My Thoughts on Lessons Learned

Kent Newsome at Newsome.org recently did a post concerning lessons learned about blogging and some stuff he would do differently if he was starting his blog now. I’ve been blogging only since this past January and some of Kents’ points struck a cord with me.

I’d do a lot more reading blogs before I started writing one. I read a few blogs before I started blogging, but I didn’t really understand the process. I thought blogging was just an easier way to manage content on a personal home page. It’s a lot more than that. If I had known what I was doing when I started, I think I would have been accepted by the old school bloggers a lot sooner.

To my mind blogging is part art, part science, part luck, and more work then it often seems from the outside. I’m reading as many blogs as I have time for and trying to pick up small hints, techniques, and learned skills that I can make my own. I wish I had the time to read more. I’m amazed and have great respect for bloggers who have the ability to generate good to great content day after day.

I’d start traveling up the hill with other bloggers sooner. Starting a blog is still really hard. It’s so much easier when you’re doing it with some other folks.

My experience certainly agrees that starting a blog is hard. But it is also a work of love if your head is in the right place. I’ve found a few folks who have been generous with linking to me and my golden rule is to always give credit and links when due. If in doubt link and track-back. I’m very conscious of not wanting to be a leach of others content, Sorry Kent, I guess I am of yours in this post but I’m hoping to add some small value of my own.

I’d start out using WordPress instead of Blogger…

I did lots of testing, reading, and comparison before I started blogging and I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I’ve been that I started with WordPress. What I can make of Meandering Passage is only limited by my imagination and technical skill.

I’d get over my hang-ups about emailing other bloggers about a relevant post of mine…

I’m still not comfortable with doing this either. It’s got to be something about the way I was raised where you just don’t blow your own horn. But then if you won’t blow your own horn, how can you expect anyone else to. I need to work on this one.

I’d start out assuming a position of authority instead of typing my fingers off and waiting for people to realize that I am an authority.

It’s a very fine line between assuming a position and rightly deserving a position. I still believe that in many cases you have to put your time in. While doing so you are learning the trade and building your blogging reputation.

As I was writing this I was thinking that it’s a shame there’s not some sort of volunteer one-to-one blogger mentoring program available where an experienced, successful, professional blogger would take extra time for six months or so to help some sincere beginning blogger get an inside track…a “”Blogger Match”” so to speak. Or perhaps we could call it “Adopt A Blogger”…you know a Big Blogger program. ~grin~ Just a thought.

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