Blogging | A Sales Guy

Online, Offline — The Balance?

I had a great 4th of July weekend. 4th of July is becoming one of my families favorite holidays. We buy fireworks, grill on the front lawn, have all the neighbors over, set up a jumpy castle and just enjoy the weekend. It’s a blast. My daughters love playing with the sparklers and smoke bombs. It’s great to spend time with friends and neighbors.

One of the reasons we enjoy the 4th so much is because it’s such an active holiday. Unlike many of the other holidays; which are more family oriented due to their religious nature, I see the 4th as a community holiday. The 4th gets people outside together; playing games, camping, grilling, going to the beach etc. Similar to Coleman camping gear‘snew campaign; the 4th of July is like the original social network.

It’s the active nature of this past weekend that’s causing me a little anxiety.

I was offline almost the entire weekend. I blogged just once, yet my goal is to blog everyday. I stayed away from most of my other social networking, like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc. as well. I’m OK with the decrease in my social networking presence, but I am not quite sure I’m OK with not blogging. As I said; my goal is to blog everyday. I’ve averaged 6.2 blog posts a week for the past year. Clearly I’ve missed a few. But this weekend, I didn’t blog 3 days out of 4.

I like blogging. I don’t see it as a chore. However, determining content can be hard. It takes me about an hour or two a day to post. A good 35 to 40 percent of that time is spent editing. If you read this blog you know I still miss a lot of stuff. But hey, where I lack in grammar and editing skills I try to make up with content. Despite the fact I don’t see it as a chore, it can be tough to “crank out” a good post quickly. In order to get it done, I have to be targeted, focused, and take time out to determine the subject, write, edit, and post. This is hard during a holiday like the 4th of July.

I’m not sure where I stand on this. Emotionally, I am OK with it. I spent the time with my family. I was completely engaged in off-line activities that matter. It was a great weekend. I had a blast. Intellectually and logically, I’m not OK with it. I’ve committed to blogging everyday. Many of the blogs I read everyday (all though not over this past weekend ) manage to have new posts up over the holiday. So intellectually, I’m not OK with missing the days.

I’m going to spend some time this week figuring out my philosophy on balancing my offline presence and with my online presence, because sometimes I just can’t be two places at once.

I want to know what this community thinks. Did you miss there not being any posts this weekend? Would you have read them if there were? What do you think? How do you balance your online and offline presence? Share your thoughts in the comments.

July 6, 2010 | Filed under: Random,Web 2.0/Social Networking | View Comments |

The Blog Connection

I have over 50 blogs in my reader. I like them all. I read at least one post from all of them every week. All of them offer something I find compelling and interesting. Despite how good the content is and even the blog subjects, there are a few blogs I call favorites. These blogs are the first blogs I read everyday. I’ve put them in a “favorites” folder. I always open my favorites folder first. Within my favorites folder, there is an order in which I read them. I have a favorites of my favorites. I almost never miss a post from these blogs. I don’t read every post from all the other blogs in my reader, despite the fact that I do like them all. They are good blogs.

So, why? Why is that we read some blogs religiously and others sporadically.

Conventional wisdom will say it’s the content. It’s the subject matter. It’s the writing style. I agree, but I think it’s more than that. I think it’s a connection.

Blogs are personal. More so than a newspaper article. There is no editor white washing any personality from the story. Blogs are extensions of the authors personality. This personal element of blogging allows people to create a connection to the blog itself. It’s this connection that draws us to one blog over another despite content or subject matter.

I definitely have a connection to my favorite blogs. In some cases, the connection was created through the comments overtime. Other times it’s the authors perspective and attitude. Sometimes it is a combination. What I do know is the blogs I favorite have a personality to them that resonates with me. Like friends, it’s the personalities that draw me to them and determine how much time I want to spend with them.

I was flattered when a former employee told me that he reads my blog everyday. I have other friends and former employees who read this blog sporadically and I know I have friends and former employees who dont’ read this blog at all. It takes more than just a personal relationship to create a blog connection.

How do you create a connection with readers? You can’t.

Trying to create a connection with your readers is like trying to get the kids at the popular lunch table to like you. Either they will or they won’t. All you can do is be yourself. We’ve been trained to avoid controversy, not to offend, and not to be provocative in a public setting. Blogging is for sure a public setting. This approach does nothing to connect with readers. I constantly remind myself of this when I post. I post through my personality. I post with the conviction that this is my blog and therefore an extension of me. Some will connect with A Sales Guy and read it everyday, others will like it and read it when they remember, they rest will just come and go. I’m OK with this, because it’s exactly how I read others blogs.

What is it about one blog vs another? Why do you find yourself reading some blogs everyday, while only reading others a few days a week?

Is it a connection thing for you too?

