According to Juliette Rossant, “a super chef is an empire-building celebrity chef.” Her blog, SUPER CHEF, highlights the branding and business trends that take an ordinary chef’s career to “super chef” territory. In addition to keeping up-to-date with Rossant’s site, readers can follow her on Twitter @forbie1.

Juliette Rossant of SUPER CHEF

Q: When and why did you start blogging?

A: I started blogging soon after my book, Super Chef (Simon & Schuster 2004) was published.  I wanted to keep up with my subjects:  six of America’s top chefs.  I was also tracking other celebrity chefs.

Q: How do you think your blog stands out amongst blogs of the same genre?

A: SUPER CHEF evolved from blog to magazine in 2007-2008.  Contributors include chefs Norman Van Aken, Jody Adams, Kelley Liken and Nora Pouillon.  I have worked as a journalist for magazines like Forbes:  I strive to have SUPER CHEF reflect that professionalism.

Most food-related blogs cover just that:  food, recipes, restaurant reviews and gossip.  SUPER CHEF covers the businesses and brands of celebrity chefs.  SUPER CHEF analyzes their TV shows, their books and their activities outside the kitchen.  SUPER CHEF has expanded to include articles relevant to kids (alternate Thursdays) and videos we call “Food Flicks” (Fridays).  As editor, I look for broadly food-related news, like Hurricane Katrina (in which emergency food helped victims).  When First Lady Laura Bush started looking for a new executive chef at the White House, SUPER CHEF ran a nationwide poll that helped identify candidates—and predicted Mrs. Bush’s choice. (more…)

Your Life After 25 is a modern survival guide for women navigating through life after turning 25 years old. Blogger Da Vinci provides her readers with helpful and fun tips, including advice for how to dress for a job interview, how to get a guy to notice you and how to make a Chicago hot dog. You can keep up with her on Twitter by following @YourLifeAfter25 along with more than 11,000 others and “Like” her popular Facebook page!

Q: When and why did you start blogging?

A: Unofficially, when I was 16 I started a site called Lady Epiphany, but I didn’t really understand the whole dynamic behind running a site. Officially, I started my original blog, Da Vinci’s Blog Log, which was later known as D.V.B.L in 2007.  I like to think of it as the blue print for what Your Life After 25 is, which launched earlier this year. D.V.B.L. was my baby that taught me a lot of lessons in the blogosphere. The blogging world has grown and changed so much for the better. I’m just happy to have a blog that people receive well, can relate to and learn from. I started blogging because I truly wanted to reach and help people.  Whether it’s through physical appearance or just inspiring others, I wanted to help and build a sense of community among women.

Q: How do you think your blog stands out amongst blogs of the same genre?

A: I like to think of Your Life After 25 as a lifestyle “blogozine”. It stands out because it’s about LIFE; we’re all living life and trying to figure it out, and as our motto states “believe it or not it does go on”. Our name really speaks for itself. So many women experience that pivotal moment in life where they wonder where their lives are going at age 25. For men, it usually happens at 35, lol. We try to address things in life from 25 and over. Our mission is to entertain, educate and inspire. (more…)

Summed up by the Green and Clean Mom‘s own tagline, this blog is the prime spot to learn”how being ‘green’ can be sassy, sexy and fun!” As a environmentally conscious mother of two, blogger Sommer Poquette shares her passion and tips with other moms seeking ways to be more Eco-savvy in their lives. In addition to her blog, Sommer stays in touch with her readers via Facebook, and she frequently updates more than 9,000 followers on Twitter.

Sommer Poquette of Green and Clean Mom

Q: When and why did you start blogging?

A: I started blogging in 2007 when my daughter was four months old. I had no idea what I was doing but I had a vision and went for it! I’ve learned a ton on my own through webinars, books, reading other blogs and attending conferences! It has been fabulous!

Q: How do you think your blog stands out amongst blogs of the same genre?

