"Why do people blog?" a friend asked me. He seemed fascinated that I actually own a Linkedin group consisting of 25,000 members worldwide who do this thing called blogging. I did what I usually do when people ask me for something personal, I told him why other people do it but never told him why I do it.
It's certainly not for the thrill of seeing my name in print. I got over the thrill of being published pretty early in life . At the urging of Nancy Williams who was my high school newspaper advisor, creative writing teacher and journalism teacher. Ms. Williams and I spent a lot of time together so she had a lot of opportunities to hound me until I wrote and submitted my first article to a nationally published magazine when I was 17 years old. To my surprise, I got paid and my article was published. Yes, I was thrilled but I was 17 years old and had lots of testosterone and caffeinated soda in me so a lot of things thrilled me then that don't thrill me now.
I was on a roll for the first few years of my semi-professional writing life. I wrote and submitted articles to a lot of magazines before I got my first rejection. I was incensed and offended more than I was disappointed.
Over the years I thought I was a writer only because I sold articles to newspapers, magazines, journals and such but recently I realized that , to some extent, I have been making my living as a writer even when I wasn't sending query letters to editors.
My 10th grade English teacher, Tom Morgan, sort of predicted this. Sort of. He once told me that, because I can write and most people can't, I would get jobs, promotions and do better at whatever career path I chose simply because I can write better than most people. He was half right.
Half right because I hate to write and didn't gravitate to the kinds of things writers often gravitate to. And even when I did, I sometimes hated the job and looked for something else to do. If I really do have a gift as teachers have been telling me since 8th grade, I don't deserve it because I really hate writing.
So I'm not sure why I do this disintermediated blog thing. I haven't tried to monetize my blog so I don't do this for the money. I lost the thrill of seeing my name in print after I sold my third or fourth article so I don't do it for validation or ego.
I think I do it to discover who I am - or maybe to recover who I used to be when I was young and fearless and didn't have that little self-editor sitting in my ear telling me "You can't write that, you'll make somebody mad" or "you'll get sued."
I recently discussed this with Mark Wolfe at the Macia holiday party and Mark seemed to understand exactly what I was saying. I need to discuss this with him some more.
Sometimes I write to find out what I'm really thinking. I have sometimes talked myself out of something - changed my mind about something mid-article which meant that I had to start all over and re-write the whole thing. But that's OK. In fact, that's great because I'd rather be right than to just think I'm right so if I can change my mind just by poking at this keyboard with two fingers then I need to do it. Most of the time I don't even bother to edit my posts, I just write them and hit the publish button. I tell myself I'm just using my blog as a placeholder for stuff I'll develop later. Sometimes I actually do that but most of the time I'm sick of writing after a few paragraphs and just want to click publish and not think about it anymore.
I hope some of the members of The Blog Zone on Linkedin see this post and ask themselves why they do this disintermediated thing. And then I hope they tell us why they do it.
24 January, 2015
23 January, 2015
Joseph Higginbotham Is The New Owner Of Linkedin's Largest Blogger Group, The Blog Zone
Linkedin's largest community of bloggers, The Blog Zone, is open under new management.
With over 24,000 members, The Blog Zone is, by far, Linkedin's largest blogger group. I am the new owner/manager.
The Blog Zone now has a zero-tolerance for spam.
The Blog Zone now has a zero-tolerance for account names that violate Linkedin terms of use.
I have ejected about 1500 or so members for violations of various kinds.
The Blog Zone is now safe for Linkedin members who are serious about blogging.
Come join us.
West Virginia, Saint Albans, St. Albans, Dunbar, Charleston, Kanawha, Speaker bureau, speakers bureau, speaker's bureau, speakers' bureau, guest speaker, 25177, 25143, 25303, 25309, 25301, 25302, 25305, 25311, 25314, 25304, neighborhood watch, animal rights, animal welfare, no-kill, shelters, crime watch, neighborhood crime watch, ward 4,vegan, vegetarian, liberal, liberalism, progressive, branding, naming, home rule, dog tethering, Peoples Party, portmanteaus, ghost writer, ghostwriter, ghostwriting, ghost writing, neologisms, neologism, brand names, brand name, dog racing, Grey2K, Carey Thiel, Phil Kabler, Rob Casto
With over 24,000 members, The Blog Zone is, by far, Linkedin's largest blogger group. I am the new owner/manager.
