Posts Tagged ‘blogging’

Blogging at its root is simple: it is words on a (web)page, put together and reachable by anyone with internet and your blog address. There are life bloggers, business bloggers, mommy bloggers, pet bloggers, food bloggers, pretty-much-anything-you-can-think-of bloggers, and every single one of them is doing the exact same thing: putting words on a screen for their readers to see. Blogging is not segregated. There is no restrictions to whom can have a blog. It is not picky on what is written or how often. It doesn’t require advanced degrees and (judging by some of the posts I have stumbled across) doesn’t even require a firm grasp on the language it is written in. Blogging is open to the world, and because of that, bloggers seem to be taking over.

But, because there are no set rules for joining or leaving, and there is almost no limit to what can be done with a blog, I often struggle to explain what blogging really is about.

Everyone has their own ideas – Ask 5 people and you will get a different answer every time, depending on whether or not they have a blog, what type of blog they have, or the types of blogs they read. The only comment I hear regularly is that a “blog is a way to communicate quickly with a large group of people”. Which, of course, tells us nothing. Even my own explanation – “A blog is a means to communicate with an audience who is interested in you, your service or your products. It creates a 2 way communication, opening the conversation and allowing you and the reader to learn” – isn’t perfect because it doesn’t incorporate all types of blogs, only the ones I know.

So let’s get talking, I want your thoughts! No matter which type of blogs you read or write, your voice needs to be heard. So tell me…

What do you think blogging is really about?

*image credit to The Glamorous Life’s Shirts

If the only place you can work on your blog is sitting in front of your laptop at a location with wifi, you are missing out. Today, Wordpress for Blackberry left the beta phase and entered full availability. iPhone addict? Check out Wordpress for iPhone (wordpress for iphone)!

I’m using the Blackerry app…and just might be in love. Super quick to install, and set up, easy to use interface and overall really, really cool!

Do you have easy access to your blog?

The final post topic I gathered from my readers and followers was from Angry Julie (the first two were from @HealthOC and @Hagre). She is convinced the world is dominated by bloggers and wanted to know my thoughts.

I think I agree! Why you ask?

Let’s start by looking at the sheer statistics (stats from Techcrunch, Technorati, comScore and FutureBuzz):

• 133,000,000 – number of blogs indexed by Technorati since 2002
• 346,000,000 – number of people globally who read blogs
• 900,000 – average number of blog posts in a 24 hour period
• 1,750,000 – number of RSS subscribers to TechCrunch, the most popular Technology blog (January 2009)
• 77% - percentage of active Internet users who read blogs
• 81 - number of languages represented in the blogosphere
• 59% – percentage of bloggers who have been blogging for at least 2 years

Need more convincing? Let’s look at the State of the Blogosphere and who these bloggers really are:

• Two-thirds are male
• 60% are 18-44
• The majority are more affluent and educated than the general population
• 75% have college degrees
• 40% have graduate degrees
• One in three has an annual household income of $75K+
• One in four has an annual household income of $100K+
• More than half are married
• More than half are parents

If all the facts aren’t working for you, let’s look at facebook and twitter for a minute. Think about tweets, status updates and timelines…how many links do you see on a daily basis? How many of those sites are run on a blog platform? If you said “almost all”, you’re right. It is rare to see links to “websites” any longer, even if you are referring someone to a product, you tend to send them articles (blogs) vs static sites (websites).

But, it’s not just the sheer volume of blogs anymore, it’s the volume of the voices. People blog about products, whether they like them or not. For example, when the new iPad hit last week, there were articles everywhere about it…and the majority of those articles were written on blogs! Who does the iPad need to impress? Those bloggers! What about something non techie, like a new food item? Doesn’t need to worry about bloggers right? Wrong. According to Technorati, there are over 33,000 blogs dedicated to just food (and the statistics are the same for almost all genres). Bloggers are the new journalists. They can write from anywhere, say (almost) anything about you, and are easily accessible. And if the blogger is popular? Their blogs can often outrank the “normal” articles on any given topic!

But of course, this is just what I see.

What do you think? Are bloggers running the world?

Today is the final one of the 7 sins of creativity and writing. If you haven’t seen the rest, start with the first 6, lust, gluttony, greed, sloth,  wrath and envy.

Wrapping it up is pride. While taking pride in your work is important, too much pride is dangerous – so dangerous that pride is actually considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, and indeed the ultimate source from which the others arise.

But what makes pride so dangerous? Pride sneaks up on you, it is subtle and very good at hiding just under the surface. You don’t even realize that you have been overwhelmingly boastful until it’s too late and you have alienated someone with your attitude. Unfortunately, we all boast in our writing, even the top bloggers are guilty.