A: When I first started blogging, there weren’t too many “green” blogs out there! Now there are hundreds upon hundreds – if not thousands. Green and Clean Mom isn’t about judgement or being just “one shade of green,” but it is meant to be real and inspire, motivate and encourage readers wherever they are in their journey to be more eco-friendly.  I think that sets Green and Clean Mom apart from many blogs.

Q: What does your family think of your blogging?

A: They really like what I do, but I had to write a children’s book to explain it! Ha! Ha! At first they did not understand it but after all of these years, they’ve seen my passion and how I’ve turned it into a business  – they are supportive.

Q: Which blogger most inspires you to keep blogging?

A: Oh my! I’m not sure I can answer this question and limit my zillion page list to just one blogger! I attend many blogging conferences and read dozens of blogs and find so much inspiration from amazing women within the community. I think it is the community that inspires me the most, not just one blogger. (more…)

Damn You AutoCorrect’s Jillian Madison has positioned herself as a major player in the world of hilarious blogs. In addition to Damn You AutoCorrect, her hysterical sites include Parent Fails, Food Network Humor, Awkward Names, Parents Shouldn’t Text, My Rough Life, Wrong Number Texts and PopHangover, just to name a few.  Each site highlights one distinctive funny theme, and Damn You AutoCorrect focuses on the weird and amusing miscommunication that occurs when someone’s cell phone accidentally auto corrects the spelling of their text messages.

Q: When and why did you start blogging?

A: I started Pophangover, my flagship pop culture humor website, back in 1999 – and that’s before blogging even existed! Blogging’s come a long way! I had to use static HTML pages and update them constantly, and it was such a time consuming process. I actually started the site as a place to make fun of all the ridiculous things I was observing on TV and in pop culture on a daily basis. Over the past 12 years, the network has expanded to over 12 sites like AwkwardNames.com and WhyDidYouBuyMeThat.com, and I’m adding more every year.

Q: How do you think Damn You AutoCorrect stands out amongst blogs of the same genre?

A: Everyone can relate to it! We all carry cell phones around in our pockets these days. Everyone has either been autocorrected, or knows someone who has. That, and I think the content, is universally funny and relatable by people of all ages. (more…)

Have you ever been cruising through your Facebook News Feed and wondered to yourself, “Is it just me, or is this post completely ridiculous?”  It’s not just you. The founders of Lamebook, Matthew Genitempo and Jonathan Standefer, and their strong following are definitely with you. Matthew and Jonathan appreciate the hilarious photos, status updates and conversations that take place on Facebook so much, they decided to document them on Lamebook starting in April 2009.  Since then, these two Texan graphic designers have updated fans with daily posts of the funny–often unintentional– posts that make it onto Facebook. In addition to checking out Lamebook, fans can enjoy join over 19,000 others by “liking” their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter, where they have more than 21,000 current followers.

Q:  When and why did you start blogging?

A: The idea for Lamebook was born from a few beers and a little bit of
frustration in October of 2008. Matthew and I were just hanging out one
night, talking and joking about all of the dumb content we would see on
our Facebook feeds and decided to start cataloging them just for fun. So
we finally launched the site in April of 2009 and were really happy with
the response.

Q: How do you think your blog stands out amongst blogs of the same genre?

A: We are the original blog to feature all of the funny and bizarre posts
from Facebook and we think the quality of our content and the design of
the website is much better than other copycat sites. (more…)

According to its “About” page, “EcoSalon is the conscious culture and fashion website.” Publisher and Editor, Sara Ost lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she pries herself away from her laptop and EcoSalon just often enough to check out the latest restaurants and hike in the beautiful hills of Marin. She was educated at Pepperdine University and is originally from the Seattle area. Sara and the rest of the Ecosalon crew can be found on Twitter where they are followed by a range of eco-friendly organizations from @WWF to @MotherEarthNews, and on Facebook where they post updates and host contests.

Sara Ost, Publisher and Editor of Ecosalon

Q: How did you decide on the name for EcoSalon?  Could you elaborate on the meaning behind the site’s motto “Have a Heart”?

