Kaminoge of Sponge Bear was a co-winner of the peer-judged award for best general blog in the 2010 Taiwan Best Blog Awards. Taiwanderful also interviewed Kaminoge last year.
Blogger – Kaminoge
About the blogger – I’m an expat English teacher trying to raise a family in a foreign (to me, anyway) land. Hiking helps keep me sane!
Blogs – Sponge Bear
Years in Taiwan – It will be five years this September
Years blogging – I started in late July 2006
Blogging platform – LiveJournal
Country of Origin – United States
Age – Post-baby boomer with dim memories of the Sixties, but definitely a product of the Seventies
Your blog often features stories about places you travel with your daughter. What's it like bringing up children in Taiwan?
Taiwan is a very child-friendly place, though I am concerned about traffic safety, both when driving with my daughter in the car, and especially when crossing the street. As the parent of a bi-cultural child, I also pay close attention to how my daughter is perceived by those around her (though my wife might argue that I’m overly sensitive about these matters). So far there haven’t been any problems, and my daughter seems to fit right in at her kindergarten. I do have to be on guard, however, against the occasional child-snatching attempt (http://kaminoge.livejournal.com/120907.html)
What are some interesting things you have written about on your blog in the past year?
The entries that I like to go back to again are the ones about places I’ve visited (like here: http://kaminoge.livejournal.com/163167.html). I can’t stand staying indoors on weekends, and I also look forward to getting out of Taiwan a couple of times a year (usually once back home to the States, and the other time to Japan). One of the more interesting postings, however, was probably the one I wrote on the supposed “uniqueness” of Taiwan (http://kaminoge.livejournal.com/160889.html).
What kind of feedback or reactions have you got to your blog?
Mostly I get comments that say something nice about my daughter or of a place that I had described on one of my free-time outings, which I always appreciate. However, I do get these occasional nasty comments (always anonymous, of course), which can get creepy at times. Recently, I’ve been the unwilling recipient of some strange spam.
How do you think social media like Facebook and Twitter complement or influence your blogging?
I’m not on Twitter, but I am on Facebook. Whenever I post something on my blog, the entry gets linked to my Facebook account, which certainly results in more visitors.
Do you have any advice for new bloggers?
Don’t let the trolls get under your skin. I enjoy sparring with them, but if you don’t, just delete their rants, and get on with writing about things that interest you.
What are some of your favorite Taiwan blogs?
http://thedailybubbletea.com/
http://blog.taiwan-guide.org/
http://www.thenhbushman.com/
http://www.patrick-cowsill.blogspot.com/
http://taiwanincycles.blogspot.com/
http://michaelturton.blogspot.com/