Ari Herzog did it when he talked about getting fans to facebook like he did, Copyblogger did it when he wrote about how he made tons of money using Amazon affiliates, Chris Brogan did it when talking about new book being a best seller. While all of those posts were designed to teach something (facebook fan pages, how to use amazon better, and how to get a book promoted) the undertone of pride was almost too much to bear.

But, we give them a break because they know what they are talking about, have a blog with a lot of readers and are considered experts in their fields. We allow them to write in this manner, and don’t say a word.

The question of the day: Should they be granted that free pass to be prideful just because they are good at what they do? What about someone like me who may have had too much pride when I wrote about starting my own business?

Lastly, never one to keep an incredible find to myself, I just discovered that the entire Divine Comedy, the book that started my curiosities of the sins, Dante Alighieri’s incredible work, is available entirely online and for free! I’ve read it twice, but somewhere in all the moves I have made over the last 5 years, it was lost. I am so excited to be able to read it again and I cannot recommend it enough: The Divine Comedy, translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We are getting close to the end of the 7 sins. If you’re just tuning in, make sure to check out lust, gluttony, greed, sloth and wrath.

Now, let’s turn our attention to envy. The difference between envy and greed is rather difficult to explain, so I will let wikipedia do it for me: “Like greed, Envy (Latin, invidia) may be characterized by an insatiable desire; they differ, however, for two main reasons. First, greed is largely associated with material goods, whereas envy may apply more generally. Second, those who commit the sin of envy resent that another person has something they perceive themselves as lacking, and wish the other person to be deprived of it.”

Creative people come up with unique desires and goals. Envious people want something some one else has.

Simply put, envy isn’t creative.

Be creative and write 1 of your own desires or goals in the comments.

So far, we have covered Lust and Gluttony. The next in line is Greed. Traditionally, Greed in the 7 sins stood for the desire for copious amounts of wealth and a person who would stop at nothing to acquire that wealth. Over time, greed has been more loosely associated with the desire for too much of anything.

Whenever I think of greediness, the first thing that comes to mind is a book my mother used to make me read every time I was being greedy… The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies. Whenever I would start asking for too much, or acting ungrateful for what I had, she would threaten to make me read it again. It worked really well.

*honestly, if you have children and don’t have this book, I’d be surprised. The entire series of Berenstain Bears is actually worth owning as they cover almost all of the ‘lessons’ kids go through…I cherish the set I have of them.*

So, what does writing and creativity have to do with Greed?

Unfortunately, a lot!

Writers and creative types tend to be very greedy – and I am not sure why. I just know that anyone who I know who is creative or a writer (sadly, including myself) tends to be a bit greedy by nature.  As a person, I think those who are creative tend to want more out of everything. They want more attention, they want more appreciation and they want more recognition. Creative people do not make their money in basic 9-5, doing what someone tells them to, jobs. At least not those who are really hell bent on being creative. The creative types go out on their own and create their own businesses. Which means in order to do well, they must get noticed. So they talk about themselves, promote their work and show off. They gather a little bit of attention and all of a sudden, boom! They become greedier and greedier for that attention. They don’t want to share it, they don’t want anyone else to get that attention, they want it all to themselves.

I know what you’re thinking, “not all creative people/writers are like this. There are plenty of writers/creative types that show off other peoples work and are happy to share the spotlight”. I have to disagree. There are some, yes, that share the spotlight now that they are super successful, but have you noticed that even when they share the spotlight, they still have at least 51% of the attention? It is a challenge of personality that I think all creative people need to face, and realize, otherwise they risk it overpowering them.

Now, with this all said, I am not saying that creative/writers are the most greedy, or even in the top 10% (hello Bernie Maddoff? Imedla Marcos? George Steinbrenner?). But, I do believe that there is an inherently greedy nature to those involved in creative fields, and definitely in writers.

What do you think? Is there an inherent greediness or am I just assuming based on those whom I know?

Yesterday, I started my 7 sins of creativity and writing with lust. Today, we are on to sin #2, Gluttony.

Gluttony is traditionally defined as over-eating (either in amount of food or amount spent on food). In modern times, it has become more vague, and can be used to define anything done to an extreme. For example, a writer who writes too often and never gives the floor to someone else would be considered a gluttonous writer. Or one who writes about themselves all the time, and never shares the stories of other amazing individuals. So that I don’t fall into this category , I would like to share an incredible view on creativity from Brad Marley, a PR professional who shares his thoughts on his work, his life and anything else that pops into his brain on his blog at BradMarley.com. He has become a virtual friend via twitter and our blogs, and hopefully I will get a chance to meet him soon. So thanks Brad, for saving me from being a glutton, and for sharing your thoughts with my readers!

Creativity is Terrifying

Some of us are born with the ability to create things that others are willing to pay to experience.

Most of us are not.

