“Life in the Fast Lane,†a blog has literal roots attached to it as it represents the business of Fast Lane Transport, Ltd. located in Edmonton, Alberta. But Deborah, our elite blogger and the primary writer of the blog draws no limits to her delivery at “LITFL.â€Â It features her interest in art, the odd, the unusual, offbeat news, weird sciences, her little business and even trucking-:)
Readers spend minutes at her blog and you will get to see to know her better. Good if you can spare time and she her more active side of personality across social networking communities – undoubtedly a great stumbler!
Google ‘Deborah Petersen’ and you will get to read
Get away from the every day
Come away with me!
To Life in the Fast Lane
Will take you far,
Far away!
To places
You have never been!
I will show you things
You have never seen!
I will tell you things
You have never heard!
Soar freely
As a bird!
I will make you laugh!
I will make you cry
Tears of joy!
Come journey with me to life!
In the Fast Lane
As recommended by Kurt Kohlstedt from Web Urbanist , I happen to ask Deborah for honoring us by being our elite blogger and my cheerful friend gave her confirmation in to time.
Here she goes:
1) Is there any niche that you maintain while posting articles on your blog or are they random picks that complements the unusualness of readers? Why have you named it “Life in the Fast Lane� Are the implications sarcastic, realistic or ….?
Basically, anything that I post about is of something unusual in nature — be it arts, places on our planet, science, technology, and even architecture.
The reason for the name of my blog is quite simple, actually. My husband’s name is Layne, and many of our customers called him Fast Layne, hence the name Fast Lane Transport when we formed our business. The blog was initially to be an off-shoot of our business website, so I named it Life in the Fast Lane.
There are only so many things that you can write about that readers would find interesting for the trucking industry, so much to the chagrin of our webmaster, I began publishing posts on topics that were if interest to me instead.
2) What made you create this platform “Life in the Fast Lane†and how far have you succeeded in sharing your business experiences of Fast Lane Transport.
I had hired Matt Keagan in our early days of our business website as an editor for pages that I had written. Between Matt and our webmaster, they had convinced me that I should start a blog.
I had no writing experience whatsoever, but with Matt’s incredible support, I went ahead with it. He was my mentor when I first started the blog, and we became great friends.
I didn’t have much of an interest to write trucking articles, and decided to write about topics that I’m passionate about or have an interest in. Therein lies much of the success, writing about what I’m ardent over — advice I would offer to any serious blogger.
3) How do you maintain stability at writing front as you deliver articles across diverse areas i.e. humor, art, science, gadgets, business, and other random stuff? (assuming you are a solo writer here)
That’s an easier question to ask than it is to answer, as it may have numerous implications. In regards as to consistency or relevance of topics, as mentioned, most anything that I write about is of an unusual nature.
Yes, I am the solo writer, and in that lies the main issue of stability as far as publishing on a consistent basis goes. I have had the occasional guest blogger write articles, but being a ‘one-man-show’ can take its toll over time.
Bloggers frequently feel the need to meet a self-imposed commitment to publish frequently enough for their readers. My regular posts entail anywhere from 6 to 8 hours to compose from start to finish on average; the more ‘mammoth-style’ posts take anywhere from 2 to 3 days of solid work. Dedication of so much time on a daily basis becomes difficult to meet and highly taxing on many levels. Inevitably, you’re going to burn out, and various other areas of your life may suffer.
I have seen it happen to many others, and have experienced it myself — eventually one needs to take a break from it all. The death of my dear dog a couple of months ago was my reality check. I am currently on hiatus from the blog, drinking in a little more of life, family (including a new puppy), and investing more time in my business. There needs to be a balance to maintain a healthy living and life-style, which is a lot easier said than done ;-)
So my advice to others is to not permit your blogging to completely consume you. Write with passion about topics that you’re interested in, but don’t forget to stop and smell the flowers, so to speak.
4) Pen down your five favorite posts written till date.
It’s difficult to really narrow it down, but here are 5 which quickly come to mind, in no particular order:
The Bizarre Underworld and Lunar Landscape of Cappadocia– a very surrealistic and intriguing land of lost cities.
35 Ghosts of Nature – Albino Animals of the Wild — It’s no secret that I’m a huge animal lover. This is but one of the many posts on animals that I’ve published.
