IPB Blogging Questionnaire: Finny Edition

The answers to the IPB Blogging Questionnaire just keep rolling in, this time from HLOG sister and noted Ducks blogger, Finny. Finny recently wrote a mega-post about blogging and the media, so we were thrilled to see her respond to our questions. You can read her answers here, or at her blog.

1. What was your motivation for starting blogging? Has that changed at all in the time you’ve been blogging?

My entire life I’ve loved two things constantly and consistently: books and hockey. Writing is a pastime I’ve enjoyed since fourth grade and it continues to be my main goal in life – to become a successful, published author. There is a part of me that is interested in journalism, but I never did quite go that route as my imagination had difficulty cramming itself into concise sentences totaling 500 words or less. So when I stumbled across something called “hockey blogging” that combined both writing and hockey, I jumped at the chance to get in on the action.

At the time of my first post in September 2006, there were few Anaheim bloggers (only 2 if I recall properly, Earl Sleek @ Battle of California and Ducks Blog), and few fangirls in the blogosphere (HLOG goddesses Hockeygirl, Sherry, Jordi, and the incomparable Margee being the most notable). Growing up, I had always, always, always taken crap for being a girl that loved hockey. Most people growing up in SoCal loved basketball, football, or baseball. Anyone I met that proclaimed to like hockey was always, without fail, a Kings fan. Usually our conversation would end with me suffering through all kinds of jokes regarding the Mighty Ducks and Disney references. I wanted a way to refute all the crap about how Anaheim fans didn’t know their stuff and didn’t love the sport. But more than that, I wanted a way to share my love of the game with people who would understand. So, Girl with a Puck was born. Back then, my main objective was simply to establish a voice for Anaheim fans and for fangirls league-wide.

There were a few other incentives I had: (1) I wanted to use blogging as a way to flex my writing muscles on a daily basis; (2) I hope to become a fiction writer (ahem, of [hockey] romance novels) “when I grow up” and intend to use the Christy Finn name as a type of “brand” (it is, in fact, not my given name); and (3) I just wanted a way to project my fandom among understanding, likeminded fans with an interest in the sport and/or in the boys themselves.

My motivations have shifted focus somewhat toward more reader-friendly content and blogosphere involvement, but otherwise, my motivations have not changed in nature. I have seen a growth in a number of areas – particularly in creeping slowly towards professional writing in both fiction and non-fiction (and by “slowly”, I mean, slooooowwwwwllllllyyyyyy). Still, it is my ultimate goal in life to be writing — most likely, fiction (which is not showcased on GwaP other than the short-lived “puck you fantasylogs”). Because I strive to make GwaP fun and informative, intelligible and reliable, I have repeatedly refused to accept advertising offers. Personally speaking, earning a couple of cents off promoting ads isn’t something I’m interested in. If I was going to write for money (which, I have done a little of), I accept freelance assignments/requests and continue to send out my fiction pieces for publication consideration. It’s not something I use the blog for.

Regardless, my main goal is to continue to give Anaheim fans a web-presence and to bring fangirls out in the world wide webby. Lastly, but perhaps a growing motivation for me, is the attempt to promote the sport to the best of my ability with the goal of inspiring more people to fall in love with the game.

2. What do you think your blog contributes to the hockey conversation?

I don’t know that GwaP contributes any one thing in particular. It’s got a touch of randomness in it, where I jump from the latest in Ducks news to doing special features like “Behind Enemy Lines” and “Hottie of the Month” and the “O’Brien Bolt Report” (and the former “On the Farm” segment and the possible/upcoming “Penner Progress Report”). I hope to bring a fresh voice that’s conversational and fun while maintaining a good dosage of hockey knowledge and loosely sporadic analysis. As a season ticket holder, I am able to blog from the perspective of someone sitting up in the nosebleeds and who brings signs to games for encouragement and laughs. Being a fan is fun, and that’s the way I think blogging ought to be as well. Above all else, I hope I bring “fun” to the table.

3. What do you want to get out of the blogs you read?

I want a good idea of the blogger themselves, where they’re coming from and what their take is. I want to see how they view the same game (different or similar to my own?), see how they feel about big news that breaks about their team. I like blogs with special features that are unique to that blog – things I just won’t or can’t find elsewhere. I want to be able to get a good feel for how their team is doing, any strengths and weaknesses, and what the fans are thinking/feeling.

