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July 15, 2007

Connecting Dots

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 10:17 am

Connecting dots with The Idea Dude

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Being asked to be a guest blogger for Liz Strauss is akin to being asked to be the opening act for The Rolling Stones. There’s an expectation to be “knock your socks off” great. Of course, this is all in my head, because Liz, in her sublime way, would say, “be yourself.”

It is inevitable that Liz and I would cross paths one day, we were both on similar quests… “to celebrate good blogs.” So this spot in particular is devoted to connecting the dots. Dots being blogs from Liz’s list and mine at TheGoodBlogs. Perhaps the best way to describe this is to show you. . . .

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All blogs don’t start off as conversations, they start because something tugs at you enough to want to share. Blogs have made the Internet personal and it is the personal nature that brings me back to visit your blog again and again. Take Liz’s post about the word can’t for example, she made it personal because at the end, she says It seems to make me smaller. When you read that, you know something happened that day that may have seemed impossible but she found a way to overcome that sense of helplessness. It got me thinking of how impossibility would make me feel small too.

Being personal is infectious.

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I headed over to Sean and he asked the question Can it be that all our choices are dominated by fear? So is can’t a reflection of reality or a reflection of our fear? Hmmm… Food for thought. Sean made his fear personal. He said, So I want to tell you a story. About me. Having followed his blog, I can tell you his entries that resonate the most with me are the ones that grab him in his gut so much he needs to share, the ones that stop him dead in his tracks and makes him think. It makes me think too.

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My good friend, Ben, talks about whether bloggers always follow their own advice. His fear or concern? His blog may cease to be a mirror of him. He tells us, he doesn’t want to speak for the sake of speaking, to walk the walk and don’t just talk the talk. My interpretation is that it is really a reminder to himself to keep his terrific blog real and not post merely to feed the Google juice. Ben says his blog is a reminder to him of what he should be doing. In doing so, he becomes our mentor of what we should be doing too. Ben is being personal.

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And sometimes being personal and sharing doesn’t have to have a lesson. Amy shared her Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad Day. It would be hard for any parent not to empathize with her. Wikipedia calls empathy a kind of emotional resonance… that’s deep. I concur. Judging from the comments to that post, Amy’s sharing resonated. I’m sure a few moms who read that felt a little better on Friday to know they weren’t alone.

Although none of the bloggers contrived to participate in a conversation, they succeeded in creating one in my head. Many of the bloggers above may or may not know each other…yet. But they were unknowingly bound together by their ideas, thoughts and emotions. They provided the dots. Liz gave me the crayon to connect them. The way I connected them was personal. It made me feel richer and some kind of wonderful.

Have an awesome week!


Vern, The Idea Dude

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14 Comments to “Connecting Dots”

  1. July 15th, 2007 at 10:58 am
    Jan said

    Thanks Vern,

    You did indeed not knock my socks off, but rather seemed to ease right in, which in my book is much better and fitting on this blog.

    I like what you do and how you do it. Besides, if Liz vouches for you that says it all.

    Here’s to connecting dots and looking forward to reading your column on a regular basis.

  2. July 15th, 2007 at 11:39 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Jan,
    Sorry to mislead. Vern’s gentle hand is one thing I particularly value. :)

  3. July 15th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
    Vernon Lun said

    Thanks Jan, I’m excited too. Sometimes sharing dots is better than being the dot. :)

  4. July 15th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Vern,
    That’s a lovely quote.

    Sometimes sharing dots is better than being the dot.

  5. July 15th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
    Her Bad Mother said

    “They were unknowingly bound together by their ideas, thoughts and emotions. They provided the dots.”

    And that pretty much describes exactly what is so wonderful and potent about the blogosphere. They/we/we ALL provide the dots. Thanks for drawing the connections.

    (And? It’s Catherine, not Amy. But no biggie. The dot’s the same by any name ;))

  6. July 15th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Catherine!
    Welcome.
    A name means a lot. I’m sure Vern will care. I know I do. It’s how I know who you are.

    You’re more than a dot. You’re ideas and thoughts. You’re feelings and creativity. You’re in my comment box!!!

    You’re not a stranger anymore!

  7. July 15th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
    Vernon Lun said

    Hi Catherine,

    How insane is that? my apologies. I just realized what happened. When I visited your site, you had a blogher ad that was just a face of woman with a name. I assumed that was your profile picture.

    Actually, the dot may be the same but it is better when you give it the correct name. :)

    Vern

  8. July 16th, 2007 at 10:04 am
    Connie Reece said

    Hey, it’s pretty cool to see Liz and Vern together on one site connecting the dots — something that’s a particular passion of mine, as you well know. :-)

    Both of you are tremendous resources for pointing readers to blogs worth reading. Thanks for all you do!

  9. July 16th, 2007 at 10:06 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Connie,
    That was one of the first thoughts I had . . . Successful-Blog meets The Good Blogs. Way cool no doubt about that. Thank you for noticing. :)

  10. July 16th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
    Vernon Lun said

    Hi Connie,
    Passion is the best way to describe what you, Liz and I love to do. As your blog says, every blog connects. I’m just thankful Liz gave me a crayon.
    Vern

  11. July 17th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
    Sean Howard said

    Hey Vern!!

    We still have to do lunch dude!!

    thanks for the kind words.

    It’s been an interesting experience. To realize that my blog is not about my career. Or even about my knowledge. But rather a voice in a community of people I’ve come to love and respect.

  12. July 17th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hey Sean,
    You always have such a great way of looking at the world!

  13. July 18th, 2007 at 8:31 am
    Vernon Lun said

    Hi Sean, it’s a wonderful contributing voice to the community. It sparked a conversation.
    Vern

  14. July 22nd, 2007 at 9:31 am
    One Blinking Dot - Liz Strauss at Successful Blog - Thinking, writing, business ideas . . . You’re only a stranger once. said

    […] Related Connecting Dots […]

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