Six awards including blog of the year, best original writing and most humorous. Did this come as a surprise?

With six nominations, I certainly was hoping to get at least one or two. But six? And the best overall? No – I simply refused to think that far. I lived with professional rugby players for a few years in my early 20’s and talking about winning before a match was taboo in our house. “Jinxing” the match and all that, is an absolute no-no!

When did you start blogging and why?

About seven years ago, before blogs were really blogs. I just made a website to showcase photos of parties that my friends and I had been to the previous weekend. Just for everyone to see. In the days when my buddies had internet access, but no email. Then I started commenting on the pics and writing little stories to fill the spaces. Strangers told me they enjoyed it which was weird – but appealing. They found it funny and urged me to keep writing. I enjoyed writing (and still do) so I continued!

What inspires you to blog everyday?

Just everything I do and see and think. Like any discussion you would have with a friend in a bar or a braai or a restaurant – exactly the same thing, except I type it for everyone else to see as well. Whatever I’m talking about, I’m writing about.

Any tips for aspiring SA bloggers?

Stop talking about it and get started. Write a minimum of one article a day – even if it’s a pic and a one liner – and it’ll get going. If you want to do it and you think you’ll love doing
it – then do it! Good things will come of it.

What blog creation tool do you use?

My blog creation tool is Wordpress. But my secret weapon is a program called Chris Mills – which is the guy who runs www.imod.co.za (winner of Best Science and Technology Blog) and who’s behind all the deep hard-core coding behind the 2oceansvibe Wordpress platform. He does all of my friends’ and family’s blogs.

Your personal choice of SA Blog of the Year?

I couldn’t choose one out of the other nominees. I’m a regular visitor of http://sarocks.co.za/, http://imod.co.za/, http://watkykjy.co.za/, http://from-the-couch.com/ and http://www.matthewbuckland.com/

Is the money from blogging any good?

If your website has an image and appeals to a defined market, certainly – you can make it work for you. But placing random ads around the page won’t do it. You need to create a brand and a following and the rest will come.

2 Oceans Vibe