Tag: Online

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Six months

I can’t believe it has been six months since I started this blog.

During that time, I have found new projects, made some new friends, attended some great events and have certainly had my horizons expanded.

I’ve found great satisfaction in sourcing stories from all over the world and reading about the inventive ways people use bicycles to help themselves and others. All the while, I’ve been invigorated by the energy and diversity of how people use, adapt and integrate bicycles into their lives and impressed by the significant changes and deep meanings that come about from a life on two wheels.

Technicalities, timing and content

The technical challenges and achievements that I’ve had to work with have been really rewarding – and I have learnt a lot in the process. I’ve enjoyed testing myself and expanding competencies in relation to new skills and confidence using IT programs and processes that were previously completely alien – yet are now areas that I feel much more capable and purposeful using. It has shown me that ICT does not have to be so mysterious – and that Youtube tutorials are an invaluable enabling tool!

Looking back, my one of my steepest learning curves has been in how long the process takes (time) and the actual process of producing content for the blog (product)– and this is something that I am still getting to grips with. The parity and intense time allocation required for research, reading, thinking, writing, editing and blog publish/design should not be underestimated.

This has been most evident in the last 3 weeks as Semester 1 has returned back and juggling 4 teaching appointments, a Ph.D., Blog, and life in general, has been very edifying and I have really learnt what my limits are.

I have enjoyed challenging myself to produce texts on a regular basis. My favorite technique so far was a mini-challenge to write 500 words every day for a fortnight. However, it became quickly apparent that producing content and then editing and polishing work are two completely different things.

Insights so far -working to improve

Editing for grammar and expression is still an area that I need to focus on and hone. I know that it will take quite some time to find my own voice and to relax into a rhythm style and accuracy that feels natural – which was one of the reasons for starting this blog in the first place. Getting into a routine of writing is one thing, and now 6 months on, I feel that precision and thoroughness is equally needed – so there must be a balance to be struck. Even after writing a post and looking at it, I find a week later as I look at it again, grammatical errors that make me a little self-conscious. (If you see any, please sent me a comment with the location). So, I remind myself to be more vigilant about expression and accuracy, without being too harsh – after all I’m learning! One technique that I have employed very recently, that I should have used earlier is to use Grammarly software to run my text through before I post. I have done this for the past couple of posts – just as an editing checker and using it picked up a number of small edits that for whatever reasons I have not picked up myself.

Pleased that I have achieved:

  • a variety of locations around the world as I did not want to focus on any one particular region, continent or demographic group
  • include a wider variety of information sources – in addition to news, videos and projects (all of which could easily be the basis for content in an of itself), but that these sources are intermingled with community events, academic research, literature findings, and a handful of select PhD musing and ideas –which means that there is not one specific focus – which I think could be quite limiting, but that there is a clear theme that runs through the blog which means some variety can be included, without straying too far from core themes of this blog
  • Promote community engagement – that I have been faithful to my love of creating and putting on my own community events that I have instigated and developed, which I enjoy immensely – as well as being a feature that sets this blog apart from other cycling news/product based information blogs

 

Six months

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To Blog or not to Blog

I have been posting for about 6 weeks now and I am still experimenting and getting more familiar with WordPress and the ins and outs of blogging. It has certainly been a steep learning curve, but one in which I have enjoyed and gained much satisfaction. I will continue!

As I look ahead, I am glad that I have a clear outline of what it is I want to achieve from this blog. I know that much of this will change when my schedule changes next year to accommodate for work or study. Part of my learning about blogging includes many of the same ideas and concerns that other (academic) bloggers have.

I’ve been wrestling with my own ideas and choices about my blogging. How many complex aspects there are! I can see how it can easily become overwhelming and all time-consuming! I have been very happy with how I have gone about learning the WordPress skills needed and being resourceful about finding helpful advice. One interesting aspect of this has been talking to some trusted friends and colleagues about blogging – and although many of their suggestions echo information I have already encountered, or thought of myself, below are some of the more interesting ideas they have raised:

