GQ Japan article about Boing Boing

(Click on thumbnail for enlargement) I was interviewed by GQ Japan a while back.

Here's a translation (courtesy of Ben List):

"bOING bOING" began before the word "blog" began appearing circa 2000. Mark Frauenfelder has reached the top position in the world of bloggers. We flew to LA to hear his secret.

1. The power of persistance

"We started early, and found our readership. It was really just lucky." he says modestly, however the popularity of the site is largely due to "frequent updating." Though "bOING bOING" was essentially started by Mark, he now collaborates with three writer friends contributing material from their various fields of interest.

"The readership of a blog is proportional to how frequent one is able to update." Frauenfelder spends only two hours a day on the blog, however is able to keep the content fresh with the aid of his partners.

2. Curiosity and the spirit of fun

"bOING bOING's" core staff are all professional writers having gained experiences writing for such publications as "Wired." "By nature, our curiosity is twice that of most people and are able to keep the content fresh." In their search for interesting content they do daily searches through magazines, newspapers, nerdy trade publications, and the internet. There was never any intention of making a profit (with "bOING bOING"), so they are driven mainly by "simply having fun with it." Unlike traditional media, the instant feedback of publishing on the internet, and direct contact with the readership is also part of the appeal. "The improvisational aspect (?) is as addictive as an adrenaline rush"

3. No compromising to advertisers or to readers

While they haven't created a corporation in the traditional way, "bOING bOING" has become a true business. With 200,000 hits daily from inside and outside the U.S., the company made $20,000 in advertisements from skateboard brand and a T-Shirt company in March, however maintaining an independent spirit is the the most important thing.

"We have been known to criticize corporations, but we don't kowtow to our advertisers. The popularity of the site was earned by writing what we want, but we aren't looking to change anything for our readers.

4. The key is in community collaboration

"The best part is the spirit of being able to share your thoughts and what interests you with the readers and community" Frauenfelder says. Communication with other bloggers has been the key to increasing the readership. By trading links with other blogs, communication becomes much more active, and traffic to and from the site increases. "The world of blogs is made up of innumerable tiny islands in a vast ocean all communicating with each other. It's the ultimate success for a blog to become part of that community."