I found this meme over at Sticking to the Point.

why did you start a blog?

The first time I started paying attention to blogs was back when my good friend‘s sister ran the 2005 New York City Marathon with her blog link printed on her shirt. After cheering on the runners that day, I went home and checked out her blog and got hooked, so I decided to start one of my own. I wanted it to serve as a creative outlet, running journal, travel log, and a space for the issues closest to my heart. It has evolved over time (and has gone through three URL addresses) to be those things and much more.

how did you come up with your blog name?

It’s more or less my philosophy for life. So my blog’s name is my reminder to always remain socially & politically aware, responsible and active.

do your friends and family know about your blog?

Definitely! I live 3000 miles from my family, 4000 miles from my boyfriend and his family, and I have friends scattered all over the country and world. So the blog is my means of updating and staying in touch with my loved ones. But because the blog is also available to the rest of the world (and I’ve met some cool bloggers because of it!), I try not to post anything intensely personal. My rule of thumb is: if you wouldn’t want someone from work to read it, don’t post it.

how do you write your posts?

Sometimes I’ll compose posts in my head while I’m riding home on the train or while I’m running. And sometimes I’ll put drafts together of ideas to post later when I have more time. I usually have some idea of what I will write before I sit down at the keyboard.

have you ever had a troll or had to delete unkind comments?

Not yet, knock on wood.

do you check your stats? do you care how many people read your blog? if you do care, how do you increase traffic?

I do check my stats occasionally because I find it fascinating to see where people are coming from — hello mystery visitors from Singapore, Kentucky, Israel and Finland! I’m not interested in increasing my traffic. In fact, I had myself removed from the blog lists and from google searches. I would rather have visitors that know me personally or in the blogosphere, or visitors from other sites where I’ve posted, commented, or been linked on.

what kind of blogs/posts interest you?

Because I generally read other blogs while I’m multitasking, I prefer smart, witty, concise bloggers who can make their points (or lack of points) easily understood. But don’t get me wrong, I love those long, winding, soul-searching posts too!  I also have this thing in the blogosphere that mirrors my preferences in the real world — I prefer blogs with clean, visually interesting layouts. I immediately abandon any blog that is overwhelmed with hundreds of flashing buttons, a chaotic layout, and/or involves brightly colored writing on top of a brightly colored background. Even if those bloggers have something interesting to say, I just can’t focus long enough to read it.

what do you like and dislike about blogging?

I love having a forum to keep in touch with people. Blogging has also served as an excellent way of focusing my attention on the details of life I might otherwise not notice. Plus, it’s a great record of how my life has evolved over the last three years. What’s not to like? Um, okay, so there’s one thing: it’s a time suck. It’s easy to get so into the blogging that you forget that you have a whole other life to live. Or, more often, my life gets so crazy there are times when blogging is not possible. You have to figure out what your healthy balance is and go with it.