If you’re one of the few that emerged from the womb a creativity prodigy, you can stop reading this blog post right now. Go ruin an iconic image with technology, or something.

Oh, good – everyone is still here. Let’s continue.

In public relations – where every company with a job opening is looking for creative individuals – it’s no different.

Rare is the opportunity when we actually put our creative chops to use.

We like to gather in conference rooms and brainstorm the craziest, most outlandish ideas for our client’s product roll-out…then bury them in a PowerPoint deck that the client never sees.

Why?

Because these creative ideas truly terrify us.

If they don’t stick, we look and aloof and careless; that little exposed part of our soul shrivels up and dies. Creating the ‘World’s Largest Rolodex’ seemed cutting edge among our peers, but put it in front of the CEO of a company?

No way.

And it’s like that in all walks of creativity.

The greatest idea you have ever compiled carries no resemblance to the end product. What seemed so clear and concise in your brain comes out looking like a Rorschach symbol. Your audience shares looks of confusion. Their casual indifference might as well be punches to the face. At least then the physical bruises would distract everyone from the mental anguish.

From there, creativity is off-limits. Everything you produce – from your best friend’s wedding speech to the eulogy at your grandfather’s funeral – is straight vanilla. Your wardrobe consists entirely of muted tones.

The world is a drab place. The sun never shines.

You eat nothing but Oreo cookies.

But then, one morning, you wake up to birds chirping and a shining sun.

It – this world where people make up stories and draw characters in costumes for a living – suddenly becomes so clear and obvious.

Creative people are crazy.

And you long to associate yourself with them.

Over the next 7 days, I will be covering the 7 sins of creativity, the things that you just can’t do if you want your writing powerful and your creative juices to stay strong. The idea was given to me by Andi, your online go to gal, one my blog readers. She created a fabulous series of the 7 sins of social media…and I loved the idea so much that I had to take it and run with it…changing it to the 7 sins of creativity and writing.

For those who need a refresher course, the 7 sins are:

1. Lust
2. Gluttony
3. Greed
4. Sloth
5. Wrath
6. Envy
7. Pride

Today is all about lust. Lust is traditionally tied to an overwhelming sexual desire, but over time, the word has been attributed to an overwhelming desire for almost anything. With creativity and writing, lust can be one of the most dangerous sins.Very similar to envy, lust is about the desire to have something someone else has. Unlike envy though, lust is more about your own personal gain, rather than anger towards someone for being successful

Many writers see someones success and have an overwhelming desire to have that same success. What they often forget to think about is the time and the energy that person put in to get where they are. Writers are not born overnight, they are trained, practiced and studied in their craft and spend every working moment improving what they do. Those new to creativity lust after the spotlight that great writing might bring them. They day dream about the money and fame they could acquire from a best selling novel. What that lust does is blind the writer to their own errors and leaves their writing on the back-burner. To overcome lust, one must take a step back and analyze what it is they are really lusting after. Once you have discovered the root of your lust, you can find a way to remove it.

Writing. The simple act of putting symbols together to form words, sentences and paragraphs on whatever surface and with whichever tool you have available. Writing is not impressive because of the tool you use or the way that you get the words to paper. The power of writing is in how you combine those words. The power is in what emotions you inspire and what thoughts and ideas you create. Writing is one of the most important gifts we are given. The ability to put a sentence together, connect it to the next and send it to so many so easily is a power many take for granted.

Did Greek Papyrus used so many thousands of years before make words…

…any more important than those written by Shakespeare with a quill and ink?

Or did the typewriter Mark Twain used to give us Huckleberry Finn make the words…

…more memorable than those typed on the laptop I use to write with everyday?

I’ve never felt a typewriter stick below my fingers halfway through my article, the frustration of ink spilling over half the page, or the brittle touch of papyrus as my writing crumbled in harsh hands. I don’t know what it was like to have to cross out words or get new paper because I didn’t like where the article was headed. I can’t imagine what it was like trying to get a 300 page story to be noticed, with only one handwritten copy to show off. What I can imagine is the heart that it took to continue writing even when no one wanted to read it. I understand the feeling of words falling on deaf ears. I know the desire to give up writing forever only to find someone who convinces me to keep going. I can completely comprehend the need, desire and passion that writing drives into you. Writing gives us the ability to share whatever we want, in whichever words we choose.

Writing gives us freedom.

Wow, I am so extremely flattered! I just got an email today from the writers of Just Spotted and have been nominated for this years award.

And a huge thank you to whomever (or whomevers) nominated me for this award! I am super excited and am looking forward to finding out who the winners are on the 19th…which brings me to my next point… VOTES!

The only way I will win is if I get the most votes, so click on the button below, look at the left hand column on the blog and under “Be Creative”, click on the button next to Wright Creativity and click vote!

Thank you, thank you, thank you in advance for helping me to win!