One of the unexpected bonuses of being part of the blogging community is how welcoming other people are. Sure, networking is the name of the game if you want to build your audience but most bloggers are genuinely open, helpful and sharing, whether it is promoting others’ work or offering a helping hand with technical advice.
It’s a far cry from some of the behaviour you see in other places on t’internet. (I don’t know why I go all Yorkshire sometimes given that I have an unmistakably London accent. I just do.)
Anyhow, I digress. T’blogosphere (okay, okay, I’ll stop doing it) is a remarkably pleasant place to while away an hour or two – I think of it as being like YouTube for people who prefer to read than to watch – and I’m a voracious reader of other parent bloggers.
Forget what some writers say when they look down their noses at bloggers: there is a wealth of talent, creativity and diverse experiences that provide a rich tapestry of writing, some of it every bit as good as anything you will find on the shelves in Waterstones. There are some awesome blogs out there.
Which brings me, in my usual roundabout way, to Ben Wakeling and his blog Goodbye, Pert Breasts: The Diary of a Newborn Dad.
Ben is a published author and award-winning blogger. He’s also one of the first dad bloggers I ever followed and it’s a testament to the quality of his writing that I’m still a regular reader four years later.
He’s funny (funnier than me). He’s a bloody good writer (‘writier’ than me). And he’s better-looking than me too (the bastard).
So when he put out a call recently asking for volunteers for a Q&A series to help raise awareness for the small but growing number of dad bloggers out there, I was delighted to put myself forward. Ten hours of waterboarding and interrogation under searing spotlights later … No, I jest. It was only seven hours.
Anyhow, I’m delighted to be the second dad to feature in Ben’s Who’s the Daddy? series. You’ll find my answers to his questions over on his blog, but I would heartily encourage you to explore his scribblings further. You won’t regret it.
In addition to Goodbye, Pert Breasts, you can also follow Ben Wakeling on Twitter and Facebook.