  • You are all excited now because the blog is new and you have many ideas – but you will soon run out of things to say.
  • Comments are a great way to bounce off ideas, get suggestions, look at things from a different angle and consider aspects that did not occur to you at the immediate time of writing.
  • You will spend more time posting than working on your dissertation.
  • The focus of your blog is totally different from the same old diary product and news bicycle blogs – your emphasis on biking projects and community development is so positive and engaging –it sets you apart and makes your content interesting to a much wider readership.
  • Warning- how regularly you blog sets a precedence and an expectation. Can you maintain it and/or are you okay when your posting timetable changes?
  • You can make a massive online income from your blog – you can advertise and get a passive income – that way you won’t need a scholarship to study!
  • Doing a blog is like hard drugs – once you start with blogging, it is a downward spiral into twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and Integra – next stop social media addiction – goodbye Doctorate.
  • Are you writing for yourself or an audience? What if you end up with a large readership that will influence your content, approach and process?
  • The blogosphere is a perfect platform for your work – you can share ideas, connect with your community activities and network with an array of people who are interested in biketivism – which is precisely what your research is focused on.
  • It is a great way to document and record your thinking and research – very helpful for you – and you will be surprised about how interesting it will be to others.
  • Be clear about the time you have and will afford for the blog – otherwise, it will get out of control and before you know it you will have spent four hours on one blog post and still not be happy with it.
  • Your spelling is so terrible –aren’t you self-conscious about everyone seeing your mistakes?
  • Careful – there are academics who will read your blog and steal your ideas and publish them for themselves – be selective with what you share.
  • Great idea to find your voice, clarify some ideas and get into a regular writing habit.
  • Be careful of people’s comments – the public can say whatever they want – and they will. This has the potential to have an impact on your ideas and skew your thinking and confidence, both positively or negatively. This is a major concern in writing your thesis.
  • It is an excellent way to process and test ideas – you will find that you often go back to ideas to include or edit later.
  • People all over the world love bikes and they LURVE talking about them – your blog will be perfect!
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Bike Blog List

It is a fine line between unstructured online (re)searching for this bicycle blog and procrastinating.

I found myself teetering on this fine line earlier today – that was until I came across the mother load.

Bicycles Create Change

To put this in context – as I am relatively new to blogging, it has been a steep learning curve coming to grips with Word Press, content selection, time management and getting the right balance between subject matter: finding my ‘voice’ – something which will no doubt evolve over time. This is also one of the primary reasons for starting the blog, To have an accountability partner helps track my ideas, writing and process over time. So it is not surprising that I have been fact-finding about blog tips and advice – much of which has been incredibly helpful and immediately effective.

Part of the investigation into this new genre has been discovering and reading other blogs, especially those that contain similar themes to mine (bicycles, gender, community), which I have enjoyed immensely. I was impressed and slightly daunted by the array of cycling blogs. It seemed that many had a similar format: personal ride diary style, news and events; cycling shops and groups; bicycle style, product and lifestyle. This brings us to the mother load – Let’s go for a Ride.

Today my job was made that much easier and more enjoyable when I stumbled across Let’s go for a Ride website.

Their resources page provides an extensive list of (goodness knows how many!) links to women specific bike blogs.

The list has 3 main categories:

Women’s Bike Blogs

Cycle Chic Blogs

Other Bike Blogs

It was a delight to sift through some of the blogs, select a title, read a little, then move on to the next one…perusing, smiling, drinking tea as I went.

Some of the blogs are full of amazing photography, others transported me to mysterious places by travelogues, others again were full of training dates and race plates – and some others, sadly, have ceased to be – the last post left standing there, as testament to one woman’s freewheeling exploits (*sigh*).

I have since returned to this list and am still exploring some of the new blogs.

I find great satisfaction in fossicking around in a particular blog and looking through their archives – I hope you do too! Enjoy!!

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Prelim ideas

Preliminary ideas

A quick brainstorm before I delve into the preliminary sourcing of Bike Aid Projects. I want to have a clearer idea of my starting point and what I want to start researching.

Bicycles Create Change Prelim Brainstorm
Bicycles Create Change Prelim Brainstorm

The first step is some preliminary groundwork into bike ventures to see what individuals, organisations and initiatives are currently being implemented. I also want to get a broader sense of current Bike Aid approaches (alternative uses for bikes) and to start developing a local-global review of prevailing Bike Aid developments, projects, outcomes and trends.