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This Is A No Mojo Blog

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Anyone wondering where I’ve been? Yeah, me too. This blog is suffering from low-to-no mojo.

What excuses shall I share? Absolutely none; there are worse things in life; thus I shan’t complain. But I can be upset with myself, mope around a bit, hit bottom, and crawl my way back into action. What I can’t do is force the words or ideas because that’s lame and everyone can see right through it.

What I will offer are several posts from others to help remind all of us that blogging is downright time-consuming, requires a steady stream of creative content and as Mark W. Schaefer reminded us this week — highly creative content. When we bloggers get down in the dumps, because I’m telling you, (sh)it happens, here are some wonderful reminders to weigh anchor and sail:

–Here is what Shakirah Dawud sent me by Rhonda Hurwitz, and it is a wonderful post, called Holy Blog Fail, etc., with many recommendations on where to find creativity. Rhonda also reminded me on Twitter yesterday “to spend time on things that make my topline healthy.” (Indeed.)

–Ali Luke (don’t know him/her) wrote How to Nurture Your Creativity; just read it and it’s good basic recommendations.

–On ProBlogger, a guest post from Glen Allsopp of Viper Chill has other insights for bloggers to Re-Ignite to Get Their Steam Back.

–Here’s some nonsense from the Creative Leadership Forum (and Harvard Business Review?) suggesting creatives should embrace failure but do it inexpensively…LOL…because it can be very powerful (yeah, like taking a downer for days).

–And, finally for today, here’s the icing on the cake — to be creative, stop thinking about yourself. Yeah, I think I like that and will heed this counsel over all others.

And this, too, shall pass, right? (Please share your secrets to get out of the dumpster…)

(image: care2.com)

How Does Your Blog Feel?

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Or, better yet, how do you feel about your blog?

This blog post has been under re-write in my head for two days now.  I’ve gone back and forth with how to present this as I didn’t want it to feel like I was complaining, depressed, or other. However, there’s something about blogging that’s hard to ignore – it’s your personal psyche that can get in the way.

Think on it…if you’re having a rough go, the tonality of your blog shows that. If you’re ever depressed, your words feel that way, too. It’s a good thing I didn’t publish yesterday (because my good friend Jenn Whinnem saved me with a coolio expletived blog post and title) because my exhaustion with two months of construction and a make-shift desk on a concrete slab with drywall dust for lipstick would’ve hindered the presentation of this content.

I’m not sure I still have this right…but, let me try anyway and see if this makes sense:

I wrote a post awhile back “Social Media, We’re All Talking to Ourselves,” and it got some positive and negative commentary; in fact, I got a slap to the hand. It was written when I was in a downtick of sorts, and that post mirrored the character of the day.

When I look around and dissect my social media experience, I see a peer group of highly astute people adopting and adapting to the next big thing in social. Everyone is jumping on board the Klout, the Quora, the Empire Avenue, the Evernote, the TED, and the everything because it’s what we do – we strive for that excitement and knowledge and thirst. But, where are our clients and those we serve? They’re way behind, still pecking away at “What is Twitter?”

Recently, Aaron Sachs wrote a similar post on his blog at SymplySocial, “Social Media Consultants: Are We All Just Preaching to the Choir?“, and he suggests that social media may not be as accessible to those not on the leader board. I was eager to read his take on how we all dance to the daily evolution of social.

About Blogs

There are industrial-strength blogs that feature every single bell and whistle with the most amazing design and wow factor. There are blogs done on free WordPress templates, and there are blogs still being published on Blogger, and WordPress.com sites. Although content is still king, it’s really challenging not to look at the A-list bloggers and then take a look at your own blog; this action can produce somewhat of a deflation in spirit.

What we bloggers need to remember is that there are those who thrive and strive to present the latest and greatest app, tool, game, concept, and more. I suspect they have oodles of time (Gini Dietrich wrote she spends 40 hours a week on Spin Sucks, and she just moved into the Top 40 of the Ad Age power 150), many peeps working to find angles and produce content, and a crack IT team to manage the back end. (I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing…not assuming…guessing.)

I’m now going to speak to myself in a public forum:

Jayme, you are one person with a full client load and client service comes first. Learning the technology of social media has always been my obstacle, yet the yearn to learn is my curse and blessing. It’s OK to have a blog that speaks to people and strives for warmth with welcome reception for all types of people. It’s wonderful to publish a blog where people who are shy, who don’t often comment feel comfortable stopping in. It’s OK not to be amongst the leaders every day, for what you deliver in content comes from a passionate place and striving for that sense of community is a goal that should never be forgotten. Remember not to be mechanical, because when that happens, it’s time to stop.

As said, I’m not sure I’m making total sense…it’s so easy to look around and want to be like Gini, like Mark, like Danny, like Griddy, like Jon, and like Sarah. But, you know what? It’s OK to be like Jayme, too ( Jayme).

(Image: ValueBookShop)

Blogging Under Cover

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Credit: lockergnome.com

There’s something about having few subscribers and few comments to a blog that’s a gift in disguise. Can you imagine what that might be?

