29 Comments to “Unfamiliar Words, Familiar Faces . . .”

1. March 19th, 2007 at 8:09 am
   Mihaela Lica said

   OK… this is really funny. I’ve got a related comment the other day on MyBlogLog (I won’t give the name of that blogger). Apparently even those who blog believe we are just wasting our time.
   Could this blogger be right? Are blogs really that weak?

   I personally have all the reasons in the world to doubt that. I had so much to learn from other bloggers (and you are one of my “mentors” ) that I can only say: people who blog deserve a WOW too! I’ve started my business blog to inform my clients. And I am happy I did. I think the ones “looking for someone less weird to talk with” know nothing about blogging. They live in glass houses…

2. March 19th, 2007 at 8:27 am
   Amanda said

   I think blogging is great, a lot of “outsiders” like my fiance for example says for personal blogs I don’t get why people care about what happens in other peoples lives.. and my response is.. why do people care about all these reality tv shows?

3. March 19th, 2007 at 8:36 am
   basketer said

   I had started blogging just recently after I read Digit magazine’s fast track to blogging. Actually, I myself was completely ignorant of the blogging world earlier and I thought that people just wasted their time blogging. In that case I am a perfect example for this post (unluckily!).
   But after I read that book and for many days now I have fought hard to get a place in this blogging world, I think I know little better; its just like people saying, Oh!poetry is just a waste of time!..or “You write novels, dont you have anything to do?”. Try saying that to Shakespeare.
   I believe ignorance and lack of knowledge is one of the main reasons people think blogging is a waste of time. They themselves know very little about it. Also
   (1) blogging has opened up many avenues for personality developement
   (2)It gets you a medium to be heard
   (3)Many blogs earn much more than sites
   (4)Blogs are generally more interactive than sites
   (5)Here is an ineteresting fact I saw in a book:
   80,000 new blogs every day.
   Doesnt this speak for itself. The world is awakening to blogs at a bewildering pace.Those who are ignorant now will be at a disadvantage later on.

4. March 19th, 2007 at 9:33 am
   Chris Cree said

   Mihaela & Basketer, Folks may be showing their ignorance by responding with glazed eyes like a heifer staring at a new gate whenever we start talking about blogging.

   However is their glazed look their fault for not understanding? Or is it our responsibility because we aren’t explaining it as well as we could in terms that they understand?

5. March 19th, 2007 at 10:01 am
   SEO Blog Pro said

   We Need a Marlon Brando of Bloggers…

   This quote I read over at Successful-Blog is dead on. When I tell people I write about leadership, strategy and performance and have published over 150 articles on my website, they go, “Wow!” When I tell them I blog, they……

6. March 19th, 2007 at 10:29 am
   ME Strauss said

   Hi Mihaela!
   Thank for such nice words. You are a role model for me too.
   The world is big and we’re such a small part of it. Being a different kind of thinker, I realized early in my life that it would up to me to translate myself to the world — they no reason to try to figure me out. But I have a need for them to do so.

   If we don’t hold ourselves high and can’t communicate our value, that’s OUR fault. We need to find the words to explain oursselves — just we write for our readers — we need to talk for our listeners.

   I like to tell folks if you think my blog is an online diary, then I should think you drink your wine from a box. It’s about the same thing. That usually gets their attention.

7. March 19th, 2007 at 10:31 am
   ME Strauss said

   Hi Amanda!
   People care about other people don’t they? People read books about other people’s lives. Heck, isn’t that what the Bible and other great book are? Stories about lives of people? We learn things by reading about people.

   Uh-hh I’m starting to hear Barbra Striesand break into song . . .

8. March 19th, 2007 at 10:34 am
   ME Strauss said

   Hi Basketer!
   Thanks for the list! You have the facts and there are lots more like those. And you’re right they stand up and talk about why what we’re doing is something important.

   I know you’re new at this. Wait until you’re here just a little bit longer and you realize how many relationships happen that are true and deep.

   Whoa! It’s intoxicating! Your brain won’t be ready to grow so fast. But it will be ready to enjoy it!

