The Sunday Roast

He's All Heart - Literally And Metaphorically

This week's interview is with Rune,
who writes the blog Visual Norway.

The first of the standard questions. Why do you blog?

I started blogging in 2006. My first blog was written in Norwegian - Rune's Tx Blog. Two years before I had gone through a rather serious operation and felt a need for more information about my condition. I had done quite a bit of research on the subject and hoped that I could be of assistance to others in the same position. At the same time I wanted to learn a bit more about what blogging was all about – and I needed a bit of self-therapy. That this blog now has changed dramatically is another matter. I use to say that the blog writes itself – I’m only the observer.

My second blog, Visual Norway, was started soon afterwards. I had renewed my old hobby of photography and needed a place to show off my pictures. I was the only reader for quite some time, but that didn’t matter too much since I had quite a bit of fun making the posts. Luckily for me though, things have changed and I ’m no more alone. On the contrary – I get complaints from the family about the amount of time I spend on this. However, with "the global village" filling my in-basket, I have quite as much fun doing comments as writing posts.

What's the story behind your blog name?

Making up a meaningful name in English for a non-English speaking person is quite a challenge. Since the blog was meant to be a photo blog based in Norway I felt Norway had to come into it somewhere. The same went for the photo bit. I tried various combinations and ended up with Visual Norway. If not all the pictures are from Norway, they have at least been taken by a Norwegian!

What is the best thing about being a blogger?

You get to ”meet” quite a number of people from all over the world. You may not agree with all of them, you may not even like all of them, but you get a chance to learn something from them and see their point of view. In addition, you get to learn about places far away, see what these look like and very often learn some of the history. Since I’m a hobby photographer, I also get to see a lot of pictures (and even post some!) and learn from the others. I have also got some very valuable comments and connections concerning this. I feel that my photography is steadily improving.

What key advice would you give to a newbie blogger?

a) Spend some time on the writing on your post – sloppy writing gets you nowhere.
b) The same goes for illustrations. Use your own or follow the rules if you use what you find on the Net
c) Visit other blogs and learn from them
d) Make comments, but make them sincere. "If you don’t write 'em you won’t get 'em".
e) Skip advertising in your blog – especially the kind that leads to another site at some time.

What is the most significant blog post you've ever read?

Not an easy one since there has been so many. I might mention some of Abraham Lincoln stories about growing up in pre- and post-war USA, but since he has removed them I can’t give a link. Concerning photography I could mention many of the post made my Jim Moore, for instance this one called A Few Tips About Sunrise/ Sunset Photos. I have learned a lot from him.

What is the most significant blog post you've ever written?

I think it must be this one from March 2008. Although it was posted on my Norwegian blog, it is bilingual with both an English and a Norwegian text. It was called A Bridge Of Life and was my first post to the monthly "Bridges Between" meme we started at that time. It told something of my own condition and of how crossing the smallest bridge can be a major personal victory.


Today's Sunday Roast with Rune Eide is the 50th in a weekly series of interviews with bloggers from around the world.