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
Thank you Nubia for sharing your insights on blogging with us and bringing some great blogs to our attention too 
What’s your name?
Nubia
What’s the name of your blog?
The Disconnection: Encounters with Strangers
What’s the URL of your blog?
http://cityencounters.blogspot.com
How old is your blog?
I started it in April 2007, so it’s a year and 6 months in October
If you’re willing to share, how many visitors per day do you have to your blog?
Not enough to make me famous, but it grows every day!
How much time do you spend blogging every week?
Well, I spend at least an hour a day doing it in my head! I am always watching and wondering if the things I see are blog worthy. I update my blog once a week, and it usually takes me 30 min to an hour to write a post, edit it, find a good picture, etc.
Is it the creative process or the editing process which take you longest when writing a post?
I guess for me it is the editing process. I am a perfectionist and I like to have a good ending to all of my stories.
What inspired you to first start writing a blog?
I have always been a poet and a writer–writing is my favorite pastime. Secondly, I love interacting with people and observing/analyzing life around me. In June 2006 I had just returned to NYC after living and teaching in Taipei, Taiwan. When I returned, I realized I wanted to turn some of my crazy experiences in Taipei into short stories. While working on that project, I was also becoming restless with my magazine job because I wasn’t writing as much as I had liked from 9 to 5 (and what I was writing was rather boring). I decided to take on this blog as an extension of my short stories, since I also had interesting NYC encounters from college and on a daily basis (as many New Yorkers do!)
What do you do to get inspired to write?
I just walk outside of my apartment and look around me.
How do you market your blog?
Through word of mouth, getting my blog listed on other blogger’s blogrolls, Facebook, and I’ve even been interviewed for working closely with other people’s online projects, such as Hero Reports. I am featured on and blog for a site called That Black Girl Site , which gives my blog traffic. I also created business cards that have my blog’s address on it. When others around me and I see something crazy, I will give them my business card and tell them to go on my blog.
Is there anything that you simply refuse to blog about?
I try to keep my blog Pg-13!
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 would never stop blogging, it’s a major part of my life and it allows me to showcase my writing that would otherwise probably never get published.
Do you talk about your blog with your relatives and friends or do you avoid mentioning it?
My friends love talking about my blog and have even contributed to it. I encourage others’ to write an interesting story for my blog because they have good stories too, and I want my readers to be exposed to more than just my voice/opinions/observations.
What is the biggest mistake you made when starting your blog?
Probably my first post when I said, “I can’t believe I am starting a blog”. In the beginning, I felt like I was being a follower–just joining the bandwagon of blogging. Now I realize that I was (and still am) doing something unique. Sure, the medium is the same, but my content is different, and that makes a huge difference in the end.
Any tips for aspiring bloggers?
If you have an idea in the back of your head, go with it. Start your blog and it may transform into something even bigger and more creative than you had initially thought. My idea was initially just writing about what goes on in the NYC subway, but now my posts are about things that happen in liquor stores, during my vacations, in bars, etc. Don’t worry about updating it daily; you’ll find the right pace that works for you, that way your posts will be more natural and not forced.
Who are the bloggers that you look up to the most?
Kitty who writes NY Portraits . She takes the most creative photos of the city and always ties in anecdotes of her personal life. That’s one thing I don’t do as much (write about myself), but I think it’s great when others enjoy the freedom of doing so.
I also truly enjoy Sling Shot Thought . He mixes archeology, social banter, and his personal life (he had a survey a few weeks ago asking if he should have his newborn son circumcised) and its quite enjoyable. He has a strong readership.
Do you still see yourself blogging in 5 years time?
Definitely. There will always be a strange encounter, a cat fight, someone’s random ranting, and interesting people to record–and I want to be the one to record it. I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life not sharing those raw, humorous, insane stories with my readers.
I wasn’t allowed to Buzz but Nubia’s blog really does give you a tangible sense of on one hand the NY madness, on the other the normalcy of it all.
I’ve just been over for a gander …… it sounds an unsettling place to me ….. but I am ancient.
I wasn’t allowed to Buzz either. Nubia sees NYC in her unique way with interesting expression. Her blog is always worth to read.