9. March 19th, 2007 at 10:35 am
   ME Strauss said

   Chris,
   It was your advice to me on the telephone last night that so inspired this post and I thank you for it. I’ll never forget how you sounded and how much fun it was.

   You changed the world for me last night.

   Thank you for that.

10. March 19th, 2007 at 10:36 am
    ME Strauss said

    SEO Blog Pro
    You got it!

11. March 19th, 2007 at 10:55 am
    Chris Cree said

    Well Liz, even someone with your accomplishments is bound to need a talking to on a very rare occasion!

12. March 19th, 2007 at 11:07 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hey Chris!
    You’re so funny! I need a “talking to” more often than that!

13. March 19th, 2007 at 11:09 am
    Karin H. said

    Hi all

    Read both Kent’s (great writer using, among other tools, a blog) post and comments on it and Chris post.
    And agree with having to explain better to non-bloggers, businesses or ‘domestic’ persons what exactly a blog (blog-site, interactive website) is, but….
    I also think many of us bloggers are a bit over-reacting.

    How many new ‘tools’ are invented, created the last few years?
    Did you start emailing the minute it was ‘invented’? Or didn’t you knew for years what is was? (Until everyone was talking about it, using it)

    I remember the first fax machine at the company I worked for late 80’s. The fax number directory of the whole of The Netherlands (I know, not such a large country, but still) was hardly 1 inch thick.

    Give it time, but also: keep explaining this new ‘marketing’ tool to all and sundry, I do

14. March 19th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
    Chris Cree said

    Karin, I agree that most folks aren’t early adopters. Just the same it does get a bit wearisome nearly two years into the process to still be getting the hairy eyeball from folks when they hear I’m a blogger.

    At the very least, reframing what I do in terms they understand and appreciate has been much easier on my psyche.

15. March 19th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Karin!
    Great to see you! I like the idea of moving folks to what I do using the language that ehy already understand so that they can pick up the concept and the value . . . then the words that I use will have a meaning.

    You’re right about time . . . blogging’s already part of radio commercials.

16. March 19th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
    Francie said

    I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well some of the “ordinary folk” (including family, friends and acquaintances)have taken to my explanation of blogging and why I’m doing it. They like to check it out, and I know they have from their feedback.

    Generally, I have had less acceptance for the concept of blogging and its merits in business circles. A lot of business people I encounter, say they don’t have time to read a blog, let alone write one - even if they do know what it is.

    Personally, I am finding it very enriching. It’s kind of like joining a new club. One can’t necessarily convince others to follow. That’s all right. I think it’s good to have a wide circle of friends and varied interests.

17. March 19th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
    Kent Blumberg said

    A heifer staring at a new gate…you learn something new every day!

    I agree with Chris and Liz and others: if the heifer doesn’t know how to get through the gate, the farmer has to show her.

    [Whoa, that was an awful analogy. Sorry.]

    Seriously, I do think it is our job as bloggers to communicate what we do in a way that our listeners ‘get it.’ If they don’t get it, it’s our job to find another way of communicating, and another and another - until they do understand.

    On a visit to a factory in Quebec a couple of years ago, I spent a few hours on the floor talking with employees. (With an interpreter - I’m not great in French yet.) On my return to the office I told the factory manager that his folks did not understand what we needed to do to make the place successful, and that it was his job to communicate that. He replied that he had told everyone three times, and so they must just be too ’slow’ to understand. He had called three meetings and said exactly the same thing in the same way, and considered that “communication.”

    He didn’t work for me much longer.

    Who’s responsible for the listener receiving the message? He who is sending the message.

    Kent

18. March 19th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Kent,
    I am so grateful for the the sentences. You were so insightful to make this original candidly. Thank you for that.

    Exactly and not exactly to your comment.
    They say in baseball a bad throw is fault of the catcher and the pitcher too. Communication is 100% everyone’s responsibility.

19. March 19th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Franicie!
    I started to answer you earlier and then the phone called me away. Sorry.

    I know what you mean by finding it very enriching. I get so many ideas from learning what everyone is thinking. I get smarter every day reading comments and just listening. Oh and now and then when write post a new thought even comes through now and then. What a rewarding experience.

    How DO you explain to someone who doesn’t do it?

