SUZY BYRNE, BLOGGER:I'M A PROFESSIONAL advocate for people with disabilities, but 10 years ago I was a mature student studying sociology and social policy. I was using online bulletin boards and mailing lists a lot because I was doing research on issues of sexual orientation and health and aging, and I set up a forum for people doing similar research. I was also involved with a message board called Sapphic Ireland; we finally closed it down this year, but it was huge for the middle part of the decade.
I started blogging a few years later, in 2005. My early blog stuff was quite personal, but gradually the focus changed. I’ve been interested in news and current affairs since I was 12, so I’ve always ranted somewhere; I had done some offline writing in the 1990s for magazines and newspapers. I loved the fact that I could have my own space online, and decide what I wanted to write about, whether LGBT issues or the solicitor Michael Lynn. And I very much like being my own editor.
I have written about a lot of things over the past five years, but the Sarah Palin incident in 2008 [when Byrne was the first to figure out that Palin’s supposed visit to Ireland was merely a Shannon stopover] was a crazy 48 hours. The story was taken up by [giant US website] The Huffington Post, and my site traffic just went through the roof.
There are a lot of Irish blogs now and there’s a real sense of community in the Irish blogosphere. Women have become very strong in Irish blogging and I love that. Look at the girls from Beaut.ie, who have just released their book – I’m delighted for them. Irish women aren’t so active in political blogging, which is a little disappointing. I’d like to see more women blogging about current affairs.
Broadband has made a huge difference to our relationship with the internet. The beginning of this decade was all about dial-up. Now we expect the internet everywhere. I don’t blog every day, but in a way I use it as stress release. My day job is very busy, so I like to blog to take my mind off things. My partner is supportive of what I do; she comes along to the Irish Blog Awards and she has my awards up on a little stand! I do get told to put the computer away, but not too often.
In conversation with Anna Carey
Suzy Byrne’s award-winning blog is at mamanpoulet.com