Louis Gray – Blogger Week
Louis Gray – http://www.louisgray.com/
Sociosophy: “What was the reason you started to blog?”
Louis Gray: “I started to blog because I have a passion for technology, and I often found that I had ideas on how I could make products and services better – providing feedback and making observations, as an early adopter and active user. With a writing and journalism background, it soon became second nature to roll out posts on things like Google, Apple and Microsoft, and I soon got the opportunity to connect with services and their entrepreneurs as they debuted.”
Sociosophy: “What keeps you going?”
Louis Gray: “A combination of interesting stories, feedback from regular readers, and the personal connections that have evolved – be they entrepreneurs, peers in blogging and reporting, or readers.”
I’ve never met Louis Gray (in person), but I really want to. To me, he seems like the kinda guy that’s just really into the thing that makes the world go ’round, technology. Someone that loves tech and gets elbow deep in the stuff to the point where the community lifts him up above the other bloggers and says, “here’s a guy you gotta read!”, just awesome. He’s a bright guy with a lot to say about things that matter, understands the bigger picture of technology, and if you pay attention, you can see that in his blog.
More over, Louis has a great online personality. He truly is engaging to his readers and wants their feedback. It’s great to see a blogger with a lot of attention who remembers to engage in their readers. It keeps things alive on the blog, but also shows that the blogger is really into what they’re doing because they want to be doing it. Want a good example of that? Pay attention to Louis.
Here’s how the rest of our virtual interview went with Louis:
Sociosophy, “How many hours a week do you spend thinking about blog posts and writing?”
Louis, “I think about blogging and technology a lot more than I end up actually doing it. Part of me wonders what it would be like if I were to do this full-time. How much more could I cover? How many posts could I do, and what am I missing now? But I’d say I probably write an hour a day (assuming two posts at 30 minutes each) and think about the blog in general throughout the day.”
Sociosophy, “If you could change one thing about your blog, what would it be?”
Louis, “I would like to find a way to both highlight the other writers on the site, who have contributed a great deal in the last few months, and make it easier to find older content that is relevant. I know that 95% or more of my posts from 3 months ago and before get very little visibility now, even if they are still extremely relevant.”
Sociosophy, “What’s your favorite Social Media outlet other than your blog?”
Louis, “I find FriendFeed to be the best social media tool out there. It is the most flexible, bar none, in terms of the types of services supported, and the foundation for community. I am continually impressed with the features available, and the quality of the people who participate.”
Sociosophy, “Do you think Twitter and FriendFeed contribute or take away from your blogging?”
Louis, “Twitter does not impact my blogging in any way. In fact, I know I probably don’t use Twitter to its full potential, as many of my updates there are to alert the community to new posts. FriendFeed, I believe, enhances my blogging as it lets me continue the conversation where other readers want to be. That said, time spent on FriendFeed isn’t necessarily time spent blogging, so I can see how if I didn’t use the site, I might post more.”
I wasn’t surprised in the least to see FriendFeed chosen over Twitter for Louis. With threaded conversations and the ability to rapidly interact with them over various interfaces, it really does serve as a better tool for someone with the proper sized audience on FriendFeed.
Find out more about Louis Gray on his blog, and check out his FriendFeed here.
