The blogophone
I've written a lot about blogging. The pros, the cons and why it is something everyone ought to do. So much so, that it is getting more and more difficult for me to explain its benefits anymore.
I was watching and listening today to a Seth Godin interview on technorati.com. {by the way, am I the only one who can't figure out what is going on with technorati?}
When Seth was asked the question—the benefits of blogging question—he really drove the point home. Especially with the 100 billion dollar question: Where's the money in it? A valid question, but it has become a painful one for me, primarily because it is usually shrouded with cynicism.
He spoke to the point of communication, and remarked that many people have monetized the 'telephone' (not in the iPhone way), but in the way in which the telephone makes it possible to communicate and commercialize industries. To this end, this is what Seth points to with how one goes about monetizing a blog. It's a communication channel.
There is really no better way to explain it. Except that if you don't understand it, you might benefit from understanding it. Blogging is one of the best mental exercises around and I don't even understand it, so I certainly understand why someone might think that Perez Hilton is the blogging standard of our time—and it may well be, but that is their platform, not Seth's. Which brings me to another point:
The platform matters to the blogger
It probably doesn't matter when you start blogging because you are going to fumble around and mess up the formatting and get all kinds of goofy feedback—as well as some amazingly positive feedback and help—if you stick with it. The fact is, most people can't or don't for some reason or another.
I have because of the avenues that have opened up in my life. The way in which I think about things and the variety of media channels I have to peek through.
It always strikes me as funny when someone brings up some of the obvious advantages to blogging. Mainly because I was there 6 months or a year ago. I had to figure it out the hard way, too. There aren't any shortcuts.
The words matter to your readers
You can't and won't get it right all the time. And you can't fool your readers. If you are writing for cash, they'll know. It's fine to do this. For example, a lot of successful bloggers write for the sole reason of affiliate marketing. There's nothing wrong with this. Personally, I can't do it. I tried and it throws this entire blog off track for a variety of reasons.
Getting the words right (not in an SEO way—though that is something you'll learn by default) is imperative. But taking too long to figure them out will make you crazy and take you too long, which will lead to rapid burn out.
You'll want to quit blogging often
This happens to me all the time. Seth calls this the Dip. I'd recommend reading the book. It's an amazing idea about quitting. But it's a profound way at looking at quitting. It's not quitting as in walking out of your job in disgust. It's about strategically quitting things that don't work in order to be successful. This happens a lot, and that is when you can step away from it. Sometimes that can help.
There's no formula
This is probably the most important one. I see a lot of realtors doing this. If you are going to start a blog, then do it. If you have to splog (post junk) ... then just don't do it. Or, post once a week. Or even once a month.
That is my method for blogging. So go to wordpress.com or typepad.com or blogger.com and start a blog. If you've gotten this far, you have the capacity. From there... you're on to the Semantic web, indeed.
