2 brave souls...

2 brave souls commented on my post Blogging 5 x 5... I promised one I'd send a Starbucks gift card.

But...the 2nd commenter was second by a mere 2 minutes...at least according to the follow-up email to me that's generated with each comment left. He gets a Starbucks card, also.

What prompted this act of generosity was ( besides I'm a sucker for 2nd place) his comment:

I'm a lurker. I've been reading a number of blogs on my field - marketing - but have held back in actually joining in the discussion. Perhaps I believe that everyone is the authority but me??

Here's my reply:

YOU ARE AN EXPERT. You’re an expert in all that you’ve experienced and learned in marketing and up to the point where you’ll make the leap to blog. Now, that sounds remarkably like a load of gooey, mushy, internal pep-talk…with no market, no audience, no reason to share. But au contraire, there are literally MILLIONS of people who are 1-10 steps behind you in this process of making the leap into blogging and social networking resources. NOW, what you want to do is to share your experience and help them speed through the learning curve. That’s where you add value. You’ve literally been there, done that (or not done that until now) and felt that…and here’s some things I learned to help you avoid THOSE pitfalls. 

So, J, starting blogging. And sharing and helping others.

I understand that sentiment very well. Sometimes, I think the same way. Who the hell am I? But then the double espresso kicks in, and before long I realize I do have an opinion and maybe I'm not an expert in lots of areas...but the only way I'll learn is to jump in, share my opinion and find out where I went wrong in the logic. ( Funnily enough, I've found that my opinion on-base percentage is high enough to get me a contract in the pros if I was a baseball player. But I'm not, so sometimes I look ridiculous and superficial and superflous. Such is life. )

So, J. Jump in. It's fun, exciting, crazy, more rewarding than you'll ever imagine. The people are great, you'll learn and grow and be confounded. Pretty soon you won't miss a day with blogging: reading 'em or writin' 'em.

Comments

[J Bernard]

Very Cool! Thanks for the pep talk -- not gooey at all.

I'm in a fairly rural area (all the more reason to blog) and, if you can believe places like this still exist, there isn't a Starbucks anywhere near me! All the same, I was compelled to respond to your challenge, and seeing my post and your reply was just as rewarding as a "half caf skim milk double latte no whipped cream, please." Although I will SO enjoy one next time I'm at the airport (thank you)!