The Blog Zone now has a zero-tolerance for spam.
The Blog Zone now has a zero-tolerance for account names that violate Linkedin terms of use.
I have ejected about 1500 or so members for violations of various kinds.
The Blog Zone is now safe for Linkedin members who are serious about blogging.
Come join us.
---
Higginbotham At Large does not read or publish pseudonymous or anonymous comments. When you click the "submit" button your comment is not yet published it is merely sent to me for my approval or deletion. Commenters who hide behind "handles", nicknames or other pseudonyms will not see their comments published here. If readers won't know who you are, I will delete your comment. No Ring of Gyges for you. I like email addresses that include the submitter's actual name like mine does: JosephHigginbotham@gmail.com.
Higginbotham At Large does not read or publish pseudonymous or anonymous comments. When you click the "submit" button your comment is not yet published it is merely sent to me for my approval or deletion. Commenters who hide behind "handles", nicknames or other pseudonyms will not see their comments published here. If readers won't know who you are, I will delete your comment. No Ring of Gyges for you. I like email addresses that include the submitter's actual name like mine does: JosephHigginbotham@gmail.com.
West Virginia, Saint Albans, St. Albans, Dunbar, Charleston, Kanawha, Speaker bureau, speakers bureau, speaker's bureau, speakers' bureau, guest speaker, 25177, 25143, 25303, 25309, 25301, 25302, 25305, 25311, 25314, 25304, neighborhood watch, animal rights, animal welfare, no-kill, shelters, crime watch, neighborhood crime watch, ward 4,vegan, vegetarian, liberal, liberalism, progressive, branding, naming, home rule, dog tethering, Peoples Party, portmanteaus, ghost writer, ghostwriter, ghostwriting, ghost writing, neologisms, neologism, brand names, brand name, dog racing, Grey2K, Carey Thiel, Phil Kabler, Rob Casto
09 January, 2015
Why Gil Dunn's Business Card Is Worth $26K
People will not do business with a stranger if an acceptable non-stranger is available.
You look through the yellow pages for a lawyer or a plumber or an accountant and you don't see anybody you know so you don't hire any of these strangers. Later that day, you mention to your friend or your neighbor that you need a plumber. He recommends one that he has used and liked. You call that plumber and give him the work. What just happened?
The plumber moved from the stranger category to the non-stranger category. How?
The shortest distance between two strangers is a trusted mutual friend.
Here's one I've seen hundreds of times: A manager places an employment ad in the newspaper or on the internet and receives stacks of resumes from qualified strangers but he doesn't hire any of them. Why not? People don't do business with strangers if there is an acceptable non-stranger available. The hiring manager probably doesn't know it but he/she is waiting for an acceptable non-stranger.
One day the hiring manager is introduced to an acceptable non-stranger by a mutual friend and makes the hire. Why?
The acceptable non-stranger was moved out of the stranger category because he was endorsed or recommended by a friend.
The shortest distance between two strangers is a trusted mutual friend.
Don't be a stranger.
Why Gil Dunn's business card is worth $26,000: One day I was looking through some business cards I'd collected over the years and I found Gil Dunn's card. I couldn't remember ever meeting Gil Dunn but I had his card. Gil was a radio marketing guy and I had a question I thought he could answer for me so I called this stranger named Gil Dunn. Gil didn't remember ever meeting me, either, but he helped me with my question. Just before we hung up the phone Gil asked me what I did for a living. I answered and then he asked me if he could give my contact info to a principal at a local company. When I said yes, Gil told me I might get a call.
The next day I got a call from Gil's friend who invited me to his office and gave me $26,000 worth of work that I was happy to do.
Gil Dunn moved me from the stranger category to the non-stranger category with a guy who paid me $26k.
