Mum on the rocks: «If you blog, you don't need any more guides!»
Mrs Bonini, why do you blog about something as private as being a mother?
I've actually always written - my need to communicate is probably great. In 2009, I wrote the guest column in Blick am Abend and was repeatedly asked to continue writing. At some point, I resigned because I had my first child. The editor said: «Why don't you write a blog, that's what everyone's doing now.» I'd never given it much thought, but I'd always made a few notes about my life as a working mum. Then I started reading blogs and was thrilled: you don't just write a blog like that out into nirvana - other parents reply here, give help and feedback. So I started blogging too - and since then I've never had to deal with parenting guides again.
How do you draw the line: what is too private for the blog?
It's actually a constant balancing act. My children have fake names on the blog and are also protected to a certain extent by the fact that they don't have the same surname as me. I also never photograph them head-on and up close. Now that my daughter is at school, I've also changed the way I write. I now avoid writing about her and any problems she might have, instead focussing more on myself and how I feel about it. For example, I recently wrote about what it did to me when she said to me: «Sometimes I feel like you're just sending me to school so you can work.» And then there are topics that are basically taboo for me. I would never write about illnesses or relationship problems. Or about grandparents and other relatives. Because they read along... Just like some other parents in the village. So of course I don't write about other parents' children either.
Has everything really always happened as it says in your blog?
Yes and no. I don't write a diary, I tell stories. Sometimes, for example, I summarise the experiences of several days in one day. And my stories have a punchline. I don't invent anything, but I do classic storytelling.
How networked and professional is the parent blogger scene in Switzerland?
Compared to Germany, we are quite behind. There are a lot of hobby bloggers here who simply share their cake recipes, for example, but don't necessarily want to earn money with their blog. Then there are a few isolated big names. It bothered me that the bloggers are not so well connected, so last year I launched the first Swiss Blog Family together with Katharina Bleuer. Last year we had around 40 participants, this year there should already be 100, and we have brought Martin Rechsteiner on board as the third co-organiser. I'm delighted that friendships were made at the conference that will continue offline.
What happens at a conference like this? Is it also interesting for parents who don't have a blog?
The conference is for bloggers and those who are thinking about blogging. This year's theme is «Blogs - hobby or profession?». There will be presentations by well-known bloggers, workshops on search engine optimisation, crowdfunding and much more. And in between, of course, plenty of time to get to know each other and chat.
Now we are naturally curious: can you make a living from blogging?
No. It's a side income, thanks to advertising co-operations that I have on the blog. But my main job is as a publisher.
Photos: Fotolia.de and zVg
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We are giving away a ticket for the Swiss Blog Family on 11 November in Basel!
We are giving away a ticket for the Swiss Blog Family on 11 November in Basel worth 75 francs.
If you would like to win the ticket, please write in the comments section by 16 July at 12 noon which parenting blogs you like to read and why. We are very curious!