Blogger A Day Call: Hello is Jay there?
Chris and I were walking down lovely, historic Hawthorne St. We were talking and laughing as we headed to his car. It was parked in my building. He was heading back to his job. I was heading back to my home inside your computer when . . . my cell phone rang . . . that was the first I heard Jay Andrew Allen.
We talked for a minute. We talked later that night. We had tried to talk one time earlier, but wrist injury and an emergency room had gotten in the way. As I recall, we talked again, once more to set up this call. Then at last, a day or two ago, Jay Andrew Allen and I had a conversation . . . about almost everything.
When the conversation started, I actually thought we were going to talk about his newest project first — so I asked him to tell me a story and said then I’d behave. Of course, I didn’t communicate what I was thinking. The man must have thought I was just a bit forward or a whole lot crazy.
He fielded my request like the parent and the professional he is.
Jay told me about probloggers. He pointed out the trend for writers to get their incomes from several sources. We spent some time talking writing for print versus writing for blogs. We both have a definite preference for the timeline of the online world. Jay brought up so many thoughtful points on the subject, he could be teaching a class. He mentioned how blogging allows for asides and sharing, the phenomenon of MyBlogLog — actually seeing who’s reading — the voice and character of blogging compared to the blandness of most print writing.
I couldn’t help but tell The Zero Boss how much I like the “sugar rush” section of his blog and the reader pages under the cover. He told me the story of how they both got started. He’s a programmer guy, not just parenting guru with attitude.
Since he’s been blogging for what will be three years in no time, I asked him if he had experienced what I call “changing generations of readers” — audience shifts in groups. He knew what I meant. I explained how I took reader movements — who came and who didn’t — personally when I was a brand new blogger — well, er, after I started getting visitors. I got the feeling he understood, but didn’t have the same experience.
We talked about making changes and taking risks. I asked about mistakes he made. Jay laughed and mentioned some things he did. The Zero Boss gave examples of how the same words won him friends and lost them in one fell swoop. Then he said, “You’re going to lose people anyway, write what you’re passionate about.”
Talking to The Zero Boss is a plus sum conversation. I can’t wait until I get to do it again.
B.A.D. Blogger Quote
It’s an exciting time to be a writer to be online, to move away from the traditional publishing model. This model is far more open to the writer’s voice . . . to have character and something to say.–Jay Andrew Allen
Stop by Jay’s Blog, The Zero Boss, and say hi!
Thanks, Jay, you B.A.D. Blogger!
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Want to be a B.A.D. Blogger see the. . . a B.A.D. Blogger? page in the sidebar.
