers about security. A couple that stood out include:

1.    use a different password for each site, it’s too common and too easy for hackers to use a script to hack your password these days

2.    make sure you use the latest version of WordPress / other blogging software as this will have any security holes patched up, making you less vulnerable

3.    be careful about your choice of hosting provider, particularly if you use a shared server solution – which gives me an idea, would anyone be interested in hosting their blogs on a server just for LBM’ers, let me know and I’ll set something up.

4.    choose your plugins carefully, do some research and download them directly from the author

Of course he did mention you might like to buy the latest version of Norton which is their “best product to date”. I queried him on some advice I’d been given previously about Norton using up a lot of your PCs processing power and this is something they’ve improved on in a big way with more recent versions. Roll-on Norton I say.

Well, thanks Stefan and Symantec for the guidance, the beers and also the numerous prizes.

Next up we had the rather marvellous Sian Meades talking about her blogging adventures and life as a domestic slut. A long standing LBM’er, Sian is an impressive personality in the London social media scene and I thought she delivered some useful advice, of which perhaps the most memorable was telling us all not to listen to her advice. Interesting. Well, I thought the tips about looking pretty i.e. using images on your blog, and asking for help from the LBM community were both very valid.

Thanks to Sian and the Domestic Sluts for bringing some really tasty cakes along too. I tried about four of them and I would say the mince pie and the cheesecake brownie were topping the tables, but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the others. The sluts are welcome back any time.

Last but not least we had Arvind, who introduced his Blog with Heart Challenge. His aim is to alleviate world poverty by helping entrepreneurs across the globe with funds to setup or run their businesses. To do this he is working with microfinance team at Kiva.org. You should definitely check this out. Arvind has created some resources specifically for any blogger who wants to join in:-

1. A resource page for bloggers with lots of ready made posts you can use in any way you like
2. A videos page with a heap of videos about Kiva and their download links.

As I mentioned last night, I have created a team on Kiva for the London Bloggers Meetup community called rather imaginatively ‘LBM’. If any LBM’ers would like to join up and see how much of a difference we can make as a community, you can do so by joining Kiva and the LBM team here.

So there you go. Thanks everyone for making this month a fantastic LBM and I look forward to kicking off again in 2010 on January 13th!

Cheers,
Andy

PS news years resolution number 1 is that I must go on a photography course.  Evidence above suggests I am a complete monkey with the camera…