This week, I read Danny Brown’s blog post about criticism mentioning the “natives getting restless” and how he had unsubscribed from A-lister blogger Chris Brogan’s blog because Danny thought Chris was snarky. Two days later, I read Chris Brogan’s blog post about criticism – accepting it and receiving it well which mentioned Danny Brown’s blog post and his unsubscribe action. Chris was surprised because he felt Danny was a regular commenter on his blog.

Do you understand what I’m getting at?

The responsibility Chris Brogan takes to “write 4,000 words daily and post about four times a day” is a choice no one else is making that I’m aware of in the blogging world. The pressure he puts on himself to consistently ideate, deliver, respond and repeat on a daily basis is astonishing. When other award-winning bloggers who also generate high-level content begin to bicker with peers in the space  that’s when I’m glad I blog under cover.

Everyone has an opinion, and when leaders begin to comment about leaders, that’s when we bloggers attempting to adopt the lead in something can be glad we’re not. What I find fascinating about how we perceive people in social media is that the words, emoticons, punctuation, LOLs, avatars, tone, and, style form the basis for perception – all without benefit of hearing the spoken presentation (unless there’s a video or webinar to put voice to words).

I’m not sure who’s really getting restless – the social media A-lister blogger leaders who day in and day out must generate topics and content to feed the hungry masses, or we bloggers under cover who can easily sneak away into oblivion without anyone batting an eye lash.

Before You Blog

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Blogging is a journey. I just read Chris Brogan’s blog post today about how he writes 4,000 words daily and inspires you “how to write three blogs a day.”

For 99.9% of us, that ain’t happening; nor is it necessary. A blog post a day is ideal, and for 50% of us that ain’t happening, either!! So what’s a blogger to do?

Before you blog for real, you need to take into consideration the following:

  • A blog does not stop needing attention. It’s a living, breathing communication channel that requires nurturing. That daily pressure can be a deal breaker for those who cave under that responsibility.
  • Understand that subscribers and numbers of comments don’t necessarily imply success. It’s true, we’re a numerical society and “followers” count, but look at quality over quantity. There are many people who read this blog and say so on Twitter and elsewhere, yet they don’t subscribe. (That’s OK. Methinks having more subscribers would put added pressure to write and post daily.)
  • Goal setting is what everyone says you need to do; I say it’s pretty much hogwash. In public relations, we write plans and proposals oriented to goals; do goals really drive action and execution? One would hope, but for a blog, I’m not so sure.
  • Setting strategy is more like it – who are you targeting and with what fodder? It’s important to know that at the outset, and it’s also important to know this can change six months in to the blogging experience.
  • Understanding voice and what that means is just shy of critical. You need to give yourself a good six months to tap your voice, earn the confidence to recognize what that is and to keep forging ahead. While voice is often illusive, always remember to whom you’re writing and with what content.
  • Writing, writing, writing. You ought to be able to burn a blog post in 60 minutes tops and that includes its writing, adding of links, posting, adding an image and publishing. There are posts that take longer, and these are usually research oriented.
  • Understanding the back end of a blog is absolutely the most critical factor in your blog’s success. I cannot undercut the importance of this. I have so many horror stories that to others are laughable, but as a non-IT person forced to grapple with software, servers, plug-ins and widgets, the learning curve is painful.
  • I recommend Dwight Maskew of Carbon Based Life who is more than helpful in re IT. I asked a tweep who she used for her blogs, and she recommended Dwight. You will not be disappointed.

Lastly, for today, blogging takes confidence (a favorite post I wrote awhile ago when I was in the blogging dumps). There are so many emotions that go in to blogging, they are hard to describe and share. Everyone’s journey is different; what matters is your perseverance to keep it alive.

Bloggers Are Not Morons

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Time management is not in my favor of late. You’ve not heard from me here in awhile because I’m off to The SMB Collective, my new blogging adventure targeting all things small-to-medium business. If you head on over, you can see it’s a vibrant community of many voices and perspectives providing rich content for we SMBs. I’m loving how it’s coming together, but at the risk of ignoring you!

I will keep Soulati-TUDE! going and growing; it provides me a singular outlet for opinion and perspective on my calling — public relations. 

That calling was put into question last week on a late Thursday night when a commenter here called me a “moron” and questioned my parenting ability as well as a few other choice words. She, the 20-year-old, had found a blog post I wrote awhile ago, Shards of Glass Ad Not Cool, and decided that because she didn’t agree with my opinion she’d lambaste me with her questionable intelligence.

My reaction was one of dismay, and I immediately deleted the comment although I thought twice about it. While the blogosphere is supposed to spark healthy debate with opposing views, being attacked negatively is uncalled for.

My colleagues were supportive, and thanks to Michelle Quillin of New England Multimedia who suggested I should’ve kept the trashy attack live so she and all the other moms could support me and blast back. I guess everyone likes a good war of words, but you know what? I can’t waste my time with imbecility; nor do I wish my colleagues to do that either.

Thanks, too, to Jenn Whinnem who shared a site I had no idea existed, Spokeo. She reversed the email of the commenter recorded in my blog’s database to see how and where she engaged. It informed me of her age and showed the X-rated trashy sites she frequented. Enough said, eh?

I’ve seen other bloggers add policies about commenting to their pages, and this is certainly good fodder for why.