Blog Till You Drop! - interview with Lolly

You will probably think I am crazy - I am interviewing people I know! Yes, but I have a reason to do so, even more than one:
1. I look up to them.
2. I want to know what they think.
3. I want to know if an interview can help me to know them better.
4. I want to share this with my other friends:) and readers:)

I am including in interviews questions I do not know the answer for in our private lives. I am genuinely interested in their reasons to blog, exist on-line and in their every-day life. I am interested, so I ask:)

For the first one, I have asked Lolly, author of two blogs - Blog Till You Drop and Cosmopolitan.
Here it is:

Sylwia:First of all, thank you for giving me the opportunity to ask you few questions, Lolly. Here they are:

Syl: You blog was celebrating second anniversary recently. Tell me, how did it all start? The blogging I mean?

Lolly: I started my career in medical marketing, and I was desperate to do something more exciting but kept hitting a brick wall. A friend of mine who worked for an Internet start-up suggested I start blogging… I was hooked within months and started experimenting with a variety of social media tools. I seem to live and breathe social media these days!
Syl: Did your approach to writing the blog change since the first few posts? How does it affect your private life?

Lolly: My writing has definitely changed over time - I used to blog a lot about traditional marketing and advertising but I seem to write about anything that’s Social Media related at the moment. When I read some of my old posts, I feel like an inexperienced schoolgirl!

I write whatever tickles my fancy and I do not have a set agenda. Some people have joked that I am glue 24/7 to my computer screen but I do have a life offline, so no blogging does not affect my private life at all.

Syl: Did you have on-line presence before starting a blog? You are active on Twitter, Facebook etc - how and when did those preceses join the blog one?

Lolly: I used to spend a lot time on MSN Messenger and Skype. I also had a MySpace account for a while (we’re talking late 2005) but I quickly got bored of it… Pink glittery GIFS aren’t my thing!

Blogging is the foundation of everything I do online – I have a social presence on a number of other sites (LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, FriendFeed, Twitter but to name a few) but they all relate and add value to my blog. Facebook used to be purely for my real-life friends but I have now added a couple of bloggers I get on really well with.

Syl: More about your private life, I guess:) As French blogger in London, what can you say about the local blogosphere? You attend the geek meet-ups, so what do you think about people you meet there?

Lolly: The local blogosphere is awesome as there is always a party / meet up going on! Everyone knows everyone! The French blogosphere in London is buoyant – you would be amazed to see how many French bloggers who work in the digital / social media industry live in London

Syl: What is the French blogosphere like? Where do the bloggers meet, georaphically I mean?

Lolly: That’s a tough question! I read a few French blogs but I am not part of the French blogosphere – I write in English after all. The Social Media scene in France is also very exciting – there are dozens of Meet Ups in Paris but also in my hometown, Lyon.

Syl: Do you miss France? Do you think about living in other parts of the world?

Lolly: I am not French, so I don’t really miss France. I would love to live in NYC – who knows; someone might read my blog and offer me a job ;) I also love Italy so that’s definitely another option!

Syl: I'm an expat myself and I am asked that question very often (well, maybe not so often in the UK, still) how do you decide upon a country you want to live in? Is it just job or persoanl hapiness driven choice?

Lolly: I originally studied modern languages and I used to travel quite a lot in my student years. I simply fell in love with the UK. As far as I am concerned, I must be in love with a language to move a country. Job and happiness are of course also very important

Syl: I see you like travelling and run a travelling blog aside from your main one. What is your best and worst memory from Poland?

Lolly: I loved Poland! Nice country, nice people, nice food! My worst memory is not being able to speak the language and the roads! I really thought I was going to die in Lodz at times!

Syl: If you could choose a country to live in, where would that be? Why?

Lolly: NYC career-wise (wait a minute, that’s a city!) or Italy as the lifestyle, language and people are simply amazing!

Syl: And a last very general one: what is the best and the worst aspect of living in a different country?

Lolly: The best aspect is that you learn a lot from other people culture-wise. The worst aspect is that however hard you try, people will always see you as a foreigner.
Syl: thank you!

(If you have any other questions, let me know, I'll ask;))

Part of this interview is also available here.