Blogging in your niche.
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I hear a lot of talk about how a blog will not be successful if you aren't blogging about something you are passionate about. I've struggled to find a niche that I would feel comfortable in, as well as be motivated enough to keep doing it.
I think I've found that niche.
I've just set up my new blog, The Magic Gatherer - a Collector's Blog. Yes, I know it's nerdy to play Magic: the Gathering, but I just don't care. I love the game. It's my favorite game ever.
Come check it out and tell me what you think. I have big plans for it, and it's still in the early stages.
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Working on a new project!
I'm getting ready to launch a new website/blog dedicated to my favorite game, Magic: the Gathering. I'm hoping that I can make it awesome.
We've been told over and over again to write about our passions, because that will lead to a great blog. Well, MtG is one of mine. I've been playing it since I was a sophomore in high school, and even after a hiatus I've returned to my geek roots.
That's right. Nerd street cred. Represent.
On second thought, I should never say that again...
If you like these posts and want to stay in the loop, please subscribe to my RSS feed and follow me on Twitter. And if you really like this stuff, you can buy me a coffee! Oh, and if you like being an insider, be sure to join the mailing list...I never spam, but you will get some insider specials!
Why did you get into blogging?
I started a blog simply because it just made sense. I have had several different versions of my own site online since about 1996, when I first started spending time on the internet. Over the years, I learned a lot about how to build websites, how not to build websites, and what I should expect to encounter during the 'running a site' process.
Back in the day, I would code all of my own websites in pure HTML using the best website building tool ever, Notepad. Was it a lot of work? Sure. Was it worth it? Well, yes. I was able to set up a place where I could post my own thoughts and ideas (even though nobody ever saw it). The format was pretty cool, as well. I'd have date stamped updates whenever I would post a new thought...it was great.
And it was a blog before blogging as we know it.
So fast forward to today. I don't hand code my HTML anymore. I'm just too lazy for that, and I really don't remember a lot of it, since I don't use it. Now I just run WordPress. Really, it's faster and easier (although since I can't make my own themes and I don't have the cash on hand to buy a custom theme it doesn't always look how I envision it).
Getting started in blogging, for me, was just a logical progression from what I was already doing.
Why did you get into blogging? Leave your comments below!
If you like these posts and want to stay in the loop, please subscribe to my RSS feed and follow me on Twitter. And if you really like this stuff, you can buy me a coffee! Oh, and if you like being an insider, be sure to join the mailing list...I never spam, but you will get some insider specials!
Eat Less, Save Money
I decided that I should give something a try, just to see if I could make it work. With my plan to try to save money by cutting excess spending in effect, it is forcing me to take a step back and look to see where all of the excess money is leaking from the bucket.
Part of saving money is finding (and plugging) the leaks. Once you do that, you will begin to notice a difference in your bank account.
After a bit of thought, I found that a lot of my extra spending is due to the fact that I like to eat out a lot. Most of the time, it isn't even necessary, but I'm just too lazy to cook my own stuff. It's just so much nicer to pull up to a window, hand the cashier some cash, and then they hand you whatever you order (most of the time). It's good food, it's fast, and it's just convenient. The problem is that it is also expensive.
Using myself as an example, we can see how it adds up quickly. If I eat out once per day, and I spend about $5 on it, and if I do this every day that I have to work (which is 5 days per week), that's $25 per week. The truth is that most of us don't limit eating out to just once per day. If we go grab dinner at a decently priced restaurant, you're looking at an additional $12 (or so). Do that just twice a week in addition to the lunches, and that's $49. If you take a date with you on any of those dinner nights, expect that to be at least twice the amount.
I've found a solution that, while not as pleasant, may just do the trick.
Normally, I buy groceries but eat out most of the time. My average grocery bill is about $25/week which does not include fast food. What I did this week was decide to go ahead and spend $37 (which is about what it came to at Kroger) and get enough stuff for light meals for two weeks at once. This has two benefits - first, I have stuff at home, and this includes things that I can take to work with me for lunch, so I will be saving A TON of cash. Second, I will be eating less (this is where the sacrifice and self-control come in), so hopefully I can lose a few pounds as well.
So with all of the money I saved, I picked up some gear for tennis. I figured that if I was going to eat less, I should probably exercise more. I'm tired of being the fat guy that doesn't ever have enough money. With this plan, eventually I'll be the not-so-fat guy with a comfortable life. :D
If you like these posts and want to stay in the loop, please subscribe to my RSS feed and follow me on Twitter. And if you really like this stuff, you can buy me a coffee! Oh, and if you like being an insider, be sure to join the mailing list...I never spam, but you will get some insider specials!
Cafe Brazil is awesome!
Wow, it's been a busy weekend for me. Hanging out in north Texas, rocking out at the Wildflower Festival in Richardson, feeling they pain of the day after a Cowboy Mouth concert (it's an awesome workout, but geez...the pain is definitely worth it), and eating good food.
There's this place in Dallas called Cafe Brazil. They have awesome crepes (and I'm sure they have lots of other good stuff as well). Lots of different types of coffee, and they're open 24 hours. You really can't beat them.
No, this isn't a paid post. I just wanted to tell you how much that place rules. If you are in the Dallas area, check it out.
If you like these posts and want to stay in the loop, please subscribe to my RSS feed and follow me on Twitter. And if you really like this stuff, you can buy me a coffee! Oh, and if you like being an insider, be sure to join the mailing list...I never spam, but you will get some insider specials!
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