7 Things to do From the First Day of Blogging. (shoutmeloud.com)
An Introduction to Blogging (globalthoughtz.com)
Don’t Worry if Your Blog Sucks – Here are 3 Tips to a Better Blog (howtospoter.com)

June 30, 2010 | Filed under: Asset of The Future,Web 2.0/Social Networking | View Comments |

The Perfect Storm, Getting Back on Track

This week ends the worst week of blogging I’ve ever had. I’ve blogged three days this week. That’s it.

It was a perfect storm. I was on the road traveling. I am engaged in a couple of large efforts at work. The new baby, Ava, has interrupted my sleep schedule, and worse of all, I’ve had writers block.

I normally average just over 6 posts a week. I am way off this week.

I am not feeling very good about my poor performance. I’m not feeling good for a couple of reasons. One reason is I have a commitment to this community to show up regularly. I haven’t done that this week. I apologize. Another reason I’m not happy with my performance is it get’s contagious for me. I am a streak player. I get caught up in streaks. It’s a great trait, except at the transition, because a new streak has to be created.

My blogging streak has been going for over a year. I am used to it. Blogging almost everyday is part of my routine. This week, however, having missed 3 days, the streak has been interrupted. Interrupting my streaks gets me off track. I started to feel off track this week as the perfect storm took it’s toll.

I woke up this a.m. after a long night. I told myself I had to get back on track.

I’m getting back on track this week. The storm is clearing and even if it doesn’t I will learn to sail in the storm.

Thanks for hanging in there with me.

May 2, 2010 | Filed under: Random,What I Think! | View Comments |

From a Blog To a Community

The thing I love the most about blogging is the conversation in the comments. The comments in a blog turn it from a broadcast medium to a community. I think community is where it’s at. Unfortunately, turning a blog into a community is the hardest part of blogging.

One of the best blogging communities on the web today is Fred Wilson’s AVC Blog. Fred gets 100′s of comments a day. They are killer comments from some cool folks. The comments are so good, it’s not uncommon for them to produce a secondary conversation. I’ve had some great conversations with folks in his comment stream. It is truly a community.

I want to build a community like that here. I love the conversation.

With this in mind, I was curious; how long does it take? Assuming the obvious, good content, consistency of posts, links from other blogs, etc, how long does it take to go from being a blog to being a community?

I looked at Fred’s posts starting from day. Like most new bloggers, he had few comments. He averaged less then 10 a day in his first year. In some respect you could say he was doing a little better than most new bloggers, as they avg less than 2 a day. But, after a year his blog was far from a community. He was posting some great stuff. His take on search during Google’s IPO is killer, considering it was over 5 years ago. I looked at year two, a modest increase in the comments and participation, but still no community. His third year, similar results. Then around March of 2008, something changes. AVC becomes a community. It wasn’t like a switch went on, but it was that month when comments on Fred’s blog started to act like a community. It was at that point his comment averaged 20 per post, with some posts having 100′s of comments.

I say Fred’s blog became a community in March of 2008. I don’t know the reason, if there were some event, like Twitter, or something else. What I do know is it took 4 1/2 years. That’s a long time, but worth it.

Fred has a destination blog. It’s a great community, with great readers, who are smart, engaging and not afraid to say what they think.

I want that here and if it takes 4 years so be it. At least now I know.

December 14, 2009 | Filed under: Web 2.0/Social Networking,What I Think! | View Comments |

204th Post

This is my 204th post. The most unique component of blogging has been creating the content. What makes it interesting is the conflict in my head. I would always ask, will you (my readers) like it? Will you get something out of it. Is it providing any value? Despite the conflict in my head, I still get surprised by your responses. The ones I think you’ll love, turn out to be just OK. Then the ones I think are just OK, turn out to be your favorites. Blogging can mess with your head.

You spent yesterday telling me why this blog sucks. Now, I’m curious why this blog doesn’t suck. What do you like about it. Why have you subscribed to the RSS feed? Why do you read it. Why is it worth your time?

Here are the most popular posts to date.

1. -What Really Motivates Sales People?
2. -Online Presence: Asset of the Future – Why Your Social Graph Will Be Worth As Much As Your Home
3. -What Motivates You?

What do you think? Why doesn’t this blog suck?

October 15, 2009 | Filed under: Uncategorized,What I Think! | View Comments |

Why My Blog Sucks?

I’ve just hit a milestone. I posted my 200th post the other day. I’m pretty proud of that accomplishment. It’s not easy coming up with blog posts everyday. I’m amazed I’ve hit two hundred. Now that I’ve hit that milestone I want to check in with you guys. I want your feedback. What do I need to different on this blog? What sucks? What should I do different? What could I do to make it better?

What sucks about A Sales Guy? You tell me. I want to know.

Here are the 3 least viewed, least popular posts to help you out.

1. It’s About The Interaction
2. I Don’t Get It
3. The Revolutionary War Created Blogging

(tomorrow, I’ll ask why my blog rocks, so stay on topic today. We’ll get to the feel good stuff tomorrow.)

