Barbara,

That’s a great way to look at it. I have a friend who teaches people to present. And he doesn’t talk about it from a sales perspective, even though by reading his books it helps people sell an awful lot more.

He always asks you to think of the audience. He is partially blind. his mother is blind. So he grew up explaining the world around him to his mother - from the perspective of a blind person.

That helped him develop a very unique talent. He now travels the world delivering presentations to huge audiences.

And your post struck a chord with me. If we write as though we become the visitor to the blog and think about what would help them, then I think it creates value.

I don’t have a monetised link thing for my friends book, but he does have a web-site for it, and while I am completely biased, I strongly recommend his book.

It became a best-seller in the UK and I think it is now available in the US. His name is Andy Bounds and the book is “The Jell Effect” (How to make your communication stick).

And if you don’t mind me including it’s web-site, it’s http://www.jellyeffect.com

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Sorry Barbara.

On the personal blog, I am trying to become the audience. My company went bust and I started another. I couldn’t find any web-sites or blogs from people talking about their experiences, what they did, how they coped etc.

And at that time, I knew little about blogs, but started one. Throughout it, I have tried to both chronicle what happened and also try and give advice on what you can do when you’re struggling, how you can cope, how you tell people about what’s happened, and anything else that sprung to mind.

I’m actually being a bit of a free spirit in the blog, not really following a plan or structure, but always keeping the audience in mind.

The company blog (http://www.multisolutions.co.uk) for the resurrected company is focusing on what small businesses can do to improve their IT experience. I try and reflect things which can improve the IT experience for a general office worker.

And include the odd video of us being punished for not meeting our customer satisfaction targets! So they see we take what we do seriously (even though we try and make the punishments a little more hunorous!).

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I think alot of blogs need to take a paradigm shift. When a blog is started for purely personal monetary gain, no matter how well you write your stuff, the commercial aspect will creep out.

And while that will work for some - and there’s lots we all know about, it won’t work for copy-cats.

Blogs are the equivalent of a TV channel. Instead of tuning into a mindless TV show, instead, increasing numbers of people are tuning into the things that interest them.

The fact that they are interactive, makes them more compelling than the mainstream stuff. I do occasionally watch TV, but nowhere near as much as I used to.

Are TV viewing figures in the US plemmeting as much as they are in the UK?

I suspect so.

I’m not saying blogs are the future, but I do suspect that consumer choice is now becoming wider and more diverse than ever before. And the mainstream media are wondering where the audience is going.

And they are becoming empowered. We can choose to tune into blogs. Forums. Social networking sites. YouTube channels (which combine all of the former) and who knows what’s around the corner?

Back to the point, if you are helping others, then what you say has value. And people will return for value. They will return for intrigue too. Comedy. Tragedy. Factual information.

At base DNA level we are social animals. We are interactive. We want to interact with people. TV was never interactive. It is becoming so. But it’s not quite 2-way. It’s many to one. And one back to many.

You simply don’t get the personal response and reaction that a blog comment can deliver.

Equally though, in a more broader and crowded forum such as social networking or forums, people don’t need to be individually heard as much.

But we all thrive on the sense of community.

That is re-created on blogs that are popular.

I sense that we will perhaps see a consolidation of the two. The blogs that self-serve a monetary gain will perhaps decrease in popularity.

Perhaps bloggers who are in it to make money personally and who comment only for a cheap click will not win in the end.

Those who build real communities with like-minded people will win through inthe end once the TV audience who is not looking to make money tunes in.

Time to shut up!

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Wow, Barbara and Ian, I feel I am listening to a panel discussion of the value of blog in helping society.

There are so many things that are urgent to be helped in this world these days. Healthcare issue, environmental issue, poverty, continuing war and hate, etc.

I do think blog is bringing people together. In the past, I would never been able to learn from someone in UK about the challenges of going through bankruptcy. And you realize there are so much we can share across borders. I never thought I can learn about wood recycling business.

It is so much more meaningful to write things to help people than tricks to make money from blogging.

Thank you, Barbara and Ian.

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Asako and Catherine,

It’s great to see the two of you getting into this discussion.

Asako, I think your blog is a great stepping stone for anyone who wants to start a business, but doesn’t have a clue what’s needed. You give them a great foundation from which to build on.

And Catherine,

You are a business women, who learns from your mistakes, and graciously passes on that information to others. Kudos to you!

Unfortunately there are too many people who enjoy seeing people fail, and then gossip about it. I see that so much on programs about Hollywood stars, and have even seen it in small businesses in our community. It seems like instead of having compassion for the people who are in trouble, some people get joy out of it. I don’t understand that concept, at all.

Catherine, I think what you will find, your blog’s comment section will become an extension of your post, so even if the commenters misunderstand your post, the comments that are left, will help readers who are reading your blog to learn about business.

BTW, I hope you get to feeling better. Take care of yourself, instead of worrying about posting to your blog.

My next article will be about “getting your blog crawled”, even if you don’t have time to write a post.

It’s back to passing out those blogging lessons.

By the way, I think you’re all “Acing” the class.

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Ian,

I couldn’t have said it any better.

BTW. I just changed my “What Others Are Reading” category to show the number of comments. This post is quickly making it’s way to the top. Hopefully others will feel compelled to join in the conversation, and have their say.

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Hi Catherine,

Yes, some people have strange ways of thinking. I’m not certain why some people get joy out of watching others struggle or fail. I would guess it can be attributed to jealously and envy.

On my other blog, I wrote a post about “how to stop gossip”. Years ago, I remember hearing that when we point a finger at someone else, we have three fingers pointing back at us. (Try it…it’s true) To me, thats says we need to first look at ourselves, and find what’s lacking in our own lives.

I, personally love to see others succeed. Especially when they work their way up from the bottom. Unfortunately, the greater one’s success, the rockier it can get, as others are trying to “kick out your footing”.

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Hello Catherine,

Gosh, I hope you get to feeling better soon. That infection doesn’t sound good. Have you seen a doctor?

I see you know all about having a business, and others thinking you are making tons of money. Even our kids, who are all grown, seem to think we have deep pockets. They don’t understand all of the expenses that go along with a business. Add employees to the mix, and your expenses increase even further.

We do excavation. We did wood recycling/composting for about six years, but have given that up. We also did waterworks (long story), but recently got out of that too. So, for a period of about 6 years we had three businesses. It was a real chore keeping them all separate. We tried concrete work, and got into building for a very short time,as well. Excavation is my husband passion, and I have gotten to learn all about it as well. I have gotten on the equipment, but the power it has scares me, so I stay away for it. I’m content to be in the office, as that’s what I really like to do…bookkeeping, correspondence, payroll, etc… I love numbers. We are trying to downsize so we don’t have to work so many hours, and now are finally getting where we can take weekends off. Self employment, as you know, entails long hard hours.

My blogs fit in real well with my full time job. When I get my work done, I can work on my blogs, and do my research. However, I find I’m often working on my blogs late at night….my creativity seems to kick in when I should be going to bed. Oh well…..

Catherine, take care of yourself.

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