Finding humor in
blogs I review

Blog Interrogation: Necessary Skills

Welcome Peter to Blog Interrogation. Time to relax, lose the fear and let us know about your blog and your approach to blogging. You have the skills we need to know. Go!

The hardest question first. What is the name of your website, and can you pick one feature or story to illustrate the flavor of the site to newcomers?

My name is Peter Haslam and the site is Necessary Skills. 90% of the posts are about perspective and thinking skills and I feel the post on 5 Top Self-Help Myths would be typical

This is a killer question if you are a perfectionist. In the history of the site, if there were one thing you could change, or one decision you could reverse, what would it be?

Being new to blogging I am pretty happy with the growth of the blog after 2 and half months to pagerank of 3 and a Technorati of 31,000. I didn't know how much I would enjoy interacting with my readers and how may friends I have made. I can't think of anything different for this site.

Would you ever consider changing the name of your site to reflect the passing of time? For instance, after reading The Onion, I compared the first posts with the latest, & the name Has Bean sprang to mind. What do you think in your case?

I was thinking of it but Ilker has thethinkingblog locked up! Not really, as my current title has flexibility to move in any direction as thinking is a necessary skill.

Back on track, how many has beens, I mean, writers, does it take to create your site? And how much do they earn per hour?!

The only writer is me. Fortunately I can wear many thinking hats at the risk of being called schizophrenic!! The pay is zip. Not a smart move on my part so I guess it's for love.

Finally, if you could get an article published on any website on earth, other than your own, which would it be, and why?

Two come to mind. Seth Godin or Guy Kawasaki because I admire their unorthodox thinking and I am sorry Ed that would place The Pisstakers third choice for the same reason.

Ed extracts the bones from the blog interrogation

Thanks, Peter, for being so forthright under pressure. Your martial arts training helped you out big time.

You are to be commended for both the title (which is very flexible) and the quality of the content you write. You appear to actually practice what you preach, which is more than can be said for Guy Kawasaki, who doesn't seem to mention motorbikes anywhere!!

I was going to congratulate you on your 31k Technorati ranking, but the figure you quoted is but a transitory illusion. Now you are simply known as number 30106. How does it feel living under ranking circumstances beyond your control? What skills are you going to employ when they change the status quo yet again? Good luck.

So, who is next up? Prepare to experience a rare site, of a woman consuming Snowman Poop.

You don't have to be a freak like IESP to send me the answers to these questions. I am looking for short, sharp and to-the-point responses with a few backlinks for good measure. Several have already been submitted by several sensible bloggers. Their story is coming your way soon. Join the interrogation party.