So I was sitting at my local coffee shop this morning reading feeds, Twittering and writing. Not an unusual morning, but like other times a person gets inspired, it came from a comment from someone. This time from Jeremiah Owyang via Twitter. While talking about a the new Egos site created by Guy Kawasaki he Tweeted:
My recommendations to you: somewhere in the middle, develop your own feedreader of high value blogs and alerts everyone is unique
What occurred to me is that I didn’t think much about the a-list much any longer. While the semi-annual meme of beating on the a-list being a favorite sport for many bloggers, something any committed blogger will realize after awhile is that they develop their own a-list. This is simply the list of bloggers that they read and are influenced by.
It becomes less about the celebrity status of the blogger and more about the value of their content. I think it was Chris Brogan who started calling his personal list of favorites “Rockstars“, and it’s an apt title for a list of people who continually influence you on a daily basis. Hey I know good ‘ol Diamond Dave did that back in the ’80s for a heck of a lot of people. 😉
I’m sure a number of people are sitting back saying that I’ve missed the point of “The A-List”. They’d point out that this group of high-profile bloggers control the topics on Techmeme, Tailrank, et al. I don’t see that – I see a *lot* of great bloggers moving that conversation all over the place. At any rate, that’s not the point of this post. I’m really just talking about building your own list of blogs and bloggers that influence you.
Here are some opinions I’ve developed (though some are obvious 😉 )
There is no one definition of the A-List – everyone’s a list is different
“The A-List” everyone talks about are just bloggers – albeit with industry insight
The more time you spend reading in the blogosphere, the more important the content and less the celebrity status of the blogger
Your A-List will include high-profile bloggers, because of the value they bring to you, just like the lower-profile bloggers you read
I guess I just want to people to keep exploring and finding that content that has value to you. Don’t worry about if they are part of “The A-List”, there really are some great bloggers among them and many of their observations are relevant to the conversation that we’re looking for.
So, the A-List stops being “The A-List” when the reader realizes that each blogger brings value to the conversation and you start looking beyond who they are and more at what they say. What’s your take on this?
Why is it that the very people who make all that wonderful technology work for your company don’t blog that much? That’s a question I’ve been curious about for the last few years. Yeah there are many technology bloggers, but I’m talking about people who staff the information technology departments around the world. Where are you guys? I find a few here and there, but there aren’t many.
I’ve suggested, recommended, given ideas and supported many of my fellow IT friends to help them find the value that blogging can bring. I’m continually confused at the explanations, or reasoning that people find not to. Answers like, “I can’t talk about work”, or “it’s not secure” and the one that still amazes me for many IT pros, “the Internet isn’t safe”.
Yeah, all those answers (and more) are true, but it shouldn’t keep you from engaging and bringing your expertise to the party. I’ve several friends who could bring a great deal to the blogosphere, some are true gurus on many aspects related to enterprise information technology implementation. The biggest limiting factor for most people really comes down to time.
Time is every bloggers most challenging aspect, but it’s no different than any other endeavor. How to balance, career, home life, and a blog is what we all battle every day as bloggers. However, there is so much reward that the challenge and the cost in time is worth the effort. Many of the IT people I know, are so busy with their current projects, that they can’t even get away from their desks at lunch time. What the heck is that about? Even during the most interesting and challenging projects, you need to allow yourself to think about other things.
If there is one thing I would pass on to fellow IT workers about blogging is that it allows a person to disengage a little bit. Writing about things that are interesting to you lets you exercise a bit of your mind that yearns for attention. It allows you to think in new directions, learning more about your interests as well as yourself.
Back to those excuses… yes they’re true to a certain degree, but their mainly just excuses. Kind of like finding reasons you didn’t do your homework back in high school. Come on, you can find more than the work aspect of IT to talk about – you do in person, why not on a blog? Not secure – talk about security if it’s a passion, make it interesting to the average person so they learn more about it. Don’t think the Internet is a safe place to bare your soul? Use a pseudonym – writers have done it for centuries and blogging is nothing different.
For some reason, IT is not where many bloggers are coming from lately, and I really would like to see that change. Maybe it’s just the circles I run in, or the market here in Minneapolis, MN that is a bit more conservative when it comes to voicing opinions. How about your IT friends? I’m looking for more IT bloggers! 🙂
No matter how much you love/hate Microsoft (or Apple, Google, Oracle, Sun, etc…) it’s just business. Our favorite tools, apps, ‘puters, phones, services – you name it. It’s somebody’s bread & butter to buy or sell. Whether we like it or not.
I’d like to announce the inaugural Social Media Breakfast for Minneapolis & St. Paul!
Originally founded by Bryan Person the Social Media Breakfast is a way for social media experts and newbies alike to come together to eat, meet, share, and learn. Whether your a marketer, blogger, podcaster, IT geek, vlogger, entrepreneur, PR pro, or online social networker – everyone is welcome to attend!
It’s a way for us to connect offline and get to know each other in a real-world casual setting over breakfast and coffee in downtown Minneapolis. When I first read about the “SMB”, as it’s becoming known, I quickly wondered how we could make this happen here in Minneapolis. So after thinking too much on the “should I or shouldn’t I” aspect, I’ve got one set up – we’ll see how it goes! 🙂
Below is a tentative list of topics, just so we’ve got a bit of an agenda to work with – don’t hesitate to suggest new ideas!
New to social media?
Twitter, the virtual village.
Tools – what is most useful/rewarding to you?
Directions in social media, connecting people.
Your ideas here!
Next SMB! What can we do better?
With that said, we don’t have to adhere to anything specific. It’s a dynamic world and our conversations should be as well. Since this is the first (of many I hope) SMB, I’m learning a few things here. I initially am figuring for about a dozen or so people, but we can grow that a bit if interest grows.
Here are the details for our first Social Media Breakfast in the Twin Cities:
Date: Wednesday, February 13th, 2007
Time: 8:00am to 10:00am
Place:Keys Cafe Minneapolis – Located in the Foshay Tower
Address: 114 South 9th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55402 (Directions/Map)
Cost: Buy your own breakfast, and enjoy free WiFi! 😉
