I love to be able to help others. Not only in my everyday life, but now with blogging. Isn’t that really why we blog?
Today’s Lesson
If you have read my “about” page, you know I love old people, children and animals. My love for children is one reason reason I installed the Amber Alert Ticker on my blogs. If a child goes missing, I pray they are found before they are put into a dangerous position, or worse yet, hurt.
Just the other day, I was moved by a guest on the Larry King Show. He was interviewing Jenny McCartney, with regard to her crusade for children with autism. She is “on fire” with what she has found, dealing with a child of her own, who has autism. She found help for his situation, and that led to hope for others. For that reason, I was moved to write a post on my OM blog. I listed every link the Larry King show provided. I don’t want to see another child have to suffer from autism, if there’s possibly help for them. I also know, those parents do not have time to sit at their computer, searching hundreds of sites, just to find a link that may help their child. I don’t mind doing the work for them.
Many of my loyal readers, write about issues that are also helping others. I love to visit their sites, and learn from their writings. It seems I always find something that is helpful, valuable, or thought provoking.
Today’s Assignment
Look at your posts. Is what you’re writing, of value to others? By asking yourself this question, it may help you to keep focused on your topic. Or, it may inspire you to pick a different topic.
Blogging is about sharing.
Leave a comment, and share how you hope, your blog helps others.
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
Hi Ian,
Thank you for the link to Andy Bounds site, and book. It sounds very fascinating, and one I will definitely add to my “to read” list.
Unfortunately, you forgot to share how you believe your blog(s) help others. I read both of them, and they are filled with value and insight.
I will let you expand on that………..
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 (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!).
Thanks Ian,
That’s what I wanted to hear.
Your personal blog is a great read for anyone in business. Even when a business may seem solid, a few wrong moves and it could start down that slippery slope at high speed. I like how you shared your experiences.
Your business blog will be a great resource for all individuals. I especially like your post about phishing….a scam that most likely won’t go away anytime soon. Unfortunately many fall prey to it, and end up paying a huge price.
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!
Wow, Ian,
You are on a roll 🙂
I agree, blogs have the ability to be a great source for extremely valuable information. I suspect, in an effort to help the younger generations, we will see more middle aged (what ever that is) individuals starting blogs in an effort to share their knowledge, with the younger generation.
Instead of sitting mindlessly in front of a TV screen, those who want to better themselves will be surfing and reading online, gaining as much information as they can to better themselves. Who better to learn from than your elders, or people who are teaching others by their mistakes.
Comment sections on blogs and forums, are a great place to ask a question, and between the author and their readership, they are likely to have an array of answers to choose from.
I am a big one to “go online” if I have a question, or am looking for a solution to a problem. Type in a few words, hit “search” and there’s millions of sources to choose from. (Granted, some are just in their top positions due to high page rank….but that’s another issue). It sure saves time and frustration.
With this being the time of “I want it now”, the internet and blogs, have no where to go but up.
Now, readers can block ads ,if they choose. Ads that we do run on our blogs, may generate enough income to pay for our overhead (or a cup of coffee, once a month), but beyond that, I suspect the days of making millions by having a blog, are close to being over.
So, those who do blog, best be doing it to share. Dollar signs may be a motivating factor, but in reality, a good blog will gain it’s value from it’s readership.
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.
I agree with Asako – blogging can be so useful in helping us connect with others and to learn things we couldn’t possibly have known without this technology.
I have struggled with my blog recently because of this flu. But, I try to write posts that will help people in business. And I also try to help them learn from my mistakes.
But, sometimes i find that difficult. I know on an employment post I did recently a lot of people started giving me advice because they thought it had just happened. But the reality was it happened about 4 years ago and I wrote it to try to help others avoid the same mistakes. So I need to be a lot clearer in what I’m posting!
Also I suppose I’m trying to get through to some of my readers, something tht most of us know already – business isn’t easy and there’s not some magic overnight success formula. And that success is whatever makes us happy.
If growing a huge business is what makes you feel successful then that is good and if you prefer to work alone then that is good too. There are too many books out there that say you must do XY or Z to be successful, but they don’t take into account the fact that each person’s vision of success is different. So I suppose I want to help people discover what they really want out of life.
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. 🙂
I suppose one thing to add to the debate is the financial aspects of a blog.
I think it is still possible for people to make money out of a blog. And by building that trust and recommending products you use and know yourself, then I for one will certainly buy those products.
And I have done.
And if the readership of a blog is built and the quality maintained then there’s no reason why not, nor is there anything wrong with the blog making money in return for the value they deliver.
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.
Thank you Barbara. It is true what you say about others who enjoy watching and gossiping about others making mistakes.
I live in a small village and it is really bad. Some people who live nearby began a second business. They do really well with their first business, and I think a lot of people are jealous of them.
Anyway, they had a few problems with the second business and decided to sell. Well everyone was saying that they needed to sell because they were short of cash and making snide remarks. It was as though they wanted them to fail. But they haven’t thankfully, because they worked hard for years on the first business.
Someone who should have known a lot better repeated the gossip to me and I blew my top.
I really don’t understand why some people enjoy seeing others fail.
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”.
Hi Barbara – I will check out that post. I read your other posts earlier – but couldn’t comment. As I told Ian earlier, I felt I was just getting over this flu and today, I got an infection in my hand and it spread up to my arm. So I am typing now with one finger – this is not my month! And i am not a crying person – but it hurt so much that I did cry.
I also love seeing people succeed. I’m lucky – I’ve never had that jealousy curse. I suppose it’s because my parents have always had their own business. And when I was very young every one was really nice to us. We were very poor – as they only started in business when they got married, and as you know Barbara, it takes a long time to build it up.
My mum was 19 when they married and I was born 5 months later. The trouble was – as soon as they started doing well, or at least making a half decent living, people weren’t as nice as they had been before.
So we were punished just for not being poor – even though we didn’t act differently or anything. And we were far from loaded. But, you know how it is when you have a business. Everyone who has a job seems to think you’re a hundred times better off that you really are.
What kind of construction work do you do Barbara? I feel cheeky asking, but I’m curious as i suppose that is where I came from. My parents did all kinds of stuff – extensions etc to begin with. Then they started a stone fireplace company. It was very fashionable then, but they worked all the hours under the sun.
Then they did barn conversions and eventually they started building houses. But, that has had it’s ups and downs – depending upon interest rates. And I was mad enough to watch it all and start a business myself!
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.