Feb 17, 2008 | blog
Yep, two years ago today I posted my first post here on RickMahn.com. Friends and coworkers thought it was a tad self-centered at the time, and I did feel a little uncomfortable launching a blog with my name. However, starting my third year with this site, I think the content I generate (when I’m productive 😉 ), fits more than just my own needs. The experience working on my own personal brand and career allows me to share what I learn, and meet many, many more interesting and knowledgeable people.
So, my first post was on February 17th, 2006 where I said hello:
Welcome to the culmination of my blogging efforts for the past year. RickMahn.com is the place where I will talk about daily events in the technology space and blogosphere. About work, a little about life, and sprinkled with a few rants on occasion.
The reason for starting a new blog is both simple and complex. I’ve been using a number of blogging tools (Blogger, WordPress.com, MSN Spaces) with differing results. I’ve come to the conclusion that Blogger.com currently was the most flexible, WordPress.com the most powerful, and MSN Spaces – well… oh my, look at the time.
So after a lot of research, learning new technologies, blogging, thinking, and figuring costs and such, I’ve set up shop here at www.rickmahn.com. I’ll be here mostly every day posting on things that I find interesting, interacting in the blogosphere, commenting on others’ posts and so on.
So, come on back from time to time and check out what I’m doing – drop a line and let me know what’s good and what’s bad. See ya round the ‘net!
So, that’s a quick look back to the beginning of my personal blog, though I did start blogging a little over a year earlier in December of 2004 with a MSN Spaces blog. Learned a lot since then! 😛
I’d like to take a minute and thank everyone who continues to stop by. I plan on keeping relevant content on social media, personal branding, some technology stuff, and a few selfish posts on what makes me happy. Cheers folks and onward into year three!
Feb 17, 2008 | blog, happiness
Blogging.
Feb 8, 2008 | blog
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?
Photo credit: jzawodin
Feb 7, 2008 | blog
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! 🙂
Photo credit: Grant Mitchell
Technorati Tags: Information Technology, Bloggers, Information Technology Bloggers
Jan 24, 2008 | blog
Ok, I’ve meant to do this for awhile, but I can’t see any reason to wait any longer.
I’m abandoning Facebook.
Try as I might, there is just nothing of value in Facebook for me. The groups are the only redeeming item on the system, but you have to put up with tons of senseless “apps”. Apps that would’ve been fun back in college when playing quarters or beer bongs, but not when I’m trying to build serious business connections.
While some have made a pretty good case for Facebook, it doesn’t change how it’s viewed by business, or how useful it is for me. I’m astounded at home much time everything takes and how limited everything is. Not to mention the data-ownership question. Just ask Robert Scoble on that one.
I’ve been coming to the conclusion from using many, many different social tools over summer and fall of last year that “social networking” is just an activity. Yep, that’s a “duh” realization, but it’s more than just that. All these “social network” sites are merely a combination of groups on steroids, or worse – simply customizable “home pages” for the masses.
To build real associations with people on a professional and personal level requires interest, dedication, and tools. Facebook could loosely be called a tool, but I think of it as a toy. Tools are designed to do a specific function, and to it well. Twitter is a tool. Blogging is a tool.
I’ve suggested before that my blog is my social network. While that may be incorrect, it is a key tool in my social networking activities. It’s one of three things that are within my control that will never change. My blog address, my email address and my mobile phone number. These are the key pieces of communicating with me that people will never have to re-learn or worry about changing. On these three things, I can build the rest.
The rest is up to me, after all, and how involved in different communities and organizations I want to be. With a blog I can post my views and opinions. With my email address I can interact with just about anyone I share it with, which is everyone, and the same for my cell phone.
I choose to augment this triangle-foundation of my social networking with tools like Twitter, Utterz, IM, LinkedIn, Technorati, del.icio.us, Clipmarks, and several more. I use each for one or two things – the things they do well. None of these are a one-stop-shop for social networking and social media goodness.
Maybe you can point out where I failed with Facebook. I’m always looking to learn – what should I or others be looking for in Facebook? How to approach it? If there really is something there I’m interested in hearing it.
UPDATE: I just wanted to add that I’m leaving the account in place, but will not be active on Facebook. I am interested in what everyone does with Facebook to gain value from it, so don’t hesitate to give my $.02. My Twitter tweets update the “My Status” every time I tweet and I’m notified of Facebook mail if that is the only way you choose to contact me. Cheers!
Technorati Tags: Facebook, Social Networking, Blogging, Robert Scoble, Twitter, Utterz, LinkedIn, del.icio.us, Clipmarks, Rick Mahn
