Fitbloggin Friday with Katy

It’s time for another Fitbloggin Friday! Scroll down if you want to get right to the good stuff

I stayed up way past my bedtime last night and slept in this morning. So, I ended up going to the gym because it’s raining and doing 2 miles on the treadmill and 20 minutes on the step machine.

On the way home I spotted a new to me Farmer’s Market! I didn’t get anything, but I’m glad to know it’s there!

By the time I got home and showered (I sweat hardcore and smelled in case you were curious) it was 11am!!! I decided to make lunch. Or is it brunch?

What makes it brunch over an early lunch?

I went with pizza. I don’t think pizza is brunch. Eggs benedict is brunch. Pizza is pizza.

On the side I had soup instead of salad. It’s not pretty, but it was delicious! I have a ton of soup and don’t know why I’ve been avoiding it.

It was this soup. I loved it.

Now it’s time for another round of Fitbloggin Friday!!!

This week we are speaking with Katy from KatyWidrick.com

1. How long have you been blogging / why did you start?

I started blogging about food, fitness and random thoughts back in November 2007 — it was on Blogger, on a site called Silly Tater Tot, and was a mess. I didn’t know the first thing about blogging, but I did love to write. I’d recently left my job as a TV news producer, and started working for a start-up. I was passionate about my new work, had big plans for the future and wanted an outlet.

In 4+ years, I’ve completely changed as a blogger. I now give social media and technology tips at my new site, KatyWidrick.com, along with my thoughts on healthy living. I still use the blog as an outlet, but have stopped “lifecasting” and tried to branch out to broader topics.

2. What topic are you speaking about at Fitbloggin?

My co-presenter Jess and I are talking about building a personal brand and why we think it’s so important for bloggers of all audience sizes and genres to really own their own voices and celebrate what makes them unique.

In addition, we’ll be unveiling the results of a really cool Healthy Living Blogger survey, using information that was submitted by more than 300 bloggers.

3.  Why do you think this is an important topic?

I think that a lot of bloggers are intimidated by the idea that they are a brand — they think they have to have 1 million page views a month, or make a ton of money. No matter what your goals are, there are easy ways to make your site both user-friendly and easier to manage. And I don’t think a lot of bloggers get those tips and tricks when they first venture into the blogosphere.

4. You went to Fitbloggin last year – what was your favorite part?

I attended Fitbloggin’ last year and I don’t think it’s an exaggeration that it was the single most important thing I’ve done as a blogger. I posted about it in the days during and after last year’s event but between the panel discussions, the networking and the things I learned, I was compelled to basically start my site over — and it was the best decision I ever made.

Since then, my page views are way up, my community is stronger than ever, and I think I’ve been able to take a leadership role in my particular niche.

In addition, the Fitbloggin’ event sparked the idea that would eventually become the #Fitblog Chats on Twitter, a weekly chat focused on healthy living and blogging. It came because I didn’t want to end the great discussions that we’d started at Fitbloggin’, and it turned out to be a project that has ignited my personal passion, and inspired hundreds of people every week.

5. Anything else we should know about you or your blog?
I love to help connect people, whether it’s to other bloggers, brands or technology…and I’m always open to feedback or debate. On my site, you’ll learn about the best WordPress plugins and 10 things you can do to become a better blogger, but you’ll also see why I love to do dances like hip hop, burlesque and pole dancing and why Food Network is making me crazy with a promo I think its offensive.

I’m vegetarian, I love to run and train for triathlons, I’m married to a beer blogger and I have two big slobbery dogs. I live in Florida but never visit the theme parks and if I could, I’d eat dark chocolate for every meal.

You can check out last week’s Fitbloggin Friday here.

(source)

Question: What makes “brunch” brunch? Time of day? Day (like only on weekends)?

It’s very important that I find this out…you know, so I know if I can also have lunch.