It’s a meme! Steffi wanted to know our answers to several questions and even my better half has joined in, so I don’t want to feel left out.
But first, the obligatory pet photo –
Did you really mean to put us up?
h3. What made you start blogging?
That PZed. I was getting annoyed by his radical form of atheism, and decided that if I wanted to blog a response. I should make sure I had a blog running, so I knew what I was doing.
By the time I’d been blogging long enough to feel I could comment on PZed, I’d given up on that whole issue…
Is a sense of community an important part of blogging for you, or do you prefer blogging ‘solo’?
For me the community is important – it makes it feel like I’m communicating to someone. Blogging is a social activity, or what’s the point? NN gives me a ready-made community, which I’ve not been able to drive off yet.
Are there blogs you never look at? If yes, why (be nice and don’t name names)? [rephrasing this question: Are there blogs you stopped reading for some reason or that might be interesting, but turn you off right away? If yes, why?]
Yes, there’s a few that have popped in and out of my RSS feed, because I’ve become bored of them. There are also a few that turn me off for one reason or another, so I don’t read them.
Who are you blogging for/who are you talking to?
Largely me, and anyone who want to read my stuff look at photos of The Beast.
Yes?
Do you think you may be getting people exposed to some science through your blog who otherwise wouldn’t be?
Hahahahahaaa! That assumes I’m blogging sbout science.
I’m not sure many non-scientists read my blog, and those that do are probably too far gone. That’s OK: there are others who are much better at blogging for the public than I am, so I can fill a different niche.
Do you think any non-blogger cares about any of the above things?
Some blog readers might, but almost certainly no one else.
I was thinking of answering the same questionnaire and was re-exploring some old (mid 2006) threads at Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science blog, partly to find when I had started ranting on there in earnest.
In among the commenters I found a regular Bob O’H of Finland, and even the occasional Ian Brooks.
Interesting start to your blogging career, Bob! Did you start here, or did you have another blog elsewhere first?
Are those parakeets in the first picture? I am sorry, my knowledge of our feathered friends is sketchy at the best.
PZ got to you so that you started a blog? Heh-heh!! I do remember seeing a Bob O’H in the comments. Are you one of those nice-nice atheists in the style of Mooney and Kirshenbaum?
Austin – I remember you from those days. I must admit I’ve drifted away from Bad Science. I still follow Gimpy and Le Canard Noir on Twitter.
Cath – I started on Blogger, and was later asked to come here by Maxine.
Kausik – The top two are lories, the third is an eclectus. Fascinating creatures eclectus, they can carry immense loads and … oh wait, wrong bird. But they’re still interesting. I’m not going to enter into the Framing Wars, but I find myself agreeing far too much with Wilkins.
BTW, it was through PZed that I first ran across this blog. I ended up marrying her.
Awww… Who says Science is devoid of love and the finer emotions? 🙂
On an introspective note, does the marriage between an evolutionary biologist and a professional statistician make for significantly (P
First you push the beast off your lap, then you post bird pictures?! You should probably start watching your back around the house, Bob.
I’ve been told I’m not allowed to quantify that.