This post is part of a series of interviews highlighting Fuelmyblog bloggers and their blogs, a great way to find out who are the bloggers part of the Fuelmyblog community. If you would like to feature in this series add your name in the comment box or email sylvie(at)fuelmyblog.com
What’s your name?
Richard Barley
What’s the name of your blog?
La Vie en Foussais
What’s the URL of your blog?
http://www.lavieenfoussais.com
How old is your blog?
About 6 months in it’s current form, though I have been blogging for the last 4 years
If you’re willing to share, how many visitors per day do you have to your blog?
30-40
How much time do you spend blogging every week?
Normally around 2-3 hours. As I have to get up at 6.30am to take the kids to the school bus, I have a spare hour or so before I start work every day, so I tend to use that time to catch up on comments and write new posts
Is it the creative process or the editing process which take you longest when writing a post?
Its normally the editing. As most of my posts are just ramblings about our days out etc, I tend to just write them like I’m chatting to someone on the phone, without giving the content too much thought. (Perhaps that’s why I only have 30-40 readers not 300-400…? 
)
It’s only once its written that I then go back and think “Does that actually make sense?” and start adding photos and links. It’s this that takes the time as I’m a bit of a perfectionist in these matters and I like things to look and sound right…
What inspired you to first start writing a blog?
Originally I started blogging as I had just been given my dream role as Judas in a local production of Jesus Christ Superstar and wanted to document my feelings and experiences as we went through the rehersals and production. It was a life-long ambition finally achieved, and I really wanted to record it (If you’re interested, it’s now archived here: http://richardjbarley.blogspot.com/). I enjoyed the writing process a lot, and my style seemed to be popular, so I continued blogging in various fashions. I was re-inspired recently by our relocation from the UK to France, and La Vie en Foussais is a record of our life over here.
What do you do to get inspired to write?
I am inspired mainly just by living life. Being in a new country, a new house and a new village, surrounded by new friends…every day there is some new experience that I can write about. Especially with 3 kids, we are always going places and seeing things that hopefully people enjoy reading about. Some days it’s hard if we haven’t done very much, but I can normally find some topic to share with people!
How do you market your blog?
I use Twitterfeed to send a message to Twitter every time I write a new post. I also post a link on my Facebook profile. And everything (blog posts, flickr photos etc) goes into FriendFeed. I am also listed in several blog catalogs such as Blogged, MyBlogLog and, of course, FuelMyBlog!
What are the blogging tools you cannot do without?
I love the Wordpress.com platform, though I wish I could embed more stuff. Twitter is vital for getting the message out there. And where would I be without my Flickr account to brighten up my posts with a bit of colour? Scribefire is a great Firefox extension for blogging.
Is there anything that you simply refuse to blog about?
Anything that would have a negative affect on me, my family or anyone I know. As I post mainly about days out and time with friends and family, I try to stick to the facts and not reveal anything that would harm or embarrass anyone.
If you went for a job interview and were told that you’d have to close your blog in order to get the job, how would you react/feel about it?
I guess it would depend on how badly I wanted/needed the job. When you have a house and a family to support, you can take a stand on certain things, but how you earn a crust is not always one of them. The real world would always come first and the online world would have to come second. Besides, there are other ways of staying in touch..
Do you talk about your blog with your relatives and friends or do you avoid mentioning it?
Now La Vie en Foussais is really taking off, everyone knows about it. A lot of our friends and family keep up with our news via the site when they haven’t had time to ring! My wife Lisa even made her first post on the site recently, which I was very excited about. I would love it to be something that the whole family contributed to.
What is the biggest mistake you made when starting your blog?
Hmmm…I’m not sure that I made too many mistakes to be honest. I have never really gone out there to promote the blog, and have never had any great expectations about it. It’s just me spinning the yarns about our life and if people enjoy reading, then that’s great. Perhaps that has been my mistake – to not promote the site enough and try to increase the readership…?
Any tips for aspiring bloggers?
I have always just tried to be myself, to be honest and not necessarily chased after the latest and greatest blogging trends. Writing interesting articles from the heart has stood me in good stead over the years, without the need for flashy graphics or using the latest, greatest internet memes.
Who are the bloggers that you look up to the most?
I’m wouldn’t say that I look up to any one blogger necessarily, but I enjoy the style of Gizmodo, The Register and LifeHacker. Craig McGinty, author of This French Life is someone that I admire for his great content and prolific posting.
Do you still see yourself blogging in 5 years time?
Sure, why not? Every day is a new adventure here, and I’m sure there will still be new experiences to write about in 5 years time.
8 Comments
Ah, thanks for the feature guys. Much appreciated
Richard
This is all very well but where are all the mushrooms?
Sadly Sylvie wouldn’t let us keep our prized collection. Something about a fate worse than a fate worse than death if we ate them….
…. not mushroom for argument there then ….. *groan and an apology*
Great summary from you … please accept my apologies for not visiting of late … too much to do and .. where does the time go
DP: Big groan! But, you know, that Kevin, he is a fun-gi to be with…..ok I’ll stop nnow!
70s: I know what its like – I’m all full of good intentions, but too many blogs to read and not enough time!
Great blogterview – we’ll crack the mushroom shortage, I am told was too early in the season!
Ahh, I see. Ok, maybe another hunt in the pipeline then. Have to be serious this time!
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