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I started Prettygreentea many years ago, around 8 or 9 I believe. Before that I had other blogs, some were on LiveJournal, one on MySpace\u00a0and then there was\u00a0my very first one\u00a0on Geocities – anyone remember that platform?<\/p>\n
I’m a huge fan of blogging – all formats. On a website, micro-blogging, podcasts, vlogging – I love it all. Blogging has helped me to build upon my confidence, find like-minded people, make fab friends and has generally given me a push to continually document my life and learn new skills.<\/p>\n
Prettygreentea was created while I was bored and studying for my finance exams at university. I was keen on photography, often took photos at nightclubs and did a little street-photography in Manchester. I wanted to find a way to learn everything I could about photography. I’d never studied\u00a0creative subjects and was even told I wasn’t a creative person at school – how times have changes.<\/p>\n
As I was getting more and more into photography I was using LiveJournal regularly and many of my online friends there were making blogs to document their daily outfits. I decided to jump ship\u00a0from LJ and create a stand-alone blog. That blog was Prettygreentea \u00a0– a place to document the new chapters in my life, the things I learn and the places I visit.<\/p>\n
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At the time I can remember my university friends being very confused about the concept of blogging. Many of them didn’t ‘get<\/em>‘ why I’d spend my evenings documenting my life, editing photos and sharing it on a website. That’s the thing, this was my very own website, my very on space on the internet and something I had full control over. I loved it and all these years on\u00a0Prettygreentea has evolved and become one of my main income streams which I think is very cool.<\/p>\n Blogging is something I’m very proud of and I love encouraging my friends and family to get involved with it. It’s really not hard to get started with blogging and as I said in a recent post, there are no\u00a0rules<\/a>. Actually,\u00a0West Host have some\u00a0fab tips on how to make your own website<\/a>. It’s well worth having a read, especially if my blog post inspires you to set up your own blog.<\/p>\n Here are 8 skills I’ve improved upon through blogging:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n How to network<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n It can be quite daunting heading off to a blogger event where you don’t know anyone. These days I often see a face I know but not always. So, as the years have gone by I’ve thrown myself out of my comfort zone and found ways to spark a conversation with new people. The beauty of blogging events is that we all share that one common interest so the conversations tend to lead from there.<\/p>\n The basics of HTML\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n I started learning the basics of HTML years ago. I’ve never fully committed myself to taking it further but having the knowledge to dive into the back end of my blog and fix problems or change the way it looks is very useful. One of my biggest downfalls is that I want to learn everything and in reality I can’t so having a base knowledge in most things is very satisfying.<\/p>\n How to tell a story through photos<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n I share regular posts documenting my day simply through photos. I start with photographing my morning coffee, my outfit and make my way through the day and snap a couple of photos each hour. It’s a fun little project to do and a good way to document the\u00a0day.<\/p>\n How to edit photographs<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n I didn’t go to school at a time where Photoshop was taught in schools. I was just before that. So my generation basically figured out the internet by simply doing – one of the best ways to learn in my opinion. So, having a blog made me want to create collages or change the colours in a photo and because I had to do it, I did. The best way to figure something out is by going to Google and searching for what you want to do. There are so many tutorials out there.<\/p>\n Becoming self-aware\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Throughout school, college and university I was always trying to be someone I wasn’t. I thought it was what I needed to do to ensure people liked me. It turns out that finding people with the same interests and like you for you is the best way to go about things. That’s why I love the internet so much – it opened me to a world of new people.<\/p>\n The importance of adapting to change\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n This is something that is important in all aspects of life. It’s through blogging that I’ve really leant how to embrace change though. The digital world moves fast. Trends come and go, social media channels are always popping up and it’s so important to never be left behind.<\/p>\n Time management\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Having multiple social media channels, a blog, YouTube channel and working full and part time jobs over the years has made me really prioritise time management. Again, this has always been something that I’ve been good at but blogging has helped me to take my time management skills to the next level.<\/p>\n Improving my self-confidence\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n This links in with learning to network. There have been so many situations within blogging that have taken me outside of my comfort zone. Many things I worried about but when I finally got around to doing them I loved them. Blogging helped me to find something I was good at which in-turn gave me confidence in myself and the content I create.<\/p>\n There are many more skills I’ve learnt and developed upon over the years but these are some of the key ones.\u00a0I love to learn and I’m pleased to say that I still find myself learning everyday through Prettygreentea. In the year ahead I hope to learn more about making videos, video editing and as always, continue to develop\u00a0my skills within photography.<\/p>\n