so i gave a talk at ryerson when? over a month ago, before christmas, and i have a ton of material from it. the kids, ha, students, gave questions to the prof, he gave them to me and i answered as many as i could on the train ride in. instead of allowing it all to go to rot in a document why not share here? i typed this all out on the teeniest mini laptop ever so some responses are a little hackneyed. it would be cool if i knew what hackneyed even meant.
You were young and blogging was pretty new when you started. Why did you start blogging? (you might want to start with a bit of a history of the site)
I have always been a writer, storyteller, blogging was just a natural thing and made sense to me. I saw the potential for success in it. If not for blogging I might already be an established print author by now instead of releasing content daily on the web. Who knows.
What keeps you going? Are there times when you don’t want to update your blog? Can you see an end to your blog?
My own compulsions keep me going. I am addicted. I love it and I am passionate about it. I feel that my stories are interesting and they never stop comin’ in so therefore no my blog will not end. It can dwindle if I get wrapped up in other projects along the way and become too busy but no I don’t anticipate abandoning it completely ever. It’s such a huge part of my life and culture in general. Would a doctor stop being a doctor once he/she made enough money? Writing/art/creating is in my blood so to stop would be stopping my person, my self.
Have you accomplished what you hoped you would when you started? Have you picked up other goals/reasons to feel accomplished along the way?
Yes and no I don’t think I will ever be fully satisfied but I am pretty happy with what i’ve got going on to date. I’ve accomplished for the most part what i’ve set out to do and more things are happening or will be on the horizon (book deal).
Because of your longevity online, are you approached as a potential mentor by other bloggers? If so, how do you deal with such requests?
Yes. I acknowledge all email inquiries (with reason) and frequently dole out advice, I have for years. It’s part of my day, my life. Its how I connect with people. I answer truthfully and use personal experiences when giving advice.
What other advice do fans of the blog ask you for? (ie: advice about relationships?) How do you deal with them?
I respond as honestly as I can, it comes naturally. If something is out of my expertise I fwd to a friend and they impart their wisdom.
You mentioned in a recent post that you considered somebody’s attention stalking: how often do you have to deal with unwanted attention and how do you deal with that?
Daily. Multiple persons are obsessed with hating me. Some days it gets to me and i sit there feeling mind blown by an entire city hating me. Mostly I ignore and delete. Sometimes I make use of the hate mail in form of blog content which begins a discussion.
Have you ever tailored your content in response to reader feedback? If so, how and why?
Meaning taking requests? Sometimes but mostly no, it’s all my way, my vision.
Are there any other observations you would like to share about your relationships with your readers?
Tread cautiously. Don’t reveal too much or names because you never know who you are dealing with, sometimes people can go off the wagon and turns out that person you told so many things in confidence to was actually insane. you must protect yourself.
Is the persona of Raymi essentially Lauren White? How do you keep the two straight in your mind?
They are one and the same. In conversation there is more of a balance whereas in blogging it’s more of a one way conversation so i’m forced to take up the slack for both parties myself and the reader I must try and anticipate their response to what I am saying or their thoughts so most of the time it seems like I am just yelling and being far out there when really i’m just having a dialogue with myself about my day. Consider dr seuss for example, do you think he spoke in green eggs and hamisms all the time in real life? I guess you’d have to ask someone who knows me in real life whether I am my blog personae or not.
What boundaries do you try to maintain (The Globe article mentioned that you were reluctant to talk about your recent split with your fiance, for example) between what you write and your personal life?
I reserve the right for my own privacy when the time calls for it. If there is a family death or crisis or anything I don’t feel like it is an obligation to send out a statement regarding my current affairs though my readers would beg to differ. When you are built-up to be a blogebrity people’s expectations of you increase exponentially though i’m doing nothing different currently than what I was doing a year ago save for personal life changes. People are always expecting more and more and then they call you a fucking narcissist once you acquiesce. You just can’t win, basically. Though it doesn’t matter cos once you reach this point of un-adultered attention it doesn’t matter what you reveal or how, everyone’s got their minds made up already.