The shortest distance between two strangers is a mutual friend.
Don't be a stranger.
I can't quote Harry Beckwith enough: "Competence gets firms into a game that relationships win."
Get introduced. Don't be a stranger.
West Virginia, Saint Albans, St. Albans, Dunbar, Charleston, Kanawha, Speaker bureau, speakers bureau, speaker's bureau, speakers' bureau, guest speaker, 25177, 25143, 25303, 25309, 25301, 25302, 25305, 25311, 25314, 25304, neighborhood watch, animal rights, animal welfare, no-kill, shelters, crime watch, neighborhood crime watch, ward 4,vegan, vegetarian, liberal, liberalism, progressive, branding, naming, home rule, dog tethering, Peoples Party, portmanteaus, ghost writer, ghostwriter, ghostwriting, ghost writing, neologisms, neologism, brand names, brand name, dog racing, Grey2K, Carey Thiel, Phil Kabler, Rob Casto
You look through the yellow pages for a lawyer or a plumber or an accountant and you don't see anybody you know so you don't hire any of these strangers. Later that day, you mention to your friend or your neighbor that you need a plumber. He recommends one that he has used and liked. You call that plumber and give him the work. What just happened?
The plumber moved from the stranger category to the non-stranger category. How?
The shortest distance between two strangers is a trusted mutual friend.
Here's one I've seen hundreds of times: A manager places an employment ad in the newspaper or on the internet and receives stacks of resumes from qualified strangers but he doesn't hire any of them. Why not? People don't do business with strangers if there is an acceptable non-stranger available. The hiring manager probably doesn't know it but he/she is waiting for an acceptable non-stranger.
One day the hiring manager is introduced to an acceptable non-stranger by a mutual friend and makes the hire. Why?
The acceptable non-stranger was moved out of the stranger category because he was endorsed or recommended by a friend.
The shortest distance between two strangers is a trusted mutual friend.
Don't be a stranger.
Why Gil Dunn's business card is worth $26,000: One day I was looking through some business cards I'd collected over the years and I found Gil Dunn's card. I couldn't remember ever meeting Gil Dunn but I had his card. Gil was a radio marketing guy and I had a question I thought he could answer for me so I called this stranger named Gil Dunn. Gil didn't remember ever meeting me, either, but he helped me with my question. Just before we hung up the phone Gil asked me what I did for a living. I answered and then he asked me if he could give my contact info to a principal at a local company. When I said yes, Gil told me I might get a call.
The next day I got a call from Gil's friend who invited me to his office and gave me $26,000 worth of work that I was happy to do.
Gil Dunn moved me from the stranger category to the non-stranger category with a guy who paid me $26k.
The shortest distance between two strangers is a mutual friend.
Don't be a stranger.
I can't quote Harry Beckwith enough: "Competence gets firms into a game that relationships win."
Get introduced. Don't be a stranger.
Higginbotham At Large does not read or publish pseudonymous or anonymous comments. When you click the "submit" button your comment is not yet published it is merely sent to me for my approval or deletion. Commenters who hide behind "handles", nicknames or other pseudonyms will not see their comments published here. If readers won't know who you are, I will delete your comment. No Ring of Gyges for you. I like email addresses that include the submitter's actual name like mine does: JosephHigginbotham@gmail.com.
West Virginia, Saint Albans, St. Albans, Dunbar, Charleston, Kanawha, Speaker bureau, speakers bureau, speaker's bureau, speakers' bureau, guest speaker, 25177, 25143, 25303, 25309, 25301, 25302, 25305, 25311, 25314, 25304, neighborhood watch, animal rights, animal welfare, no-kill, shelters, crime watch, neighborhood crime watch, ward 4,vegan, vegetarian, liberal, liberalism, progressive, branding, naming, home rule, dog tethering, Peoples Party, portmanteaus, ghost writer, ghostwriter, ghostwriting, ghost writing, neologisms, neologism, brand names, brand name, dog racing, Grey2K, Carey Thiel, Phil Kabler, Rob Casto
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