Monday, April 14, 2008

Just Blog

I don't really like to blog about blogging. Mainly because 'blogger' isn't a title I toss out there. And mainly because this blog doesn't consistently rotate around any hub of a common theme. And because unless you're Tiffany Monhollon or Seth Godin, I think you shouldn't really blog about blogging.

So here I go, breaking my own rules. Maybe that'll be Sam's Rule of Blogging Number 1: Don't follow anyone's blogging rules.

Sometimes, bloggers write about why they blog. Maybe they want to vent or shed light on something. Maybe they do so to keep up with family and friends. Maybe they blog with the hopes of landing a big writing deal. But, as Seth Godin says, that shouldn't be the point. And I agree.

You should blog to be found.

I blog because I like to write and think I can provide at least a few decent insights a year. But I also blog to be found - by long lost high school pals, by potential investors, by anyone interested in buying my book or checking out what I do for a living, or anyone who might like me to come and speak.

And if I were a singer/songwriter trying to make it, I'd blog. Or if I were in middle management trying to climb the career ladder, or in the nonprofit world running programs, or a graduate student, or trying to get pregnant, or running my own coffee shop, or starting a neighborhood group. Whatever I am/were doing, I'd blog.

Because chances are, if I'm doing something worth doing, I want others to know about it. I want to be found doing what it is I love so that others can join in.

So I want to show up when someone Googles the right words or when someone's looking for something. I blog to be found.

So that's Rule B in Sam's List: Just blog.

Don't wait for the perfect story. Don't wait until you can be consistent. Don't wait until you can be the first one with a take. Don't wait until you can proofread your post. Don't wait until you can devote hours on end.

In fact, don't wait to post something until you have a nice way to end it. Just stop writing and click 'publish.'

Comments (4)

Anonymous

8:43 AM

To piggyback on your idea of blogging to be found, I find that one of the best aspects of blogging is that you are constantly exposing yourself to randomness.

Through my blog I have met people from incredibly diverse backgrounds and occupations, people I would have never met any other way.

Some relationships will never go past my blog, sure, but others have already become a valuable part of my life.

Exposing yourself to randomness is a key part of living life to the hilt and blogging places you in the middle of it all.

Cameron

Anonymous

8:44 AM

Sam,

How correct you are. It's hard explaining why I blog. It's not like I'm getting Scoble sized pageviews and making a living from sharing my thoughts on whatever topics I choose for the day. It's also not something that I brag to my friends about. However it is about getting found. Finding new opportunities, new people and sites that I never would have knew existed were it not for blogging and joining conversations. I think its about the community that surrounds blogging, more so than just a post that you slapped up.

Good luck with the funding too, let me know how that goes. We are about to take the same step and I think I can say that we are all pretty much amateurs in that field at this point! But hey maybe someone will "find" us blogging about our start-ups and funding and make things a little easier!

@Cameron - Agreed on the randomness angle. Perhaps I'll do a future post of things that have happened as a result of blogging, such as resources found, friends made and opportunities taken.

@Greg - Here's to being found! Glad we found each other via the blog world.

@ Sam - I love it. I need to adopt this mentality more. Just blog. Write. Get it out there. It's easy to overthink and overanalyze every word, and there are times and places when that's important, like when you're guest blogging or writing your masterpiece post or you know you will be getting traffic from a really good link.

But I found my best, most fertile time in blogging was when I gave myself permission to write about whatever it was I was thinking most about - I just wrote more, and I wrote great stuff, because I didn't self-edit too much. Now I'm trying to find the happy medium of having one blog with a consistent, niched focus (Personal PR) and one that's still in a pretty firm career niche but is just a little more free. I think once I'm out of I'm getting married in a few weeks mode, it's going to work really well, but probably only if I keep this theme in mind. Do it!

Thanks for the encouraging thoughts. Hope you are doing well, by the way.