A Media Studies student emailed me with a questionnaire about blogging. Here for posterity are my magisterial answers:

1. How long have you been a blogger?

3 years

2. What made you create your blog initially?

I was inspired by a blog called "Relapsed Catholic". I thought a weblog would be a good way of communicating with my (then) boardgaming group in Salisbury - notifying of events, writing up game sessions etc. I initially envisaged my friends contributing postings as well. It didn't work out like that - it rapidly broadened out to include other things I'm interested in, like music, Christianity, my job etc etc. It bacame mor of a personal journal I suppose.

3. When you write your blog do you write with an audience in mind?

Yes: mainly friends in the boardgaming hobby, my children, people who leave comments. Sometimes I think I'm just writing notes to myself - which would be a good enough reason for doing it. Of course I keep my eye on my stats and wonder who these 40 unique visitors a day are and why they visit!

4. In your opinion, what is a blog?

It's a journal-like website format, mediated by software which makes it very easy for the non-technical writer to post to it.

5. Would you consider your blog a form of journalism?

Some blogs certainly are: not so much news reporting, but a valuable substitute for newspaper opinion pieces and columnists. I don't consider mine to be journalism.

6. Do you think blogging is just a passing phase?

No, it's pretty firmly established now. There are plenty of people who seem to have a need to blog or read blogs.

7. What form do you think blogs will take in the next few years?

I think there will be new technologies for separating the wheat from the chaff, making it easier to navigate through the "blogsphere" and quickly find out where the latest buzz is happening.