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Blogging for Self-Discovery

December 15, 2008

Blogging for Self-Discovery

lightningroad

Can blogging be a tool for self-discovery? I believe it can, and I’d like to share my thoughts and experiences with you on how it can. Self-discovery leads to self-improvement, and self-improvement leads to success–however you define it. I believe blogging is a path to self-discovery because that’s what I do.

Who can use blogging for self-discovery? Really, anyone, but here are some groups of people who I think might be more ready than most to take their personal growth to the next level:

  • Recent empty nesters
  • New entrepreneurs
  • New activists
  • Dedicated artists
  • Newly suffering a personal/family tragedy (such as a cancer diagnosis)

So what is blogging for self-discovery?

Let’s go back in time a bit. When blogs first came on the scene, they were described as “online diaries.” But blogs are much more than that. Traditionally, a diary is not something you share with others, but a blog is. People do not stop by your house and read your diary entries and then write their own opinions in your diary. But with blogs, that’s exactly what you do (makes comment spam seem even uglier, when you look at that way, doesn’t it?).

I know it seems obvious that I’m saying a blog is like a diary, except it’s online and people can leave comments, but that’s exactly what changes everything: You are not alone. Others will find you. The ones who need you will find you. As you blog for yourself and work through your own issues, you become a universal magnet for others. They will leave comments on your public personal issues diary–your blog.

And you will discover these other people in the same situation as you also blogging. Suddenly, you have both an audience and a support network at the same time. This is a key difference between blogging and being a blogger vs. any other kind of media or publishing endeavor. The barrier between publisher, reader, and participant has become a thin veil, through which we can pass with ease.

Several people have contacted me privately and have told me that they’re watching what I’m doing here at Remarkablogger with keen interest. In essence, what they have said is that they’re watching me grow. And it’s true: I am growing as a person right before your eyes. That’s part of what makes Remarkablogger what it is–a journey that you join in with along the way.

Tips and pointers on blogging for self-discovery

  • The most personal feelings and events are universally experienced by others: the more personal you get with your blogging, the more universal you get.
  • Others will project their problems and issues onto you. You are a mirror in which people see themselves and they may not like what they see, but they will blame you.
  • You can monetize any subject matter, but I recommend you build your audience and their trust first. It may be that your blogging will provide you with opportunity more than direct revenue.
  • Despite that you may be going through terrible problems, when you’re blogging for self-discovery, you become other people’s hero. Nobody wants to see their hero feeling depressed or losing it. Is that fair? No. Is it realistic that you can always put on a brave front? No. But nevertheless, this is where the support group aspect breaks down. This is where you need private communications with close friends or a mastermind group.
  • Provide opportunity for others to share their experiences in your space through guest-blogging and social media.

What’s your path to self-discovery?

There may be groups of people who are particularly ready to benefit from blogging for self-discovery I haven’t thought of, but you have. You may have a pointer or a tip about blogging for self-discovery I haven’t recognized. If so, I’d love to have you share that in the comments or write your own blog post on self-discovery blogging and tell us about it in the comments here.

http://michaelmartine.com/

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65 Bite-Sized Web Marketing Tips

October 30, 2008


Posted by Adam Singer in Internet Marketing and Public Relations, Social Media


image credit:  zeetzjones

I write lots of detailed, in-depth posts for you at The Future Buzz about social media, marketing, PR and creating buzz on the web.  In the spirit of changing things up, today I thought I’d simplify and offer you some quick tips broken into bits.

65 Bite-Sized Web Marketing Tips

1)  Keep sites as simple and clean as possible.

2)  Be interesting with everything you put out there.

3)  Keep your site up to date and fresh, give users a legitimate reason to come back.

4)  Have clear RSS and email subscriptions options on every page of your blog or website.

5)  Take your time, create a plan, follow it step by step (traffic isn’t going to fall out of the sky).

6)  Have realistic expectations, work relentlessly to achieve them.

7)  Educate your team, work together.