A: The name credit  goes to a flash of brilliance from one of our founders. You know immediately what the perspective will be (“eco”) and the retro concept of an intellectual gathering (“salon”).

“Have a heart” is about living consciously, fearlessly and fully. We believe green will not go mainstream unless we start with the heart. All the problems we face, from social to economic to environmental woes, will only be resolved when we live in a more conscious way. This doesn’t mean touchy-feely or warm-fuzzy. Having a heart takes courage.

Q: Were there any unexpected joys or pains you experienced when you started blogging?

A: Oh, yes, lots. Pains I didn’t expect: the literal physical pain in my hands from very long hours at the laptop. New media is relentless – you don’t put the edition to bed and go to bed, too, you work nonstop and the goalposts are always moving. For me that’s thrilling, but it can also lend itself to things like constantly apologizing to your friend for not returning her phone call…for a week! There are irreplaceable joys, as well. I’ve had the great fortune of becoming connected to so many talented and good people, personally and professionally, who inspire and push me. Blogging creates an ecosystem of ideas, competition, collaboration and creativity that is breathtaking at times. (more…)

Matt Jordan, author of You Ain't No Picasso

Q:  When did you start blogging, and what was your inspiration?

A: I started blogging in 2004 as a freshman at the University of Kentucky. I was getting into a lot of smaller bands, and the only place to find info about them were music blogs. After reading them for a few months I decided to start one of my own

Q: How did you decide on the name “You Ain’t No Picasso,” and have you ever wished you had chosen a different name?

A: It’s the name of a demo by the band Bishop Allen. Aside from it being a little long, I’m happy with it.
(more…)

According to Wikipedia, movie trailers first appeared in 1913. Since then, they have enjoyed nearly 100 years of loyal cinema-goers who purposely arrive 15-20 minutes before the opening scenes to enjoy the clips of coming attractions. Trailer Addict, born in 2008, recognized this loyal following and dedicated a site to hosting hundreds of trailers from 1950-2008. Brothers Ryan Parsons and Shawn Lewis maintain and update the site regularly with HD videos. In their words, “Trailer Addict has been built not for those who like a good trailer now and then, but those who understand that the need to watch trailers is a state of mind.” Their vast Twitter following ranges from @DisneyPixar and @UniversalPics, and over 11,000 self-labeled trailer addicts follow their Facebook page. The following features Ryan’s responses to our questions about Trailer Addict.

Q: Trailer Addict seems to cater to a niche crowd; what was the inspiration behind the site?

A: At the time of TrailerAddict’s launch back in January of 2008, there were not yet any video sites offering embeddable HD or even high-res video. Trailer Addict was one of the first to do so. This of course has changed over the past couple years, though Trailer Addict still works to match up HD bitrates with today’s Internet users.

Q: Do you handle your blog software yourself, or does someone else do it?

A: Trailer Addict was developed from the ground up with no blog software working as the backbone. Each component to the site has a particular purpose with no resources going to mundane functions. Since Trailer Addict is process oriented, it enables the quickest loads possible. The site is now run and edited directly by site admins with all work being done in-house. (more…)

Bee Lavender heads up the staff at HipMama, a popular and respected parenting magazine. The distinguished writer, publisher, and activist keeps fans updated at her personal site, Foment.net. Her books include Lessons in Taxidermy, Breeder, and Mamaphonic. Although originally from the Pacific Northwest, she currently lives in England with her family.  HipMama enjoys a loyal following of like-minded moms on both Twitter and Facebook.

Bee Lavender, Publisher of HipMama.com

Q: When did you start blogging, and what inspired you to start?

A: I was a first-generation web designer, and I’ve kept an online journal since about 1995. I was surprised when the word “blog” emerged from the ether. Hipmama.com has been around since 1997. Since 2002 I have also kept a personal blog at www.foment.net, in which I talk about emigrating and starting a life in a new country. (more…)