Apr 26, 2008 | blog
I’ve been blogging for awhile now, but have been hesitant about publishing a number of posts here on my personal blog. Originally, I had included many more technology oriented posts, and blogging-related items. Lately, however, I’ve been more aligned with the “social media” and “personal branding” topics.
I’ve also had two other blogs that I have let slide in to near abandonment, for all the same reasons that almost all other early blogs are neglected. Too much work, too little time, and too many plans that weren’t thought out all the way.
I’m not announcing any new rejuvenation of these blogs, or of grand plans for them. The have, however, been on my mind again. Not in the original way of “if I can just get enough traffic…”, rather I’m now more interested in using them in different ways to express my ideas. To have different places to write different thoughts and concepts.
With the upcoming trip to SOBCon08, I’ve been again thinking of how best to utilize the platforms that are available to me. One blog was supposed to be focused on Snowmobiling (Snowmoblog), but is still a great place to talk about all sorts of things outdoors… and who says it has to be winter-oriented all year long? The other blog grew out of my passion for mobile technology (The Mobile Lifestyle), and would be a great place to talk no so much about gadgets as leveraging mobile technology to enrich life, actually “unwire” more often and so on.
So I’ve got some thought running around in my head. I’d like to be able to express things that don’t seem to fit on this blog. I’d like to do more with those sites than simply letting them sit there collecting virtual dust. Not sure what that’ll be, just kind of talking out loud about them.
Photo credit: rocket ship
Apr 24, 2008 | blog
No, not in a physical sense. Though, I’m off to find unique and new blogs, bloggers, writers, thought tweakers and twitters. Sometimes it’s interesting how you find new people to read and follow. From a reply by one of the people you follow in Twitter, it leads to finding new Twitters. That in turn leads to their blogs or websites, and from there to LinkedIn, Facebook, FriendFeed and so on where you keep finding more.
At times this can be a timesink when you don’t put a cap on your exploration of friends and feeds. On the other hand, some of the most valuable finds are from these totally “organic†or spontaneous surfing sessions. I happened to find a few more tonight and thought it was worth think a bit more about.
So I’m off on a blog & Twitter roadtrip, looking at the sights & sounds of the blogosphere. Where will it take me and what will I find? I hope it’s you!
What are you off to do tonight?
Photo Credit: Faded Photographs
Apr 23, 2008 | blog
Well the stars aligned and smiled on your’s truly. I’ll be going to Chicago at the beginning of May for SOBCon08! For awhile, it didn’t look promising with timing or finances to make it, but I think my wife Amy has been planning to surprise me. Thanks honey!
I’ll be joining some of my Twitter friends in Chicago May 2nd, 3rd, & 4th along with some of some of my favorite bloggers of all time. Looks to be a great event that I’m really looking forward to attending.
Apr 22, 2008 | blog
Sometimes it gets too easy to look for that “easy button†in the social media landscape. That all-powerful, easy to use, fast, tool that lets us quickly grow valuable & worthwhile relationships with fellow social media explorers. I say “explorers†because there are no real experts in social media, but there are many knowledgeable people who advise and recommend strategies.
The reality is that there is no such thing as an “easy button” of course, but there are several valuable tools that we can use. Among the most flexible and productive is the venerable blog.
A blog is one of your best investments in time for creating a social prescience on the web. Instead of canned pages, color schemes and applets that don’t represent you very well on platforms such as MySpace or Facebook – it’s you who gets to create the content. You get to decide how to present ideas, talk through your points of view and explain things. You also control the type affiliated content (ads, guest writers, etc…) that is published alongside your message.
A blog has the ability to connect to all services and tools that you’re currently using. In fact, a blog can be the portal to all things you on the web and help people get to know your story better. Think of how powerful that is. Instead of a service suggesting what “associates†or “related content†to readers, you have control of it.
Sure, a blog is a bit of work. There are no two ways about it. However, for many people, once you’ve got it set up, there is very little maintenance to do – just write and publish. Add a few links to your other social media/networking tools (Twitter, LinkedIn, Xing, Plaxo, FriendFeed – whatever) and keep up on blogs from similar bloggers or friends.
I can’t stress enough how much keeping control of your own content reflects on you – call that part personal branding. The important part is being able to publish your thoughts and comments in a place that is uniquely yours and not lost in someone else’s idea of social nirvana.
What’s your take? Have you taken the jump and started a blog, or are you content with the services that others provide?
Photo credit: Jill Greenseth
Apr 14, 2008 | blog
I suppose I should be upset by the current wave of tools & services like shyftr that aggregate blog content and also host commenting features for that content. In essence, these services could be accused (and are) of stealing content.
I guess the short of it for me is that I hope people read my feed, visit my blog and comment because I’m providing some piece of information that has value for them. Like many bloggers, I may have had ideas of being a professional blogger and deriving my living simply by blogging – I’ve long since dropped that assumption. I blog because I want to participate, or want to voice my opinions or ideas. If what I have to say is important, people will show up at my blog.
There are legal aspects to these arguments, but I’ll need to think about it a bit longer.
UPDATE: What I really think this trend means, is that its time to change. When the playing field is altered, the players need to adapt. As such, new perspectives on blogging and conversations need to be adopted.