8)  Don’t worry about getting everything exactly right the first time, you can fix it as you go forward.  The best, most popular blogs/websites are always works in progress.

9)  If you think you’ll have to rely heavily on marketing and PR for traffic, you might want to rethink your .com/blog idea.

10)  Be honest, transparent and authentic.

11) Patience is vital, you have to stick with it to outlast your competition.

12)  Don’t get obsessed with stats, but do track your analytics to gauge success of campaigns.

13)  Get people on your team that are more than good, find people that are absolutely obsessed with the web.

14)  Make friends with power users on Digg, StumbleUpon, and Reddit.  Make friends with people who are messageboard addicts.  Make friends with bloggers and social media influencers.

15)  Get a solid understanding of SEO (read sites like SEOMoz, it’s free and you’ll learn a ton).

16)  Learn about good design and usability.

17)  Stay on top of what TechCrunch, Mashable and other top blogs write.

18)  Read the front pages of Digg and Reddit everyday.  Learn what makes a story a social media hit.

19)  Read Chris Brogan’s Blog.  And Seth Godin’s.  And all of these, too.

20)  Learn what Rickroll, LOLcat, and all the other quirky terms that make up internet speak.

21)  Know when to change strategies (and realize it is ok to be wrong).

22)  Find a way to build and lead a tribe.

23)  Create google alerts for key terms in your industry to stay on top of trends.

24)  Learn what motivates bloggers.

25)  Don’t try to be all things to all people.

26)  Listen to what people are saying about you/your brand carefully.  Get into the conversation with them, where appropriate.

27)  Get active on Twitter.

28)  Be useful and provide value to people.

29)  Find a way to connect your fans with each other.

30)  Learn what motivates people to subscribe to a blog.

31)  Trouble getting your messages to spread?  Try narrowing the focus.

32)  Experiment and start your own side projects.

33)  Start your own blog.

34)  Learn who Robert Scoble, Michael Arrington, Kevin Rose and all the web celebrities are.

35)  Subscribe to as many marketing, tech, social media and related blogs as you can handle using RSS.

36)  Actually read those blogs carefully every day.

37)  Read all the free e-books about social media.

38)  Read Clary Shirky’s book – Here Comes Everybody:  The Power Of Organizing Without Organizations.

39)  Don’t send bloggers press releases.

40)  Work with fantastic web designers.

41)  Only hire an SEO firm that actually ranks well themselves or a web marketers who blog (you have to work with the space intimately yourself to be adept at using it for others).

42)  Bridge your organization’s digital divide.

43)  Learn how to cultivate culture.

44)  Develop a search engine optimization strategy for your site.

45)  Write killer flagship content on your blog.

46)  Avoid obvious web mistakes.

47)  Get an understanding of why people blog.

48)  Read Daniel Scocco’s entire web traffic series.

49)  Check out all the awesome images on Logic+Emotion (start with this one).

50)  Check out the blogs in TopRank’s biglist, in the marketing section of AllTop, and in AdAge’s Power150 list.

51)  Make it easy to share what you’re doing.

52)  Hold tight, it will only get easier.

53)  Learn the secret of the web (hint, it’s a virtue).

54)  Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see immediate results, it takes time for tangible outcomes to take effect.  They will in time.

55)  Put as much work out as you can under a creative commons license.

56)  Help people who are just starting out.  I am sure there were people who helped you find the path when you were new, returning the favor is not only good karma, it is incredibly rewarding to see them succeed.

57)  Read all the Google’s official blogs, and learn about Google’s webmaster tools.

58)  Learn at least the basics of HTML.

59)  Learn how to work with MySQL.

60)  Learn about the different forms of social media news momentum.

61)  Work hard to make your content stand out from the crowd.

62)  Learn how to use PRWeb and other wire services properly.

63)  Google answers to questions before phoning your web marketing allies.

64)  Check out FriendFeed.

65)  Use your skills to help a non-profit, don’t charge them.

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