August 2006

Dear Sir,

Yes, you. The idiot driving the way-bigger-than-it-needs-to-be pickup truck with the “holy-crap-I-wish-I-could-see-out-my-rear-view-mirror!” cap on the back and the oh-so-elegant gun rack. While I appreciate that you, sir, are obviously a busy man, I feel like you and I need to have a quick chat about following the rules of the road.

Now, I don’t know what sort of trailer park you obtained your (possibly falsified) driver’s license from, but here in Ontario we like to do things a certain way. And that way, my good friend, is the safe way. I feel the need to point out that, while driving erratically across every lane of traffic may be considered “safe” in the back woods of so-small-it-ain’t-even-on-the-map-ville, there are times when you may want to adjust your driving habits. Especially when your companions on the road are human beings and not small woodland creatures.

Today was one of those times.

So, next time your lane is ending and you feel the sudden urge to cause myself, as well as the two cars behind me, to suddenly “field-test” our braking mechanisms, do humanity a favour and just drive your car into the nearest guardrail.

Thanks.

The last five months have been a time of great personal change for Olav Bjorkoy, both online and off. In that short time, the 20-year-old designer from Lillehammer, Norway has completed a mandatory, year-long military service, undertaken five years of study to become a civil engineer, and launched a highly-successful weblog. In short — he’s a busy guy.

Focusing on topics close to him — writing, photography, and coding — his weblog has garnered a large amount of attention in a short period of time. With a killer single-column layout and extensive, easy-to-read articles, it’s easy to see why. Accepted into the 9rules network during round four, Olav has truly proven that, on any site, content is king. And, when it comes to content, he is truly an exciting, young writer to watch.

BG: You recently finished your service as a journalist in the Norwegian navy, how does it feel to be back to civilian life?

OB: It’s great to be back! In Norway, one year of military service is compulsory if you get selected, and I wasn’t too happy when I found out that I was amongst the chosen. But the year turned out pretty good, and I learned a lot through my job as a journalist (although it felt like I was in marketing most of the time).

BG: Your weblog was accepted into the 9rules network during round four. What has the experience been like? How has becoming a member helped your site?

OB: In short, humbling. I get a lot of traffic without them asking for anything in return, and they’ve also put me in touch with lots of people who share my interests. It has been great writing for a big audience, as my blog was pretty stale traffic-wise before I became a member.

The fact that I now have more readers has also led to more clients, which of course only makes me even more grateful towards the network. And I’m not even required to speak fondly of them in interviews, so this is no mindless plugging.

BG: Since its inception, your weblog has consistently featured well-written articles. What sort of writing process do you have?

OB: Thanks, I’m glad to hear that.

Every article I write evolves while I write it. I normally start with an idea, something I want to say, or think would be of value to the reader, but the article never end up the way I envisioned it.

I think it’s easier to structure your own thoughts if you write them down. Because of this, I’ve often written entire articles, just to discover that I disagree with what I just wrote. So every article I write is a learning process for me, which I think is great.

BG: How would you sum up your experience in the navy? Is journalism a career you hope to pursue, or does life hold something different for Olav Bjorkoy?

OB: Boredom was a common theme in the navy, with a lot of spare time to spend within the confines of the naval base. However, because of my job, the experience was quite unlike what I thought it would be. I learned a lot, both good and bad, but I’m still hesitant to say that I’m glad I got selected to serve.

I just embarked on five years of studies to become a civil engineer in communication technologies, so no, journalism is not a career I’m pursuing. However, I’m trying to find some freelance work, and will of course continue writing at my blog.

BG: By most standards, you are fairly new to the blogging scene. However, your site has been very successful in a short time. What sort of advice would you give to other bloggers and writers?

OB: Yeah, I’m quite new as a blogger, but I’ve been lurking the blogging scene for many years. Now that I’ve started blogging, I can’t understand why it has taken me so long. So that would be my first piece of advice: Start blogging sooner than later, it’s a great experience no matter what.

The second piece of advice would be to focus on your content, not your traffic. Keep dishing out quality articles, and don’t get too upset when the comment counter never exceeds zero, because if you do this, traffic will come to you. Keep producing stuff that is of value to others, and great opportunities like getting digg’ed or being accepted into a network will come.

I would also advice that one should not underestimate the importance of your blog’s design. The design is what sparks the readers interest upon first visit, and a very important factor in what your audience thinks of you. If they think your design is great, they are more likely to believe that what you write is great as well. After all, you don’t take design advice from someone who’s design you don’t like.

Lastly, replying to comments is very important. I know that I feel very appreciated when a site’s author takes the time to respond to my comment, and I’m much more likely to leave another one.

Assuming all has gone well, the image of Ekonoline’s first re-design (codenamed E2) should be entering your eyeballs at this very moment. In an effort to bring the site’s focus back to the entries, I’ve trimmed the design down to a single column, removed the sidebar, and removed or modified many other elements.

While the design is close to complete, it still needs a little tweaking here and there. If you notice any major bugs or problems, feel free to let me know about them by posting a comment. I hope to post an article outlining the direction I plan on taking with Ekonoline and the new design but, in the meantime, I need to thank a few different people.

First off, many thanks to Olav Bjorkoy. While he didn’t have anything to do with E2 directly, his blog has been a huge influence on me, in terms of his writing style and ability, his design skills, and his attitude. I’ve conversed with him through e-mail a couple of times now and he’s truly a writer to watch. In that spirit, watch Ekonoline for an interview with the man himself in the coming weeks.

Next, I need to thank the crew over at K2. Through their continued efforts, they have produced the most impressive theme to grace a Wordpress-fueled site. It is easy to use, easy to customize, and it provided the base code for this very site.

Like most students, I rarely leave the house without my MP3 player. Having recently purchased a new 8GB Creative Zen Micro Photo, I’m able to carry my entire music collection — and then some. In this new feature, I’d like to share the songs which are catching my ear each week.

1. illScarlett “Heaters”
2. The Raconteurs “Steady, As She Goes”
3. Mint Royale “Singing in the Rain”
4. Lady Sovereign “A Little Bit of Shhh (Smallstars Remix)”
5. Weezer “I Swear it’s True”