For the first day of WinterABC I am sharing the Beaton’s Cut of the EmoyeniDig Twitterview hosted by Melody Chingwaru on the Culxure Mag Twitter account for #EmoyeniFriday.
Emoyeni Digital Storytelling, is a project to enhance growth in the country’s content creation. The pilot project, a collaboration between British Council Zimbabwe and Paper Bag Africa supported by Amakhosikazi Media and Ceca Lifestyle has seen a group of Zimbabwean content creators taking part in digital masterclasses facilitated by some regional and continental prominent digital content creators.
You are affectionately known as the uncle of bloggers in the blogsphere but who is Beaton?
Beaton is ….. A man with a soul made up of words waiting to be read but not so much as understood.
I write stories about the beauty and chaos of the place I call home, while honouring narratives that celebrate the magic and mystery of my ancestry.
When I am not doing that am over at Afrobloggers trying to ignite a passion for storytelling and legacy as I try to help shape and build a community of bloggers reclaiming the narrative
A man with a soul made up of words and who writes stories. Your blog is testament of that. You have been blogging for close to 8 years. What prompted you to start and what has been the recipe for your consistency?
I have always had a love affair with stories and words. I remember listening to my grandfather telling me fables and folktales and all sorts of interesting things about who we are and where we come from.
…I was writing long before the internet came along, when stopped telling stories and started writing them, and I began a blog before I even knew that this is what it was called… Back when there was only a handful of local bloggers like @FitnessBaeZim who was blogging at Makupsy.wordpress.com Feeling Station on hararelifestyle.wordpress.com and @fungaijustbeing
You are coming through with the history. We love to see it, those two ladies have done exceptional work in the blogsphere and beyond
I may seem like I had a plan but I was simply just out there figuring:
How to become a storyteller in a world that has forgotten the richness of stories we used to tell around the fire, every word, every sentence has been I becoming me and that is the spirit of Becoming The Muse
The recipe for consistency is simple:
Read, Write and Repeat.
Either it will work or you will have a long list of excuses but that’s OK too, sometimes your journey does not include consistency or your path leads elsewhere, your journey is not mine neither is mine yours…
So we can say blogging has been your way of preserving heritage and letting the love affair bloom!
Your posts are very distinct… reading them is like having a conversation. How does one make their posts stand out in an ocean of content?
There is a saying “There is nothing new under the sun“
The only difference is, it hasn’t been done or said by YOU…. No one can ever be you; in a world where everyone is trying to stand out, just be WHO YOU ARE unapologetically and you will find that people pay attention.
In other words you saying authenticity is what will help you find your tribe, so to any aspiring blogger what can you share to help them kickstart their journey and to help them gain traffic on their blog?
For starters: it doesnt have to be perfect you can’t edit a blank page, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, how else will you learn? I have been doing this for 8+ years but still just before I press that [Publish] button I still get apprehensive about what ifs, what if there’s a glaring typo, what if nobody likes it, what if they disagree…. Then I remember that so what? I can always correct the typo, if they don’t like it, that’s their problem, if they disagree well, we will have to agree to disagree….
and as for traffic…. that is a constantly asked question…
You get what you put in… you cannot just sit down press [Publish] and expect the world to find your website because it’s beautifully designed and oh how well you write. You will have to put yourself out there…., you want traffic but are you reading other blogs? Just as you set aside time to write, you have to clock in the time to read others… remember: Write, Read and repeat
You get what you put in, reminds me of The Secret – Universe sends back what you set in the universe. Put yourself out there
A quick guide to getting Traffic:
Join a community of peers like Afrobloggers participate in challenges like the #WinterABC, make new blogging friends and of course promote your links on your social media platforms.
You hooking us up with a cool community that also reads and gives support to any blogger out there. Thank you for all the tips you shared.
What opportunities has blogging opened for you?
Does this interview count? Hahaha… but seriously, I have had people reach out to me after visiting my blog to ask me to work on various projects be it from reviews, stories, content creation to even coaching a digital skills class.
Lol it does count. From reviews, to stories, to giving class, blogging has certainly opened doors for you Its almost time to say goodbye Weary face so a few parting questions
What is your vision for the future of digital content creation?
My vision is for Afrocentric content to populate the internet that I wont have to add Africa to my search engine to get African results. I want blogging to get a bit more recognition not just dismissed as a hobby yet it has such endless potential
And for an Afrobloggers University which teaches you all the Digital Content Creation things you wont ever learn about in a formal tertiary education course….
And of course all the income this will be able to create…. One can dream about money
It would be a dream to see all you envisioned come true, count me in when you open the university too would love to learn about making the Benjamins
Finally if anyone would love to have a coffee with you how and where can they get in touch with you
You can find me on almost every social media platform as: Beatonm5
And one can catch up for a virtual coffee on my BecomingTheMuse.net so yeah grab a cup and put your feet up.
Becoming The Muse 
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