Kozue and Akina: Here’s why we blog

Kozue and Akina are Japanese bloggers living in Norway. They recently came to a Vivaldi open-doors event in Oslo and met with the team.

We asked Kozue and Akina why they blog and who reads their blogs.

Kozue: “I started blogging in 2013. I felt like starting a diary about my working holiday in Norway. My blog is about daily stuff.”

Akina: “I also started my blog when I decided to move to Norway. I wanted to share my life in Norway with others. It’s mainly about my life in Oslo. I try to write somewhat exclusive stories about lifehack tips such as how to go through border formalities, how to travel abroad cheaply or how to volunteer. But it’s usually just a diary.”

Kozue started blogging when she moved to Norway for a working holiday.

What topics go down well with the Japanese readers?

Kozue: “Giving birth abroad, raising a child abroad, and all sorts of things about Norway like food and living here. I guess people who know about Norway through the ‘Nordic boom’ might be interested in Japanese people living in Norway. It might be an extra push that my marriage is an international one.”

Akina: “I think the topics that go down well with the Japanese readers are about how to live cheaply here. Things like the fact that you can go to Sweden for 10 Euros or “If you want to find a good deal, here is the place!” and so on. Thoughtful in-depth articles go down well too. Since we have very little information about Norway, I think people who are looking for extraordinary stories would be the ones that are reading my blog. It’s difficult to find another blog that talks about what my blog covers, so I guess almost all the readers are also living in Norway or thinking about taking a working holiday here.”

Kozue and Akina talk to Takaaki from Vivaldi.
Kozue and Akina talk to Takaaki from Vivaldi.

Do you sometimes write about technology? What’s your impression of Vivaldi?

Kozue: “I occasionally read about technology but don’t write about it. It’s the kind of browser that gets more and more interesting as I go along. As far as the company is concerned, I’d love to work here. The atmosphere made me imagine what it would be like working here and I felt excited just imagining all this. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to get to know Vivaldi!”

Akina: “I don’t read or write about technology at all! But after I learned about Vivaldi, I’ve been thinking about digging more into the world of technology using Vivaldi! It was such a nice experience! I was touched by how Jon von Tetzchner treats all the users. Takaaki was very eloquent when he talked about the company, so I can imagine what a great company Vivaldi is. As for the browser, I tried using it a bit when I first download it, but I didn’t have enough motivation to go into the detailed settings or to study how I should use it. Sorry for being lazy. But after learning about the browser today, I’m impressed how useful it is! It was amazing that all the things that bother me about my current browser got resolved with Vivaldi. That’s why I think people who don’t know about Vivaldi are wasting their time. I first thought it was a browser for nerds, but I’m sure it could get widely accepted by computer amateurs or the general public. So I’ll do all I can to promote it.”

3 reasons to start a blog

Bloggers today continue to share their opinions and bring us a variety of topics and viewpoints, much like Jorn Barger, the author of the first blog, did 20 years ago. But why do they do it?

Blogging can be a worthwhile pursuit. A personalized blog is a great way to engage with friends and followers. It brings together people who are interested in the same topic, think alike and support each other. Blogging is really about building a community. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise that giving our community a great blogging platform is important to us.

Logging the web one blog at a time

The first blog – short for “weblog” – appeared 20 years ago and was published by Jorn Barger, an American who liked to “log the web” as he browsed. Barger shared his thoughts and findings in the Robot Wisdom Weblog where his pet subjects were AI, tech, the Internet and… James Joyce. Bloggers today continue to share their opinions and bring us a variety of topics and viewpoints, much like Barger did. But why do they do it?

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

According to one report, blogging often brings a sense of purpose to bloggers’ lives and work. Bloggers usually get started with a goal of becoming self-employed or having an outlet for creative expression. Personal development, entrepreneurship, small business, online business, productivity, marketing, and lifestyle are some of the topics bloggers write about according to the same report.

Spread the knowledge

Many bloggers publish on subjects they are passionate about. If their posts are timely and informative, they can build a following and get recognition in their area of expertise. Established bloggers often get invited to events like meetups, workshops and product launches, which bring fresh opportunities for exchanging ideas.

Influence your field

Writing a blog gives people a platform from which they can broadcast their thoughts and ideas to the world. Often, bloggers write because they are trying to make a difference. Thanks to bloggers a lot of ideas are shared and evolve. Blogging can bring very tangible results too. Influencing public policy is a good example of this.

Present a plethora of perspectives

Blogs often present different, little known perspectives that the media may not be interested in or does not have the resources to cover. Messages published by bloggers can amplify so fast that a certain responsibility comes with being a blogger. Both accuracy and authenticity are pretty important if you don’t want your writings to be labeled as “fake news”.

Blogs vs vlogs

Are vlogs the new blogs? Hard to say, but creating blogs and vlogs requires a very different set of skills, not to mention equipment. Blogs are easy to set up, and there is no specific technical knowledge that is required to do so. Blogging platforms like Vivaldi’s are free and all you need to start blogging is a computer hooked up to the internet. Many bloggers share that writing didn’t come to them naturally at first, but they got better at it as they practiced through writing their blogs.

Vlogging on the other hand needs a lot of equipment, such as an advanced video camera that records in high-definition and professional editing software. Being on camera is also not everyone’s cup of tea.

Thinking of starting a blog? Head over to Vivaldi.net and create your blog. I can’t wait to see what people are passionate about!