October 14, 2009 | Filed under: Web 2.0/Social Networking,What I Think! | View Comments |

The Community Blog vs. The Information Blog

There are two types of blogs. There are community blogs, where readers leave lots of comments and the discussion in the comments can be as interesting and informative as the actual blog itself. Then, there are information blogs, where the destination is about the information. Community blogs have lots of comments. The discussion is often happening between those leaving comments rather than with the author. Fred Wilson and Chris Brogan are excellent examples of community blogs. Information blogs are destination blogs, where people visit for the content. They read, they leave. They rarely leave comments and there is little dialog happening on the site.

I like community blogs better. I love the interaction. I dig the dissent and conversation. Community blogs do just that, they create community. Community blogs improve the content and promote interaction through the dialogue. Community is what makes blogs better.

I was talking to a reader of this blog today, and asked him why he doesn’t leave a comment. He couldn’t tell me why. He wasn’t sure. He said he shares the information with his non blogosphere network, but he doesn’t leave comments and he didn’t know why. He committed to think about it and get back to me. I’ll update this post with his thoughts when I hear back from him. Or, maybe he’ll leave them in the comments.

What do you think? What makes a community blog a community blog? What happens, that turns an information blog into a community blog? When do you comment and when don’t you? Why? I’d love your thoughts, you can leave them in the comments.

September 1, 2009 | Filed under: Web 2.0/Social Networking,What I Think! | View Comments |

Amazon: Stop Trying To Be Cute

When I was a kid and my Mom asked me to do something, I would try to be cute and do it different. If she asked me to mow the lawn, I’d mow it in circles instead of rows. Sounded fun, but it looked like crap. Instead of walking my dog, I tied her to the handlebars of my bike. The dog got more exercise and I didn’t have to work very hard. Unfortunately, she pulled so hard she ripped the handle bars off the bike. No more bike for me. In the 70′s that was tragic, my bike was my life. To my mom “getting cute” was over thinking something that already worked and screwing it up by trying to do it differently.

My Mom’s classic line: “Stop trying to be cute and just do it right”.

If given the chance, I think that ‘s what my Mom would say to Amazon. “Stop trying to be cute and just do it right”.

Amazon just announced their inclusion of all blogs into their Kindle store. This is great news if you author a blog. Kindle owners can now access your blog from their device. Making all blogs available on the Kindle was smart. Here is where Amazon isn’t too smart and where my mother would say they are trying to be cute. Amazon is going to charge for blogs. Kindle owners will have to pay $1.99 a month, per blog. That’s over $100 bucks a year to follow just 5 blogs on a Kindle. Aren’t blogs free? Why do I have to pay Amazon to read on their device, what I can read on any other device for FREE?

I think this a big mistake on Amazon’s part. I’m seriously looking at buying a Kindle. One reason I’m drawn to it is for blog reading. But not if I have to pay to read them.

There are too many other ways to access the blogs I read for free, to find value in paying to read them on a Kindle. Blogs are free, to get cute and try to change that is foolish.

I think the value of the Kindle isn’t to the readers of blogs, but to the authors. I won’t pay 1.99 a month to read a blog on a Kindle, but as an author, I would pay 5-10 bucks per month to have this blog available to Kindle users.

The problem with Amazons strategy is there is no blog reader market today. Readers don’t pay for blogs, the authors do. There IS an author market however. Authors pay designers to create themes, authors pay hosting fees, and in some cases authors pay to market their blogs. There is a blog author market.

Trying to create a blog reader market, where one doesn’t exist, doesn’t make sense. Readers don’t pay in any way to read a blog. They don’t pay to access, they don’t pay to read, the don’t pay to share. Why try to change this? Amazon should target the authors. They already pay. If you sell enough Kindles, make it easy to for people find and access blogs, the authors will pay. I know I would.

Trying to get people to pay $10-$100′s of dollars a year for something they’re currently getting for free is what Mom calls . . . “trying to be cute”.

Amazon, just mow the lawn in rows, it’ll get done faster and look better.

May 15, 2009 | Filed under: Marketing,What I Think! | View Comments |

Information Catching

I’m a blog, Internet information, junkie. I find great stuff I want to get back to. Evernote makes this easy for me. I found Evernote about 6 months ago. It has become a part of my everyday life. Evernote is a hosted/cloud based note saving service. What I like most about it, is it’s web page capturing feature. With Evernote’s simple desktop app. a single click of the mouse, and I can capture, tag and save the web page I’m viewing. It’s great for blog research.

Evernote’s I-Phone app gives you the ability to take notes via, text, picture, or voice. Combining Evernote on my laptop with the I-Phone, I never stress out about finding that blog post I loved, or where I parked my car at the airport. It is also key for my client and customer research. I don’t always know when I’m going to stumble across a killer piece of information, but with Evernote, I always know were to put it.

With all the information flying at us on a daily basis, we need something to catch it. Evernote is an information catcher.

May 9, 2009 | Filed under: Web 2.0/Social Networking,What I Think! | View Comments |