4. What determines which blogs you read and which you don’t?

I look for quality tone with a bit of humor in it, knowledge that’s presented in an easy-to-understand format with correct grammar! As an English major, it is extremely difficult for me to continue reading the work of someone who can’t follow basic grammatical rules, can’t use an engaging voice, and can’t engage me with their content. So, in short, I look for blogs to be accurate, engaging, witty/funny, and informative. Brownie points for making me think or swoon with the beauty of language.

5. How important is the issue of gaining press access to you as a blogger?

Whoa, loaded question! I recently wrote On Bloggers and Media, a six-page superpost on the whole issue. I didn’t specify my views precisely, but I assume that it came off pretty implicitly pro-bloggers-getting-credentialed. Now, I don’t think every blogger ought to be given press passes just for the heck of it. And certainly more than a few bloggers admitted to me that a press pass would do little to enhance their blogs. In my case, as a woman hoping to break into professional writing one way or another or so help me hockeygods, a press pass would be greatly beneficial. Is it necessary? No. Would it help? Certainly.

The question then is who would it help? Me or readers? Truthfully, I think both. Obviously, I would learn more about professional writing by being around and working alongside those who are professional writers. Ideally, readers would benefit from the content of a credentialed blogger since he/she would provide greater insight into the game and the players.

Particularly in a non-traditional hockey market, the sport, these players, and the causes they stand for get little to no attention. They are overlooked and shoved to the bottom of the barrel. In Anaheim, the Cup celebration was overshadowed by an overflow of reports that heiress Paris Hilton had been released from prison. Trust me, I was pretty infuriated that people would find that infinitely more interesting or more important than SoCal earning it’s first Stanley Cup. I feel that the more exposure the game has to the public, whether that means allowing bloggers to come in and give readers a bird’s eye view or a straight from the horses mouth or a “one-on-one with…” segment that would bring fans and non-fans closer to the game/players or increasing media coverage (not likely to happen in sports-saturated SoCal), the better the chances of the sport rising in popularity.

6. To what extent do you feel accountable for the content of your blog? How concerned do you think readers should be about the authority and accountability of your blog?

ONE HUNDRED PERCENT. I take full and absolute accountability for what I post on the blog. It’s why I’m careful when wording my opinions, it’s why I hold myself to a particular, unspecified standard of blogging – to maintain my integrity, reliability, and objectivity (despite my Ducks-skewed bias). I never state as fact what cannot be backed up and linked to a source. I never pull a quote without citing its source, and I never post about a player’s private life. Rumors are addressed if they appear on credible sites (Yahoo! Sports Rumors, TSN, or Spector’s Hockey). If I hear murmurings from the peanut gallery, I rarely if ever post it. I can only think of one time where I wrote about it (in relation to Scott Niedermayer’s possible retirement). The only reason I did so is because the news came from a personal friend of mine whom I trusted to give me accurate information and I labeled it as hearsay.

I think readers ought to be highly concerned about the authority and accountability of my blog. They have every right to correct any errors I’ve made (which has happened before, and I’ve immediately amended the error), and obviously they can disagree with my opinions and state so in my comments or by emailing me. I would never intentionally provide false information, so I think readers need to be very careful about which blogs they trust to bring them good info.

7. How concerned are you about the authority and accountability of the blogs you read? Do you find it difficult to judge the authority and accountability of the blogs you read?

I’m very concerned about the authority and accountability of the blogs I read. I usually read them for a while to get a good idea about where the author is coming from, what type of information they provide, and I wait to see how they back it up or follow through on their stories. I don’t find it incredibly difficult to judge the authority or accountability of the blogs I read because I hold them all to the same standard of blogging that I hold myself to. I consider my requirements to be rudimentary but stringent and expect that respectable blogs meet or exceed my expectations in that regard. Integrity in writing, presentation, and analysis is something I esteem highly. If I can’t rely upon a blogger or a particular blog, chances are, I’ll quit reading it pretty darn quick.

8. What value, if any, do you think blogging brings to the NHL?

Blogging brings an entirely new dimension to the NHL, I think. It unites fans with a sense of community, rivalry, respect, and our own fair share of controversy. I believe that we provide an enhanced personal touch to the NHL since many fans can tune in, read what others are saying/feeling, agree/disagree, comment, and interact. It’s splendid! Collaborations are done between bloggers of opposing teams, playoffs are all the more intense since blogs can and will often engage in some chirping of their own – and last season, some of us were invited to do battle on the air! – honestly, it’s pretty cool to know that fans have an outlet to vent, chip in ideas, and voice their collective opinions. It’s like a pro/con list from the masses!

[Originally written for Girl With a Puck, 12/11/07 by Christy Finn.]