Blog Spotlight: Tara Settembre of Tara Met Blog

Tara Renee Settembre, author of TaraMetBlog (TaraMetBlog.com), ranked on the Blogebrity B-List for her insightful blogs on any and everything from celebrities to homemade apple sauce and onions in a blender.

She lives in Los Angeles, California (though is still a New York girl at heart) and is currently working in tech PR. Tara has received her masters in journalism at NYU and has been accumulating a vast number of published articles on the web.

Her blog has been in existence for two years this month and she has written a grand total of 330 posts. She even did the math, which comes out to about 165 posts per year, and an average of 14 posts per month. Starting and maintaining a blog is almost a full-time job, but can be either a tedious obligation or something that comes as naturally as a journal. For better or for worse, a blog is a time-consuming commitment, but Tara wouldn't give it up for the world.

I was lucky enough to contact Tara, who was willing to give me a few words of wisdom.

Who or what first got you interested in blogging?

In 2004, my professor at NYU Graduate School of Journalism, Adam Penenberg encouraged me to start blogging to help develop my voice and be a part of the new media. Then it became highly addictive and I couldn't stop. I soon started getting regular visitors and commenters and I valued their instant feedback on my posts and strived to make my site more popular.

When did you first start blogging?

I started blogging Oct 12, 2004.

What is the best part about blogging, for you?

I especially like that my blog keeps me writing on an almost daily basis and has changed me as a writer. I look back on my early blog posts and can see how much my writing and focus has changed. At first my blogging was awkward, until I hit my grove a few months in and figured out it's MO-not surprisingly this was when my blog's traffic started to boom. Blogging also allows me to self publish and has led to other online writing gigs too.

You mentioned other online writing gigs. Do you have any favorite sites or sites you contribute to regularly?

I'm also a staff writer/reviewer at FilmSchoolRejects.com and have contributed guest blogs at several other sites.

What are your other interests?

I like attending fun events around the city, exploring new restaurants and cities, for example I recently drove across country (I blogged about it of course). I'm also a big fan of the Yankees, pop-culture and like seeing new films and catching up on my DVR. I ski, sail, play softball and belong to a wine club and a book club. I've also seen every film on the American Film Institute's 100 best films list.

Where do you get inspiration for your blogs?

My inspiration is… whatever strikes me really. I share my adventures, mishaps and observations as well as my views, which include everything from the mundane to the serious. I usually try my ideas out on my friends first and if they find it interesting or funny then I'll expound on them on my site for my readers, starting a viral discussion. I especially like sharing self-deprecating stories from my life, since it can be very therapeutic and fun to laugh at myself too.

What's the strangest thing you've ever blogged? Any favorite posts?

The strangest thing I ever blogged about? Hmm I guess when I wrote about getting stuck doing yoga while wearing a thong, which just proves how random and personal my posts can be sometimes. The post was called Downward Facing Thong: http://awards5.tripod.com/tarasblog/index.blog?entry_id=1522756

My favorite posts can be located below at:

Answering machine woes, or why I suck at leaving messages
http://awards5.tripod.com/tarasblog/index.blog?entry_id=1143115

Photo Essay: The Doors of Lower Manhattan
http://awards5.tripod.com/tarasblog/index.blog?entry_id=1313354

Teri, euthanasia and my sister
http://awards5.tripod.com/tarasblog/index.blog?entry_id=1037472

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang & my dance with Robert Downey, Jr.
http://awards5.tripod.com/tarasblog/index.blog?entry_id=1277375

I left my cell in Hoboken
http://awards5.tripod.com/tarasblog/index.blog?entry_id=1028683

Tribeca Film Festival
http://awards5.tripod.com/tarasblog/index.blog?entry_id=1469500

It certainly helps to have a full schedule of events to blog! Any tips for up-and-coming bloggers?

Don't try too hard, whenever I force myself to write a post it's never received as well and are never as good as the ones that just come out naturally. In terms of topics and narrative, I've learned through my 300+ posts what works and what doesn't work for me through trial and error. I usually avoid anything too political since I know that's not what my readers are coming to read about and I'm no expert, so I always try to think about what they would find interesting and not just what I want to write.

Thank you for your time and good luck with your blog!