Interview with the blogger | MUL101 Introduction to Media Arts

Me: Can you please tell me a little bit about yourself and your blog?

Gene: My name is Gene Ostrovsky and the blog that I run is www.medgadget.com. Medgadget covers the latest in medical technologies and exclusive content, like interviews and product reviews.

Me: Describe how did you first get into blogging?

Gene: I thought that there was a great opportunity to cover something that a lot of people are interested in and also utilize my programming skills from my university studies. It also gives me an opportunity to learn something daily and share it with a wide audience, and it is very satisfying.

Me: Can you tell me some of your strengths that really helped you in blogging?

Gene: The strength that helped me in blogging is the knowledge of computers and how internet works (though it all changes all the time and you have to keep on top of it). There is a lot of technical details to blogging, like dealing with servers, data analysis, etc.

Me: How would you describe your blogging style?

Gene: Blogging style…Hmm, that is an interesting question and I think the right answer is that I have to be very clear in what I am describing, although it can be very technical, so it is accessible to a wider audience.

Me: What would be your ideal working environment?

Gene: I work from home. I would prefer quiet evenings to work; however, maintaining a full-scale blog takes much more than just a few hours a day, so just evenings is not an option.

Me: What do you think is the best strategy that worked well for you to get more traffic to your blog?

Gene: The best strategy was hiring more people who have medical knowledge to contribute articles to Medgadget. That way there are more articles daily with more variety of subjects covered.

Me: What was your greatest failure and what did you learn from that?

Gene: The greatest failure is not answering people on time. I have learned that if you do not respond to inquiries on time, you lose customers, contributors, partners, etc. It is a busy competitive world out there, and you have to be on time and on your toes all the time.

Me: What has impacted you most in blogging and how?

Gene: What impacted me the most is how fast the medical technology and internet technologies are moving and it is exciting to imagine what the future holds for both and how Medgadget will keep with it all.

Me: How do you motivate yourself to keep the blog up and running?

Gene: Honestly, money is an important motivator to get up daily and do the good job. In addition, the satisfaction of knowing that you accomplished something daily and that over the long time you have created something of value to you and others feels great.

Me: Can you tell me about few sources from where you get products for review on your site?

Gene: In addition to press releases, we follow medical industry news on a regular basis. In addition, we have people who are interested in us providing product reviews and book reviews, and they contact us on a regular basis.

Me: What do you find the most frustrating aspect of blogging?

Gene: The most frustrating aspect of blogging is the daily aspect of it, which means you take your work with you on vacation all the time.

Me: In the future where do you hope your blog will take you?

Gene: In the future, we hope to be the gold standard for the news and reviews and interviews related to emerging medical technologies. We are partnering up with different companies and universities, to work on new and exciting projects, so we will see where they take us as well.

Me: Have you met anyone interesting/famous on your blogging journey?

Gene: Throughout the years and attending many conferences, I have met many industry leaders. And sometimes you meet a celebrity outside the medical world circles (please see Medgadget exclusive interview with Mr. Herjavec http://www.medgadget.com/2016/09/robert-herjavec-improving-cancer-care-healthcare-security-innovation-investment.html)

Me: Did you have any professional help or did you created the blog yourself?

Gene: I have needed professional development help with some of the more advanced features for the blog, like setting up payment systems and stuff.

Me: How active are you on a weekly basis? How often do you communicate with your followers?

Gene: Medgadget posts daily 2-5 articles.

Me: How much time do you spend blogging?

Gene: There are a few hours to prepare and post the articles, then a few more hours to answer emails and do accounting and follow up on leads and deal with the contributors.

Me: What do you think is the best social media strategy for getting more visitors to a blog?

Gene: I think providing excellent content and finding a niche in which your blog delivers value are the most important.

Me: Would you encourage other people to make their blog?

Gene: It is a tough environment out there to make your blog stand out, very competitive and overcrowded. But as I stated before, if you got original good content, then it is a go. Remember, it is hard work though.

Me: Is blogging your profession or just a hobby?

Gene: It is a profession at this point.

Me: What is the biggest difference in your life post-blogging?

Gene: The ability to work from home and be in charge of my life is amazing.