World’s Most Bizarre and Intriguing Water Fountains — who doesn’t love the ‘rush’ and sound of flowing water, especially when it relates to unique artworks?
12 Most Astonishing Hot Springs in the World — I feel that Mother Nature is the most incredible artist above all, and she surely doesn’t disappoint us with her picturesque hot springs.
Shih Tzu – Small Heroes Amongst Us last but far from the least — in fact, probably my favorite — is a tribute that I wrote to my dog Daisy who recently left this plane. It’s one of the rare occasions that I’ve ever published anything of a personal nature, but I also go into providing information not only on shih tzu’s, but about choosing compatible companions, finding reputable breeders, and a must-watch video on puppy mills.
5) Tell us about your â€must-read†or favorite blogs?
I think that I would be derelict if I failed to refer to others who are either friends or acquaintances in my niche whose blogs I enjoy, respect, and admire. I do have a number of others that I have not included, so if some of my friends are reading this, please don’t be offended! Here they are in no specific order:
WebUrbanist— A funky site on topics “from urban design to subversive art and strange architecture.”
Dark Roasted Blend—For the weird and wonderful things to complement your daily coffee ritual.
Deputy Dog: Many wild and zany posts on architecture, engineering, or design.
The Daily Green–Home to my friend Brian C. Howard, “an eco-warrior, home and tips editor, and builder of his own social pyramid in cyberspace.”
Neatorama — they now have an ‘upcoming queue’ for which you can participate in voting on the best submissions which are promoted to their front page.
InventorSpot—Every day is a surprise as to what you will find there, but it’s typically light, fun, and interesting.
6) Quick bites:
1. Hours you invest surfing net:
I’m embarrassed to admit what it used to be, but as of late, several hours per day.
2. Biggest blogging mistake you did:
Accepting an interview for a book on blogging entitled Blogging Heroes; I was horribly misquoted several times, as were others whom I spoke to that were interviewed. Despite requests to make corrections prior to publishing, they were not made, although I was told they had been.
3. One hidden truth: I’m a chocaholic.
4. If asked to post only on one blog (not Lifeinthefastlane), which one would that be?
WebUrbanist; they’re a great bunch, and we have many topic interests in common, sharing a similar niche. In fact, I’ve even referred my friend Steve to them, someone whom I respect and admire as a professional writer and on-line friend — a match made in blogging heaven, in my opinion.
5. Advice you would have given yourself five years ago?
Time passes far too quickly. Stop to take time to enjoy the day, and live in the moment. Each minute you miss is time lost and will not return to you again.
6. If not a blogger then.
An entrepreneur; having lived the lifestyle for many years, it’s the one means of earning an income that that fulfills me.
7. Life without Internet: Harsh. Nearly anything you need to know about can be found on the net.
8. First gadget you kept your fingers upon: My first laptop.
9) Which social networking sites you would recommend to an Internet mammal?
While Digg has had its controversies, it’s the one place where I can find breaking news before I hear about it locally, as well as many interesting articles. The upcoming queue is where it’s all at to find the gems. I rarely look at the front page, as certain sites kind of appear to be favored to ever make it there.
StumbleUpon is also one of my favorites, and an entirely different social media site and environment than Digg. The two are the main sites that I spend my online time at.
8) Whom would you recommend as my next EliteBlogger and Why?
Steve Levenstein, who writes for both WebUrbanist and Inventor Spot. He’s an awesome guy as a person, and never fails to entertain or give you a laugh with his witty and clever writing style on a broad spectrum of off-beat topics, and whacky Japanese inventions.
9) Your turn! I am ready to answer a question for you.
I would really like to know about how and why you started and continue to interview bloggers. I guess that technically constitutes more than one question, but I’m sure your readers would love to hear it as well!
In closing, I’d like to thank you for inviting me for this interview and the opportunity to be here.
Deborah, it was in late 2005 that I ventured into blogging and with days passing, there evolved a curiosity within me as to who all are the faces behind established blogs, what is their mindset, why they started their respective blogs, how they manage their day and many others. Also, I thought it would be a good way to network with co-bloggers and know them personally as we know today-:)
Continuation was bound to happen as the long gap was accidental. Hope things at my end remain in-tact now so that I can do justice to my ongoing series.
I would like to thanks Deborah on behalf of ELITE CHOICE team for sparing out time and considering our proposal of elite blogger and wish her a happy married life ahead.
Cheers!
