So after reading this article “How to be Heard” by Stephen Downes, I had to sit back and take it all in! Wow was my first reaction. I didn’t know how huge and popular blogging really is! Honestly, its a virtual world! At first I was inspired to become a blogger myself. How exciting is it to express yourself by writing, share it with the world and get feedback from people who have interest in what your saying! Of course as Stephen mentioned it doesn’t start off like that. First you have to know what to write! Hell, it took me at least 10 minutes to get the first two sentences down on this blog. And this is an assignment! So already I am tense and feeling pressured to put SOMETHING down, get SOMETHING going. Man this blogging is tough.
So for someone like me, how can I overcome this “blogging block”? Obviously I am no writer, nor do I write on a daily bases. So if the purpose of my blog should attract people and show what I can do, then why do I feel like I have nothing that would attract people? Is this a normal feeling for “new bloggers”? *Sigh* moving on….
Ok, so it took me another 10 minutes to figure out what to move on to! My excitement for this blogging is slowly decreasing. Why is it so hard to write but so easy to talk? Stephen mentions in his article when writing a post you should add value to the item you are writing about and not merely restate what the other person already said. I’m I adding value? How do you add value to someone who is an expert at this?! *sigh* moving on…
One thing that made me ask, “Do people really do this?” was marketing your blog. I mean writing a blog is difficult, especially when you are trying to write for an audience, but on top of that market yourself! Where do you find the time? Well there I go, just like Stephen said, “a common complaint of would-be bloggers is that they have no time”. Well I say, look at what you have to do just to get your blog started! I personally am a mother of 2 and a full time student. I won’t go into my daily routine but anyone who can relate knows that those two things combined doesn’t really leave much room for anything else.
But it still seems exciting!…..
So I am still not sure if I am really adding any VALUE to Stephen Downes’s article, but his article was valuable to me. I admit, nothing is ever really easy once you start. If I can discipline myself to not force it and let my words flow, then maybe I can enjoy this blog thing like everyone else!
Hey, and if it stops being fun, I’ll just quit! “Life is too short to do things you don’t like doing.” Nicely said Stephen!
One of the main reasons to write a Blog has to be that its for you. If you have a passion or like for something then write it down. Adding value is of course important, but this tend to be more in relation to people who write articles on existing subjects, if you are not going to “add value” you are effectively cut and pasting the material.
So where do you find your niche ? Well as your article above does, a good way to add value is simply for your blog to be a “Journal” of thoughts. You can review items, articles, your life and do it in your own way. If no one reads it does it matter ?
Ultimately you are doing this for yourself. You will also find that after several article your writing style and time spent improves. I have found my own blog becoming more direct and precise as I go (though I need to inject s little more humour). So keep typing and you will see changes.
Good luck, I hope you have fun
Thank you, Thank you! You have proven to me that it is exciting to express myself and get feedback! I also appreciate you elaborating on “adding value.” That had to be one of my biggest hang-ups because I couldn’t stop asking myself, “Am I adding value?”
Already I have found I enjoy writing as if this blog was my journal. It’s when I begin to think about attracting others that my mind goes blank and I get tense. So for me, I guess it wouldn’t matter if people read my entries or not. Although I did attract you! That’s a Plus.
So to you I say Thank you once again. I always feel things happen for a reason, and you have definitely giving me the push to keep trying.
I believe that anything that benefits you and helps you gain knowledge that you didn’t know before is valuable. Even if it is information that someone else knows because I guarantee that there is someone out there that doesn’t know what you just discovered. When blogging about your passion you should still have some kind of structure because scattering thinks and ideas is just like tossing clothes on the floor in the closet and on the bed(soon they end up in that crack between the wall and the bed and no one sees them).
I assure you that you have value to give, we all do. But I understand your concern here. Just realize that you are unique and your thoughts (fears included) are something different about that topic, such as blogging. Your excitement and disappointment are quite normal for attempting anything new that you haven’t experienced before. And what about the young people interested in this field who would like to know what it is like? There is always someone who can learn from you. But only if you begin!