Category Archives: Blogging

9 years, 5,000 posts

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In a couple of weeks I will have been posting here for 9 years. And a couple of days ago I posted for the 5,000th time. Let me hasten to add, most of those are quotes and links and such, but every one something I found interesting and worth sharing.

There’s not much I can say about blogging that I haven’t said here, countless times. The greatest value continues to be as an archive or, perhaps, a knowledge base (for me).

Twitter and Facebook and all the rest will come and go, but I’ll continue to note and share stuff here.

Blogger Screening

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Starting and maintaining a blog (any website?) is like buying a hamster. You hurry home and put together the cage with brightly colored tunnels and the little wheel that spins round and round. The sawdust in the bottom of the cage smells fresh and sweet.

And then it becomes work. A chore that must be attended to every day.

I help people (clients and internal staff) set up blogs and websites and the initial conversation goes something like this:

ME: So what will you put on this website?

THEM: Well, there will be an “about” page… and maybe photos and bios of our people.

ME: Okay, what else?

THEM: Uh, how about a map showing where we’re located?

ME: Alright, although it’s pretty easy to Google us for that. Anything else?

Nobody really cares about your bios and company history. They really don’t. They care about stuff that will be useful to them. If you don’t have that –and have it regularly–I’d argue a blog probably isn’t the right tool.

As for the Web 1.0 static “home page,” name one you’ve visited twice.

Going forward, I think I might use the following test:

Before we start building your new website, I want you to pick a topic that you know something about. Ideally, something about which you are passionate. Skeet shooting, counted cross-stitching, raising llamas, whatever.

Send me an email every day for the next 10 days. It should include an excerpt and link to something related to your topic… along with 150 words explaining why you think this is interesting or important.

That’s it. If you can’t do that, you’re probably wasting your time (and mine).

Every good blogger I know would have no problem with this. It would take them 5 min each day. Maybe 10. Comments?

Somebody else said it better

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In a month this blog will be 9 years old. Should be very close to 5,000 posts by then. My friend George has been following along for the last several years and he says the blog has changed. He says I’m much more likely to post a line or two followed by a block quote from some other source. Or a video. Or a photo. George is of the opinion that I used to write longer, original pieces. I’m not sure he’s correct and it would just take some time to check but I’m willing to stipulate that he is right. So, why the change?

  • I’m less sure of my opinions. And, more importantly, feel less need to share them or -thank god- be “right.” I’m pretty sure I would be unable to pass Scott Adams’ “Ignorance Test” on a lot of subjects I’ve expressed opinions on. Oh, and it has finally sunk in that almost nobody really cares what somebody else thinks.
  • More (better?) places to share thoughts/links. When I started this blog in February of 2002, there was no Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, Posterous, etc. A lot of the links and block quotes that used to land here, are shared somewhere else.
  • Somebody else said it better. I think this is the Big One. I read more (and more varied) stuff now than at any other time in my life. The web has exposed me to an almost infinite variety of ideas and perspectives. From people who CAN pass the Ignorance Test. Who DO know what they’re talking about. And who express themselves clearly and powerfully. So, if there’s an idea that I think is worth sharing, I link to them with an excerpt to pique your interest.

George is right. smays.com has become more about aggregation and curation. Maybe a little like my personal card catalogue. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come back here to find a quote or a video or reference that would otherwise be lost (to me) forever.

“Blog as a platform”

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Chris Brogan advises building something of personal or business value by starting as if you already have a platform.

“When I say “platform,” I mean this: a body of principles on which a person or group takes a stand in appealing to the public; program.” In this, I also mean build a presence, a place from which to share those principles and ideas.”

He goes on to describe his blog as…

“a place where people can come to get a taste of what I think and what I stand for, and it’s a place where people can match and measure their own ideas against what I put out there.”

Yes. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell. I like having such a place. And, for better or worse, my blog is a “taste of what I think and stand for.” Even people who have known me for many years wouldn’t know as much about what I think and stand for as someone who reads these posts.

I’ll dabble in the social shallows of Twitter and Facebook but they cannot be (for me) the platform Mr. Brogan describes

Dave Winer’s proposal for a new kind of blog comment system

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“I know some people think that blogs are conversations, but I don’t. I think they’re publications. And I think the role of comments is to add value to the posts. If you want to rebut a post, then you can create your own blog and post your rebuttal there.”

This makes a lot of sense to me. If there is ever an easy-to-implement version of Mr. Winer’s system, I’m there.