A lot of attention has been paid recently to people who regretted something they had posted online (because it interfered with a relationship or getting a job or whatever). Has that ever been an issue for you?
I answered this question recently and cannot place where. Anyway no. the line of work im after doesn’t require I play the game so to speak. I’ve always done things my way and if you don’t accept me for it then it was nice not working with you.
What introduced you to blogging? (Were you following a trend or were you an early adopter?)
early adopter – vice – raymi the minx began there (hahah this is as far as i got tired of answering this question)
How old were you?
17
How long have you been doing it?
Nov 28 will be 9 year blog anniversary
What was your goal of the blog when you first started?
To exploit myself, to make a name for myself, to get published, to build my own brand/empire.
Was there any influence in writing your blog since you’re one of the first people to have a blog?
Im related to jack kerouac so compulsive stream of conscious writing is literally in my blood and on the road influenced me big time. i put it down and went well, that’s that then.
Do you consider your blog successful?
absolutely
How do you feel about the success (or lack of it)?
Outwardly ambivalent somewhat yet secretly proud. If its not as successful as it should be I have my own self to blame
Before you started blogging, did you do something similar? Like write journal entries in a diary? What was your creative “outlet”?
Ive kept journals since I was 11, I have stacks of them.
What keeps you going?
A hope, a belief system that sometimes makes absolutely no sense to me some of the time while others it is the one thing that makes most sense in my life and It’s how I make sense of my life.
How often do you check your blog and update it?
Multiple times daily.
Are there times when you don’t want to update your blog?
yes
Do you see yourself still blogging 10 years from now?
likely
Can you see an end to your blog?
No and yes – I see it evolving and growing along with me
What will you do after the blog ends?
I never said it was going to end but if it did it would be for good reasons and I would be doing whatever made me end it. Growing new fingers?
Is blogging your full time gig (source of income) or just an enormously successful hobby?
It so totally is not a hobby. I am tired of answering this invasive question. Some months are good some months are not. And I do have other means of getting by. Ads. My art. Side jobs that are too boring to blog about, also private.
How lucrative is blogging for you? If it is your full time gig, how long did it take before you could commit to doing it professionally? (when were you first able to make a living off of it?)
I have always been committed before during and after lucracy
How much of your time is dedicated to blogging? If it’s not your full time gig, how do you fit it in to your schedule?
When I wake up I plug in and keep going until every last piece of email has been read, replied to and a post or two has been blogged. I try to lighten the load on weekends tho that doesn’t always pan out.
What is your process like? Do you edit what you’ve written before you post- or do you just sit down and publish whatever comes to mind?
I d/l my photos go thru them and come up with one liners regarding what I did the day before. Sometime things are planned, most times not. ill sit down with zero ideas then one photo could evoke a super long tangent out of nowhere and off I go.
Do you plan ahead a general idea of what you might be posting about in the next few days? Or is everything an immediate reaction to the day’s events?
Typically it’s an immediate reaction
Is there anything that you regret posting?
Not really. Publish then move on to the next embarrassing TMI story.
You’ve been blogging for a long time, do you ever go back and review your old posts? If so, how do you feel about them in retrospect? Do you ever go back and look at something you posted when you were 16 and just cringe?
Eyeroll more than cringe. I get over things quickly for the most part. Sometimes it is irritating when a hardcore follower references something I wrote when I was 19 and takes it to heart and uses it against me like once i was being emo and self-diagnosed myself as having borderline personality disorder. i wrote that when i was high and self-indulgent (not much has changed) but anyway i am not BPD so yeah, be careful what you say and make sure people get your voice/tone.
Have you ever used your blog/fame to influence people in your favour?
I don’t follow. Like PETA?
Have you accomplished what you hoped you would when you started?
Yes and no (stop asking this)
Have you picked up other goals/reasons to feel accomplished along the way?
always
Who would you say this blog is for? Like who are you targeting? Who continues to read your blog? How did your followers find out about you?
