Just Judy Judy Judy

The writer behind Just Judy Judy Judy has had an interesting life and it seeps through into her blogging.  Born in Canada to British parents, Judy Grundstrom has traveled all over the world, eventually deciding to call the Diamond Lake neighborhood of Minneapolis home. She has an accomplished career as an architect, interior designer, and marketing principal, achieving over time a portfolio of awards and award winning projects with organizations ranging from the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum to General Mills. She also contributes weekly to a local radio program and makes television appearances. This vivacious, trendsetting, techno-savvy geek girl truly has her finger on the pulse of new and old media, sharing what she learns along the way. As a result, the Just Judy Judy Judy blog has amassed a huge following on the web and has quickly become the Twin Cities source for crazy things.

Bloggers write for a variety of reasons. Why did you decide to start Just Judy Judy Judy?

There were a few reasons.  I noticed that blogging seems to be a “boys club” and I wanted to have a female voice on the scene.  I also wanted to encourage other women to start blogging through my blogging, which has happened a few times already.  Another reason is that it compliments some other things I do in the traditional media including my weekly appearance on Jason & Alexis on FM107.1 and The Weekend Buzz on Fox 9.

It can be tough for a blogger to maintain a steady stream of ideas and posts. What is the biggest blogging challenge you face?

Having ideas to blog about is not the toughest challenge I face.  I have tons of ideas for blogs and posts.  My biggest challenge is time to blog.  I am an architect and have two children so the blogging is just a side thing.  The blog is called, “Just JudyJudyJudy” and it really is just me.  I do everything for the blog myself.  I would love to be able to do three blog posts a day, but really that just isn’t possible.

What’s the best thing a blogger can give to his or her readers?

A true voice and an honest opinion.  I also think it is nice to let your readers into your life a little bit now and then.  I don’t think that blogs that are just about what a person does all day are particularly interesting (read: I ate CoCo Puffs for breakfast, then took a shower, then it was off to Starbucks!) For that reason I mainly keep my personal life private and just give little details about myself now and then.  I will however, from time to time, do an entire blog post on something about my family or an event that I went to, and I think that keeps it interesting.  Also, the blogs are always written in my voice so readers get to know my point of view.

Bloggers often draw inspiration from each other. What blogs do you enjoy reading and how do they inspire you? Who are your favorite Twin Cities bloggers?

I really love “The Bloggess” – she is one of the reasons that I wanted to start blogging.  She always writes about herself but it is so funny, true comedy writing.  My favorite blogs in the Twin Cities are l’etoile Magazine’s LOL/OMG, Secrets of the City, and The Geek Girls Guide.

What do you love about the Twin Cities / Minnesota?

I love the Twin Cities because it is such a great place for the arts & design.  I believe there are more designers per capita here than any other city in the United States.  That makes for a great scene with awesome art, music, fashion, and design related events.  I really do like to get out on the town and go to things, see people and be seen, and I think the Twin Cities is a great place for that.  Some of this ends up on my blog, some of it you can follow on my Twitter and Facebook.

What is the best advice you can offer to someone who wants to break into the blogging world?

Blog about something that you are really interested in.  My blog is open with a number of topics so I can talk about all kinds of things I find interesting such as politics, fashion, technology, science, design, and local Twin Cities happenings.  I like that because I can just find something that is happening and filter it through my perspective and put it up on my blog.  I would also suggest to someone starting out blogging to do a lot of postings.  I think it is better in blogging, and in anything creative really, to go for quantity over quality.  If you are trying to always create the “perfect blog post” you can get frozen with fear.  Better to just not over think it and create many blog posts.  Over time you will find your voice as a blogger and the post will get better and better.  Somewhere in the mix that perfect blog post is bound to come out.