Fitness Junkie Blogger GirlWithNoName Jackie GirlWithNoName.com

Tell me about your Blog?

My blog www.girlwithnoname.com is a video blog where I discuss most topics related to fitness, diet, nutrition, and the ways I keep fit. The main focus, however, is how to achieve fitness at home, even when your space is extremely small. A few years ago I set out with a goal, which was to ‘see my abs’ and managed to do so without ever stepping a foot in a gym (I personally don’t enjoy the gym experience for the most part), and I live in a very small apartment in the city. I realized there’s a lot of people out there that want to get fit that also don’t like to go to the gym and only have a small space in which to do their workouts in their home, so I started the blog to lead by example. Mostly, I’m here to inspire & motivate anyone who wants to get/stay fit & live a healthy lifestyle!

What is the biggest tip you would give to a newbie blogger?

My best advice would be to blog about what you’re passionate about. If you aren’t passionate about your subject matter, you won’t stick with it for long. Also just be yourself. That’s what blogging is all about. People want to meet real people out there in the blogosphere.

What do advertisers do that you wish they wouldn’t?

OMG, POP-UPS!! But most especially, pop-ups asking for your contact information that pop up immediately, block the information on the site and prevent you from reading it. I mean if I can’t see the information on the site, how do I know I want to give you my contact information? Put your pop up where I can still see your content if you MUST pop up immediately.

What do bloggers do that you wish they wouldn’t?

Believe it or not, its TOO MUCH CONTENT that I find a little annoying. If I find a blog with a subject matter I’m interested in, I’ll watch it pretty religiously. However, if they’re grinding out 5-10 lengthy posts a DAY I get frustrated trying to keep up with it all. Eventually I start skimming and cherry picking just posts that are short & fast to read or view and finally I’ll probably just start ignoring those posts when they appear in my RSS reader in favour of stuff that’s faster to absorb. Too much lengthy content can actually drive me away.

Where do you see growth in the blogging field?

Well, I think blogging so far is a pretty young arena and the possibilities are limitless in my opinion. I actually can’t wait to see where it goes. I’m sure it will surprise all of us… I think right now video is getting more and more popular (especially live-streaming) so I’m just waiting for the search engines to catch up to the format.

What new ideas are advertisers coming up with to take advantage of new trends?

Again, video advertising (on the internet) seems to be a growing direction. There’s going to be more and more coming up that is video-oriented… right now pop-ups inside videos are a growing trend. I’d actually like to see something a little more innovative & less intrusive than that. I don’t even look at those ads, they’re blocking my content so I click them away immediately regardless of what they say. Actually I don’t even LOOK at what they say, so what they say is irrelevant. They are just annoying and blocking my content so off they go. I think advertisers need to think more like the viewer and consider what might actually be paid better attention because pop ups while you are trying to watch a video are more likely to be clicked away than clicked thru in my opinion (especially if its a live stream and clicking thru will cause you to miss your show).

What do you do to improve the world?

I’ve actually been quite surprised to discover just HOW motivational and inspirational my putting myself out there into the blogosphere & twitterverse has been. I have many loyal followers that tell me quite often that its watching and tweeting with me that got them off the couch and working out again, or watching their diet more closely, or just generally taking better care of themselves. I find a very humbling experience as well as a huge honour that people look to me in this way. This gives me a huge personal satisfaction knowing that I’m helping people out there just by being here. I genuinely care. When someone tells me that I inspire or motivate them I invite them to stay in touch and let me know how they are coming along from time to time, or to ask questions whenever they want to. I do my absolute best to always answer comments & questions I receive via my blog or twitter. So, if I help this world get a little healthier one person at a time just by my being who I am and being accessible to others needing help, motivation or inspiration, then I’ll leave it knowing I did good while I was here.

What do you do that is green?

I do my part, buying food & products locally and organically where I can, recycling, walking to destinations where possible instead of driving and all that. I live in Vancouver, which is a pretty green city. You are shunned by society if you aren’t green, so its pretty hard NOT to be green as a Vancouverite.

What is on your mp3 player?

Oh wow… I have a lot of stuff on my mp3 player. My collection is pretty big and eclectic but I do default towards alternative music and also really love old obscure alternative 80s tunes. I find these genres (which are usually full of angst, anger or some other strong raw emotion) great for running or working out because I can pour that emotion into my workout and turn it into strength & power. They are very motivating, energy-inducing tunes.

What are your contact details (email, company, blog, facebook, myspace, forums, etc)?

I’m mostly out there in the Twitterverse. My handle is @girlwithnoname. As I mentioned earlier, my blog is www.girlwithnoname.com and my email address is mentioned on my blog in the contacts area. However, I do prefer comments on my blog over emails because then all my readers & viewers can benefit from the person’s points or knowledge, rather than just myself. Emails are welcome if the information is of a private nature or someone is feeling shy about posting their comment in the public comments section.

What events do you go to?

I’ve been to a few tweetups and blogger’s meetups here in Vancouver. Its always great to meet the real person behind the online persona of someone I’ve been in contact with. I’ve learned a lot from the people I’ve met and made some fabulous friends and contacts.

How do you prefer to communicate?

Twitter is my favourite Social Media tool for communicating. For business & live friendships nothing beats a face to face conversation or the telephone. I’ve recently discovered the joys of Skype combined with a webcam as well. How’d we ever do business before this wonderful combination? You can see and talk to pretty much anyone in any part of the world for as long as you want, for free! Wow!

Who would you recommend, and why?

One guy I really like to keep an eye on is Brad Howard (www.twitter.com/bradhoward) … he’s very smart about Social Media & Social Networking. He’s really out there in that world and makes his living in Dating and Health & Fitness products. Plus, his tweets are damn hilarious. Definitely worth a follow on Twitter.

Two of the smartest sports & fitness oriented bloggers I know are these two guys:
http://www.straightothebar.com
http://www.thefightgeek.org/

and a couple of dating blogs that are just plain fun to read:
http://honeyandlance.com/
http://thedatingpapers.com/

I also have several links over on my blog to my favourite fitness gurus with fantastic fitness & health books that I highly recommend. I’ve read and use all of them personally and I can’t say enough great things about those guys. Head over there to check them out on my sidebar.

What is one thing people can do for you?

Follow me on Twitter!! I love to be in touch with new interesting people. I’ve made so many wonderful new friends and business contacts there. Please find me at @girlwithnoname and lets get to know each other.

Thanks to Jackie, Fitness junkie blogger from GirlWithNoName GirlWithNoName.com !