Interview with Josh of Josh's World

Back in the heyday of blogs, it was fun finding new blogs, commenting on their posts, and then asking to exchange links. At some point (at least 8 years ago!), either I discovered Josh's World (not the original name) or Josh discovered my blog. I've followed Josh's blog over the years as he's gone from a single guy to now married with a daughter. While Josh writes about his personal life, he also regularly writes about sports, books, movies, and even politics. I'm always amazed by how prolific a writer he is. While I write fewer and fewer posts each year, Josh continues to put out high quality (and quantity) posts. In honor of this accomplishment, I bestowed Josh's World the Best Blog of 2016.

I thought it would be fun to interview Josh about his blog, how he became a blogger and more. Enjoy!

What inspired you to start writing a blog?

AOL Instant Message (RIP!)...I used to write really long Away Messages. Sometimes they would be multi-part rants, which led me to starting a livejournal. Unfortunately that turned into just me complaining about work and people I knew. I discovered that I actually enjoyed writing, but I hated the format of LJ and the direction most of my posts took. I decided to give blogger a shot and well, that was almost 12 years ago.

How do you find time to write so much?

I ignore my wife and kid. Okay, just kidding. Blogging is a hobby, so I like to write once Payton goes to sleep (and my wife usually falls asleep about the same time). Even when I work very early, I cannot go to sleep that early, so I tend to watch something on TV and write for a bit. Obviously my posting level has decreased the last few years, but I still try to find time to write whenever I can.

You write about a wide variety of topics, some of which may be considered controversial. (Basically, some of your political posts.) What type of feedback have you received from some of these posts?

Usually the feedback is positive. However, I think some of my political posts have put a strain on familial relationships. Many of my relatives believe I hate them for their political beliefs (or that I am an idiot for being on the opposite side). My one cousin will not speak to me anymore over it. Kind of sad, I never meant for anyone to take offense, nor were those posts aimed at any specific person. I post my opinion, I try to explain why I believe a certain thing, but I guess some people think I am being condescending.

You shared many personal posts about topics like your wedding, the birth of your daughter, and her experiences growing up. Are there topics that you consciously decided not to write about?

Honestly, I never really consider anything out of bounds. I suppose that since only my friends and family really read my blog that it makes it a bit easier to be free. I have learned over the years to make sure people are okay with me writing about them. I also realize that as Payton gets older, she may not appreciate me writing about her. I guess I will cross that bridge when we get to it.

Do you have a favorite post or subject during the history of Josh's World?

The post I wrote about my dad is probably the one I consider to be my best. My story about Payton's birth is also great. The posts about our wedding were also so much fun to write, especially the one about all the craft projects we did and the work we put in to make the day perfect. However my favorite posts are some of the larger projects, particularly my baseball posts. I put a ton of research into them and then write like 3000 words before I realize that like three people will probably read the post. Oh, and my silly post about Albania, which has some fairly interesting comments from Albanians who took offense.

Finally, we have been in several fantasy leagues together over the years. Does it get tiring losing to me so often?

Hmm, I don't know...I will let you know if I ever actually lose to you.

For the record, You've also lost to me in fantasy sports many times!

And oh yeah, you beat me one time back in 2012. Hahaha


Make sure you check out Josh's World and you can follow him on Twitter here.