First and foremost it is for me and I am targeting everyone and I am doing that by being myself and not following anyone else’s rules/standards. My reach is pretty far but a large part of my demographic is women of all ages 20-40 range. Men too. Because i’ve been around so long a time. time is how people find you.
Do you get more positive or negative feedback from your blog?
70/30 70 pos 30 neg
Do you ever worry about who is going to read what you say or what other people might say about you/your posts?
Slightly but it doesn’t stop me.
Did your parents ever read your blog? Do they have issues with it?
My mom read it for a long time and then my dad began to recently. No issues, they’re super proud.
Do your friends ever get annoyed of you taking photos all the time and posting them?
Those ones are long gone now. some friends are all about it, while some are specifically for it (not real friends). it depends who you’re with. if someone is irritated by me stopping to take a picture of a turd they can just fuck off then. bloggers take a lot of shit from everybody and it isn’t right, or fair. people can be really catty for no fucking reason.
Do you ask for their permission before adding a picture to your site?
yes.
Have you lost any friends or family about what they read on your blog?
not really. probably? i know it gets talked about a looooot. doesn’t matter what i write about it’s that i write period. some people have massive issues with the internet (stupid people) and being public on it. it’s more to do with them than me so i make a point to disclude them entirely to turn the knife a little bit. you don’t like it what’s that? oh ok you don’t exist here. nothing is ever a big deal until somebody makes it one. i talked shit about a girl once and a mutual shit disturbing acquaintance told her about it, she printed out the post and confronted me about it in the pub. awkward. i felt bad but nothing i said was incorrect and i never mentioned her name. if anything she got a rude-awakening about being a totally obnoxious lush.
How do you go about counteracting a false or negative statement?
by addressing it and clearing it up. sometimes i don’t at all bother. if people are going to drag my name through the mud to attempt a reaction, they don’t deserve my time. i don’t see the fruitfulness in having a go with me or anybody who has nothing to do with you or your life. it shows true colours is all, and your true colour stinks.
Did people ever recognize you on the street (and talked to you/ acknowledged it?)
yes lots but in the city of toronto you’re not supposed to acknowledge famous people. you’re supposed to secretly snicker at them for some reason. when i get approached i know that the person does not actually reside in toronto haha.
Are there any other observations you would like to share about your relationships with your readers?
we go way back. we are a demented co-dependent family and they love me because i am their headcase poster child and i love them because they love me. the end.
How do you view modern art? What is your definition of ‘art’?
(these ones i didn’t get a chance to answer so answering them now)
um i think it’s wonderful and terrible and hilarious. there’s a huge divide in “the scene” between art kids and music kids and whatever kids, fashion kids? but they all try to mesh and the awkwardness is palpable. i think art kids are the best partiers but they are also the snarkiest. music kids are borderline nerdy. fashion is well, obnoxious. it’s not about the art, it’s the people behind it, cos anyone could make art but it takes a special kind of pretentious bravery to pile up a bunch of inanimate objects, surround it in fluorescent orange safety tape, pin black hearts to a corner wall and call it an installation. then everyone gets together and gets wasted around it. it’s a joke, a literal joke, or isn’t, and the ones who rule are the ones in on all of it.
Do you consider your blog art?
sure yeah maybe? i certainly make art to capitalize on my fame. is writing art? no that’s poetry. i dunno. people like to say i am an artist cos there is no other nice word for me aside from verbal diarrheaist. ok yes i am an artist and i know this because i take special care, precision if you will, in everything that i do from brushing my teeth to putting an outfit together, painting my face, walking around a supermarket. it is all an elaborate show. not elaborate, but a show. i am pretty vain in the sense that i care about my looks and will purposely dress a certain way, walk a certain way, or style my hair to get a reaction. so in a sense i am art. holy fucking pretentious.
ok i’m ending it here for now, there are too many more Qs to get through.
