2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Exclusive Nominee Interview with Lauren White of Raymi the Minx

Lauren White authors Raymi the Minx, which has been nominated in the Life, Lifetime Achievement, and People's Choice categories of the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards.

You have been blogging for so many years now that your answer to the following question has probably changed several times. Why blogging? Why when you began, and why now?

I blogged then because I had grandiose visions of scholarly fame for myself and since then, nothing has changed. I prided myself on being a little online rebel dick then realised I could and should manipulate 50% of my audience with my looks. Funny how now I only care what the other 50% think about my image. The statement girls dress for girls is so hyperly true it kills me. Fuck dudes, sorry guys. Now I blog because if I stop I will become irrelevant, unloved, and forgotten. I'm writing a book, so I'd like there to be an audience around for when it hits stores. I am still as compulsive if not more so than I was when I first began blogging. I guess I'm pretty competitive, too, so there's that. I'm not the only blogger anymore, so I have to keep my wits about me. In actuality though, I know what miniscule talent I have is unique unto itself, so I don't feel very threatened. Hopefully I age well, otherwise I gotta get a new racket.

Which one of your posts from the past while was the most cathartic/interesting/nerve-wracking for you, and why?

When I wrote the guide to dating a drug dealer for Street Boners (which eventually will be published in their first print mag), I got a taste of how sick the internet really is and how far things can go. I stupidly timed revoking commenting from my blog that week, so all my psychotic detractors had a good show of sticking it to me for a week. They eventually closed the thread. I have to steel myself in the future for similar attacks. I'm too sensitive. It's not a case of dishing it out and not being able to take it. It's more of an I don't fucking do that to others, so what the fuck? I was ridiculed in the comments for divulging that one of these dealers burnt my face with hot pizza. Seriously, how is that even remotely funny? People really hate me that much? Very twisted. The funny/exhausting thing about it is, there are so many possible reasons to hate me, but they're also the same reasons to be really into me, too. At the end of the day, though, I get to check my stats and just grin about it, because numbers don't lie (advertisers, now is the time to make contact). Total tangent there sorry. Just the possible (definite) side effects of being a big mouth on the internet.

How do you deal with negative comments or reactions to your posts?

All dependent upon my mood at the time of consumption and how busy/stressed I am. Sometimes I'll have a go with them, but that usually leads to long drawn out crap that I don't have time for. They have their mind made up about me, I don't care, and they don't deserve my time to try and switch it around. How lonely and bored a person are you that you feel compelled to engage in a tete-a-tete with a blogger that you allegedly despise? It takes so much more balls to just stand up and say hey, I like something, and defend it. So much easier to just be a hater. Getting caught up in the ego flame war of it all is such a magnificent waste of time. I'm here, I have all the audience I need, it's good. I'm just living my life like everybody else.

Many bloggers who achieve a certain internet celebrity status have an "aha!" moment when they realize the extent of their reach and influence. Was this true with you and, if so, do you remember what brought that moment about and what it was like?

I have those moments constantly but then get over them, and then I have another one. It can come from an email or seeing my name in the paper, being invited somewhere schmoozy, whatever. When Sex TV interviewed me when I was 19, I then realised, ok, I have something here.

What is your personal blogging philosophy? What will you and what won't you write about?

Right now I'm being more secretive than I typically am/was. The Globe & Mail article taught me a lesson. I was with someone for five years and charted the entire relationship on my blog. We were very much a unit. Now the unit is breached, so the question is, what crazy shit is she going to get up to next? I'm still overshare broadcasting, but I'm holding many cards to my chest, despite knowing that if I wanted to reveal the whole she-bang, I could likely benefit from dirty laundry truths. People really love that stuff, but at what cost to me? If I tell you what I won't write about, then that would be telling you what I won't tell you. A-ha moment.

If you were to impart some knowledge to an aspiring blogger, what would you tell them?

Buy my book. It will tell you everything you need to know. I can't dole out free advice anymore. I don't have the time for it, and you could actually just skim my archives, cos I've given out plenty of Blogging According to Raymi over the years. Basically just write what you feel, make it interesting, be consistent and concise. Get a camera. Be funny, endearing, artistic. Try to be good looking, and make as many stirs as possible.

What are your favourite weblogs?

Too many to mention, and if I say one then 1200 others feel pissed and dissed.

Labels: interviews, Life, Lifetime Achievement, People's Choice