I’m an SOB, and proud of it

sob-badge-blue For quite some time, I’ve found new bloggers and writes on the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers (SOB) list.  Maintained by Liz Strauss over at Successful Blog, the SOB list represents bloggers who interact with readers and encourage the conversation wherever they happen to be.

So I’d like to thank Liz for the award, and will proudly display the SOB badge here in the sidebar.  I’m actually tickled to be included!

Daily Journal – Can I make it a habit?

blogging As I’ve mentioned a few times before, I’ve been struggling through my blogging the last few months.  From a bout of “blogger’s block” that really chased me from my keyboard, to coming up with excuses of what keeps me from blogging, I’ve finally come to the realization that I need to write.  Period.

The one thing that I want to do is be of value, and that is what’s been keeping me from really getting back “in the groove”.  I keep second guessing my topics or the tone, or the wording, or… you name it.

To that end, I’ve begun a daily journal.  A place that I can just ramble my thoughts out, not worrying about how it sounds, the structure, the cohesiveness of an idea.  Just a place to get those ideas down.

In the past I’ve hated this idea, just ask my 8th grade literature teacher – she had us writing journals every day, and I’d just pick something like “pizza” or “zucchini” or some such thing that I could write a paragraph on and claim to have “participated”.  Of course, I was a tech-geek even then, and if it didn’t have LED’s or buttons, it wasn’t interesting.

This is but one more technique that I’ve heard other blogger’s using.  I’m all for new ideas and techniques, especially one’s that are time-tested and help in multiple areas.

I’m curious to your experiences though, and would really like to know how a journal has helped or hindered you.  Does the additional free-form writing exercise that is personal and kept private helps you write, think or work better?

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links for 2008-01-17

Twitter’s Aflitter (again)

I really hate to pick on my favorite online service, but… I have to.  Twitter started having issues today with all the traffic from “Mac (obsession) World” today.  Supposedly over all the mcInterest in what mcRevelations of mystical mcGadgetry Steve mcJobs would reveal for the mcFollowers of the mcCult.

What get’s me curious is how Twitter handled the traffic from CES last week without nary a blip, and out of the blue, McWrld trips it up big time.

Perhaps I’m out of touch and there is more interest from McWrld and that drives higher volumes of traffic.  I dunno.

At any rate, Twitter has proven it’s worth to hundreds of thousands of users, but they still have reliability issues when traffic ramps up.  I’m on Twitter for the long haul, it’s a core component in my social networking toolkit, so I’m apt to be disappointed when traffic from a marginally relevant tech show drives it’s usability into the ground.

Ok, end of rant.

And yes, I feel mcBetter. ๐Ÿ˜€

links for 2008-01-15

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