blogging
by
shaz on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 at 09:02 AM
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blogging.
being muslim.When I first started blogging, I didn’t really advertise the fact that I am muslim, I mean I didn’t hide it, but I didn’t make it obvious. Although I was not new to blogging, I was new to the world of “mommy blogs”, and i wasn’t quite sure how the mommies would react.
As I got more comfortable with my blog, it slowly evolved into something more personal and reflective of me, and I started to write articles about being a muslim mother, and small articles related to Islam in general. My blog readership continued to grow slowly, and I noticed a shift in my comments – I started getting comments mostly from other muslims and less from other mommy bloggers. This is something that I don’t mind, but has always been on my mind.
A little more than a year ago, I read an article (forgot where I read it now) that basically said that one of the biggest supporters of the Bush administration and his “anti-terrorism” campaign, which sadly translates into an “anti-muslim” campaign by many, were ‘soccer moms’, and I realize this is a huge generalization but I have always wondered what these moms would think of my blog, or more specifically, muslim mommy blogs.
My husband started blogging recently and all of the comments he receives are from other muslims, which I have noticed is sort of a trend among muslim blogs, unless they are political or religious in nature (as these genres seem to generate very diverse traffic). A lot of it, I know, is due to the fact that most personal muslim blogs do cater to a muslim audience, and I imagine it’s the same with other religions as well, but when it comes to a blog like mine that really is a ‘mommy blog’, just authored by a muslim women, I wonder if I would have a better chance of success if I was a non-muslim with this very same blog.
This is not to say that I have no non-muslim readers or commenters, I do, and in fact one of my favorite readers, Cakes, is the wife of a pastor! All of my readers, muslim or not, have been the reason I continue to blog, I love the support, feedback, encouragement, ego-boost, and I completely appreciate all of it! There are times when I do see the ugliness of discrimination though.
If you’re muslim with a personal blog, how diverse is your readership? And if you’re a non-muslim, what do you think the chances are of this blog being read by the ‘soccer moms’ referred to in the article?
{Disclaimer: I am not calling all ‘soccer moms’ Bush supporters or anit-muslim, I am just having a discussion based on an article that indicated this was the trend.}
by
shaz on Monday, August 13, 2007 at 10:59 PM
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blogging.Although this blog is a true reflection of me, it’s perhaps not a complete reflection of me, it’s mostly the “un-rantish” me, the me that’s inspiring (I hope!), the me that ponders, the me that likes to share.
I don’t know how many people that know me actually read this blog, I know that my mom thinks that no good can come of it and has decided to pretend it does not exist, I know that my husband, the blog adict, reads it, and I know that occasionally my siblings and cousins wander over, but most importantly, I know that my clients could potentially be reading it.
It’s an interesting situation to openly write about one’s life, I have found it to be an awesome experience, both personally and professionally. The connections that I’ve made with my readers and other bloggers have been nothing short of amazing, and I am pretty confident that I would have gone completely un-noticed as a web developer, if I had not been a blogger, but as I sit 6th on a search for ‘shazia’, I am wondering how much is too much personal sharing.
On one occasion I unintentionally offended someone I knew and I honestly could not believe that my words could have been taking so completely out of context, and since then I’ve tried not to write about anyone besides my immediate family. Although I do feel that my blog is my space and I do have the right to write about whatever I want, I am not as comfortable, for example, sharing thoughts about the mighty wind as certain others. 
And there are times I really would like to discuss, for example, topics like spending time with the man, but it’s not a conversation I would have with a client or many other people that may or may not stumble upon my blog, and as such, I feel compelled to refrain from such subjects.
I think that I would like to have an anonymous blog, I imagine that it must be pretty liberating to say anything that comes to mind, to just blog without thinking of the repercussions, I mean, I know that many bloggers already blog about pretty much anything and are respected because of it, but publicly sharing my most personal thoughts and rants is perhaps not something that I am extremely comfortable doing.
Are you blogging anonymously and loving it? Do you think that I should do it?
ps. I did a tiny bit of blog-rearranging!
by
shaz on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 at 09:23 AM
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about me.
blogging.
being muslim.I am posting at Nisaa today about my identity crisis, but I think that it will resonate with many people. It’s supposed to be slightly amusing, but I am told that it may sound ‘rant-ish’... It’s really not. 
Also, remember the art journaling? Well, I love it so much that I’ve dedicated an entire site to it! Please take a peek at artjournal.net, an exploration of self expression, I hope you will stick around, and even contribute! I am still working on the site, so it’s not 100% functional yet, but my first art journal post is up – I know you’re curious!
by
shaz on Friday, July 06, 2007 at 11:08 AM
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blogging.
work at home mom.Wendy Piersall of eMoms at Home, whom I have written about many times, is/was looking for a few great writers!
Now, I am a little late on posting this, because of my blog issues, and I know that she’s already had a huge response, but you know, better late than never… and maybe one of your guys could be a completely perfect fit! Good Luck!
These are paid positions in which there is a “base” pay plus several forms of incentive compensation:
Each writer would get a percentage of the advertising revenue from their blog
Each writer is free to incorporate their own affiliate links into their content
The entire team will get free training and advice on blogging, traffic generation, affiliate marketing, and content creation
Compensation will increase with more experience and length of time with the company
Although I am fairly open in regards to topics to write about, I’m interested in both ‘traditional’ mom content as well as perhaps some personal blogs in which writers want to tackle tougher personal, controversial or societal issues – the sky is the limit as I am extremely open-minded. But here are some very basic suggestion ideas (I particularly hope to find someone who wants to cover the topics with a *):
Organization and productivity
Money management
Conception and Pregnancy
Fashion trends for moms
Home improvement, decorating or landscaping*
Recipes and cooking
Freelance service business strategies
Kids activities*
Holiday crafts, recipes, projects (year-round covering all holidays)*
Crafts (recreational how to’s and ideas)
Crafts businesses (the business side)
Contests and / or reviews*
Natural and organic living
Tech products for parents
Kids electronics/games/toys
Book reviews
Anything health-related
Additionally, writers would not have to do any blog setup or maintenance – I would take care of all hosting, design, html, everything. All you need to know is a tiny bit about blogging, writing, and how to create a hyperlink in a post.
This is the perfect opportunity for someone who wants to learn more about blogging and online marketing to grow it into their own home based business, or for an aspiring writer who wants a laid-back ongoing work at home gig. If you know of someone who would be interested in this opportunity, please forward this email to them – or if YOU are interested, let me know!
To be considered, please send the following to “workfor@emomsathome.com”:
Name
Email address
Daytime phone number
URL to current blog OR 2-3 writing samples (article format only)
Thanks to everyone and I look forward to hearing from you!
Warm regards,
Wendy Piersall :: eMom
