BLOGGUS INTERRUPTUS: My series on “writing” is on hiatus for 2 days so that I may use this blog to reflect on this past year’s 180 blogs and begin my new blog year with humor. “Writing” will resume soon. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
BLOG REFLECTIONS
My Experience. Are you kidding me? Who would ever thought I would be measuring time in blogs. Since my 2 incredible daughters (Corinne & Marissa) persuaded me to start blogging exactly 1 year ago, I’ve learned a lot. Blogging has been an amazing experience. It has motivated, inspired, cajoled, and, sometimes, even pinned me up against the wall in a half-Nelson to write. Thinking in 200–400-word chunks is different from 2000–5000-word articles and 50,000–100,000-word books. A blog seems manageable and attainable.
The Alternatives. The article and book alternatives are considerably more formidable and, at times, seem to be more within the realm of Don Quixote’s “Impossible Dream.” That’s why they mean so much on our vitae. It’s kind of difficult to harpoon a windmill on a horse; in fact, it’s nearly impossible to even find a windmill nearby these days. Where do they hide them? Maybe Sancho will know.
If I were still at Johns Hopkins or, for that matter, any other research university, the unrefereed, “unpublished” blog would be regarded as a meaningless waste of time (as opposed to a meaningful waste of time) in the context of annual productivity and faculty evaluations for annual review and promotion and tenure. Why bother? There’s no academic pay-off. If you want to blog, you do so for other reasons, and, in addition to everything else. Not so in the corporate or other worlds beyond academia.
My Niche. As I embarked on my journey into “Blog World,” I knew that few of my colleagues in the academic community read blogs and almost none writes them or comments on them, perhaps, for the reasons above. Over the past year, that was confirmed week after week, with the exception of a few spikes of interest in particular blogs or blog series. With a constantly increasing bombardment of job and family responsibilities pounding on academicians, it seems that the priority, time, and interest for my blogs, at least, remain relatively low. To attract a following in the thousands is unrealistic. That may not be the case for other writers’ blogs.
Fortunately, my niche has expanded slightly beyond the ivory tower to include writers, K–12 teachers, healthcare, corporate, IT, software, training, and coaching professionals from a bunch of countries, and students. You never know who may find value in what you write until you test the World Wide Focus Group (WWFG)! I did not expect that expansion and will intentionally consider that audience in future blogs.
What’s Next? A vacation. Haha. As year 2 begins, after this “writing” series is over, I will continue to search for topics that can
(1) provide you with important information at a glance, such as the Web 1.0–3.0 series,
(2) offer guidance that might take what you’re doing professionally or personally to the next level, such as writing and publishing, and
(3) make you chuckle and, maybe even, laugh out loud with my twisted brand of humor.
However, I really, really could use your help. REALLY! I would appreciate suggestions for topics and jokes and feedback on what’s working or not working in my blogs. I want each blog to be meaningful and valuable to you in ways that other resources are not. Let me know your thoughts. (NOTE: Of course, I will still continue to write articles, some of which may grow out my blog series, and try to finish my 14th book.)
In that spirit, tomorrow I will begin this next blog year with a totally meaningless and valueless Top 10 list. See you then.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
I can't believe it's been a year already! Great job keeping up.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bro! It's been a challenge, but I've learned a lot. What have you learned about blogging over the past year? I know your experiences are different.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Ron