Live it, love it, blog it
Blogging’s not just for geeks. As key bloggers across Europe tell us, it’s all about sharing your passions
words by Sophy Grimshaw
illustration by Miles Cole
A taste of Paris
Blogger: Clotilde Dusoulier
Blog:www.chocolateandzucchini.com
Parisian foodie Clotilde Dusoulier writes Chocolate and Zucchini full-time. The blog receives up to 100,000 hits per day and there’s a cookbook of the same name coming out in May.
Why did you start your blog?
I needed an outlet and a way to share my passion for all things culinary. I post my recipes (there’s an archive to search) as well as recommending restaurants. Since I’m a Parisian, there tends to be a French flavour to most of the material.
Why do you think it’s been so successful?
It’s not just me blabbing on about myself. People try the recipes and I’ve built an audience through word of mouth. It’s like hosting a dinner party with my readers as guests. You could say new media replaces older forms of communication – the village square that we’ve lost.
Where do you shop and dine in Paris?
I shop for food at one of the organic farmers’ markets close to my home in Montmartre, Marché des Batignolles. I’ve yet to think of an ingredient that I can’t find in Paris. Anything you set your mind to, you can cook. It’s really exhilarating. My favourite restaurant is Corneil (18 rue Condorcet, 9th arrondissement, +33 (0)1 4995 9225).
Chocolate and Zucchini, the cookbook, is available for €15 from www.marionboyars.co.uk, where you can also find some sample recipes.
Copenhagen rocks
Blogger: Thomas Christensen
Blog: www.docopenhagen.blogspot.com
New media expert Thomas Christensen is one of the founders of Do Copenhagen, a music blog where readers can check out material by indie and electro acts from Scandinavia and beyond.
How did Do Copenhagen start?
My friends and I decided to start blogging about the music scene here a few years ago. At first we thought we’d only cover Scandinavian music, but now it’s just music in general. There are usually posts about Copenhagen and Scandinavia though, not only because we’re based here, but because that’s where a lot of the best music is coming from. In Copenhagen there are a lot of innovative people who like to do creative work, even if they don’t get paid for it.
Can you recommend a venue in Copenhagen?
Vega (Enghavevej 40, +45 3325 7011, www.vega.dk) is probably the best live music venue in Scandinavia. I saw Arctic Monkeys there before they released a single. Somehow everyone knew the music anyway.
Which posts are you most proud of?
It’s always nice to promote local bands from Denmark or Sweden because they need the publicity. I also compiled lists of the top 50 music videos of 2005 and 2006, which meant we got 50,000 hits a day from people watching them. Actually we crashed a lot of browsers around the world, so I don’t know if that was a good idea…
London calling
Blogger: Matt Brown
Blog: www.londonist.com
Matt Brown, along with Mike Atherton and Rob Hinchcliffe, works at quirky news blog Londonist. It’s part of an international network that includes New York City’s Gothamist blog (www.gothamist.com).
Why do you think people blog?
Blogs are an outlet for obsession. That’s why people do it – it’s certainly not for the financial rewards. I’m someone who really loves London, especially discovering historic London.
What’s Londonist all about?
It’s a wry look at the day’s news. We cover some national and international stories, but most things are London-based. Hitting the mainstream press is a highlight. Sometimes they’ll pick up our stories because we’re faster. We can also do things that traditional print media can’t, like posting real-time maps that show events as they unfold.
What do you love about London?
I love the way London feels like an unknowable city where you can discover a new place every weekend. You can go on a long walk and see a part of the city you’ve never seen before. The only thing that annoys me is that most pubs close at
11.30pm despite the [new] 24-hour licensing laws.
Talking of pubs, can you recommend any?
I like pubs in Holborn because tourists don’t often get there. The Cittie of York (22 High Holborn, +44 (0)20 7242 7670) is a nice old wooden watering hole, and there’s a beautiful pub called The Lamb (94 Lamb’s Conduit Street, +44 (0)20 7405 0713).
Fashion-forward Berlin
Bloggers: Mary Sherpe and Benjamin Richter
Blog: www.stilinberlin.blogspot.com
Students Mary Sherpe and Benjamin Richter are the creative forces behind fashion blog StilinBerlin, (style in Berlin). They met in Berlin in 2003 and they spot, stop and snap anyone whose outfit catches their eye, then post the photos online.
Mary, what gave you the idea for StilinBerlin?
There were other style blogs out there, but Berlin had nothing like that, yet it claimed to be a fashion city. Berliners have great style.
How do you create the blog?
We meet at a certain place once a week and just walk around with Benjamin’s camera. Most of the photos are taken by him; my job is to choose the outfits. Sometimes we swap roles.
What sort of reactions do you get on the street?
Most people we approach are pleasantly surprised and agree to be photographed. Occasionally we get a rejection. The worst was some chick who said, “Yeah, but what do I get out of this?” and then passed us by.
A female in Florence
Blogger: Melinda Gallo
Blog: www.melindagallo.com
Melinda Gallo is an American writer and web developer who fulfilled her ambition of moving to Florence. Her blog, Living in Florence, is a diary of her new life that doubles as a handy resource for tips on shopping, sightseeing and the arts.
What do you gain from writing a blog?
I’ve made a few wonderful friends through my blog and I find myself appreciating my life in Florence more by writing about it. As Anaïs Nin once said: “We write to taste life twice: in the moment and in retrospection.” I also really enjoy interacting with my readers, who often write to me with various questions about the city.
What sightseeing advice do you give them?
I always suggest that people visit San Miniato, the most beautiful church in Florence. It’s a hike to get there, but well worth the trip. Because Florence bustles with cars and buses, I love to escape to the tranquil Boboli Gardens. My favourite view is from Piazzale Michelangelo. After walking up a large, stone staircase that starts in San Niccolò, you can see all of Florence laid out in front of you.
What is it that you love so much about Florence?
The fact that I could never get bored here. It’s a city where so many events are occurring simultaneously and yet it’s still small enough that when I walk down the street I’m guaranteed to run into someone I know.
bloggers’ accessories
the T-shirt
If your wardrobe doesn’t include at least a few
T-shirts featuring blog-related jokes, you’re so
last century. To get in on the action, Hot Topic
has a wide selection of blogging T-shirts and it
delivers internationally.
www.hottopic.com
the guide
The Rough Guide to Blogging (€14.30) and The Rough Guide to MySpace and Online
Communities (€13.95) show you how to start a
successful blog or find the ones that’ll interest
you, with recommendations and advice on
everything in the blogosphere, as it’s called.
www.amazon.com
the award
Now in their seventh year, the Bloggies are the
Oscars of the blogosphere, and winning one is
widely recognised as the one of the best
indicators that your blog has made it. Every
January, thousands of entries are whittled
down to 30 winners by a public vote.
www.2007.bloggies.com
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