20. March 20th, 2007 at 12:53 am
    basketer said

    How DO you explain to someone who doesn’t do it?

    Indeed, this is the gist of this discussion. I have explained it to a few people now nad I am sure you all have had many more experiences.
    When I explained it to people I siad some of these things:

    (1) It is a diary and no, its not a diary. Its different because people comment on your thoughts unlike a diary. Also, if you dont want people to read your diary, you should
    write a blog.

    (2) Its somehwat like the Group discussions we had in our job interviews with the blogger being nothing more than a discussion moderator. Also, he is part of the group.

    (3) It is a GD where you work hard to make more and more people participate in your discussion. You just cant write when you slept or when your cat is having an operation. With 80000 new bloggers everyday, you got to add some value to the blogosphere or you would be dead before you start.

    (4)Techincal define: their are 3 types of blogs:
    - Boss Blogs:When you have a running product or a company its easy to communicate to people through a blog faster. its not meant for strangers, generally but for your customers or target group. Adobe’s blog is a good example.

    - Diary Blogs: Your personal life explained and updated online. You wouldnt get much readers if you dont have a life like say, Bond.

    - Viral Blogs: The blogs which give information on any topic and are updated. The motive is to involve as many people in the discussion. These blogs help spread new ideas or thoughts.

21. March 20th, 2007 at 12:59 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Basketer!
    Wow! You’re really put some time into that! Thanks — that’s really helpful.

    There is no way to capture the essence of what keeps blogging daily. That’s probably because it really is slightly different for every one of us. We’re all unique in our “blend” of motivations and inspirations.

22. March 20th, 2007 at 1:05 am
    basketer said

    Hey Liz! I read a book yesterday on blogging and it said the best way to make new friends in the blogging world is to give a good comment. So, I have decided that I will give as much times to comments, as I give to writing my blogs. Its tiresome but its definitely worth it.

    Also, can you give me a few more thoughts on how to explain blogging? Because it sure is frustrating when someone ignores you when you start explaining to him, what blogging really is.

23. March 20th, 2007 at 1:16 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Basketer!
    I’ve taken Chris’s lead and I now talk to people about being a ‘web publihser or a web writer. They seem to understand that much better. I talk about the articles on blog or my site — but I’ve done that for quite a while. I’ve never really gotten comfortable with the word “post” and “blog post” is too long to keep saying over and over.

24. March 20th, 2007 at 2:21 am
    basketer said

    Yeah, that is not a bad idea. But, I feel a little guilty if I have to do that. Why should we have to disguise as a web writer, a Blogger itself is more convincing. I think I will not argue about this, because I feel it is my inexperience talking.

    PS: Liz, I have sent you a mail about a problem I was facing. If you get some time please look at it. Thanks.

25. March 20th, 2007 at 6:36 am
    Karin H. said

    Hi all

    I’m all for ‘promoting’ blogging, having a blog, or blog-site. Problem seems to be that at the moment still a lot of businesses don’t see it the way we like them to see it.
    Talking about writing articles, having interactive conversations with prospects etc, IMO helps.
    Talking about the profit blogging has on your business might also have a greater impact: WII.FM works a treat - as soon as someone hears of the profitable results a blog can bring I don’t think they will see it as a ‘waste-of-time’ hobby pratling anymore?

26. March 20th, 2007 at 7:18 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Basketer!
    I’m not sure I understand why you call it disguise. I’m a writer and I write on the web. Just because I write on a blog and you can blogger. That doesn’t make me any less of a writer.

    I read your eamil. I’m sorry your questions require research with SOBCon and client work, I’ve limited free time to help.

    When I last tried to do put a sitemap on my bloggr account. I don’t think it could be done. But Blogger Beta. All of your questions would research — if you me to that I have to point your to my Work with Liz page in the sidebar. Good luck!!!

27. March 20th, 2007 at 7:20 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Karin,
    I found that relating blog to a booth in an exhibit hall sometimes works. Alos relating to a customer service station works to. Both deal with the public interaction that could have possible negative responses and require that companies trust their employees to respond on the company’s behalf

28. March 20th, 2007 at 8:00 am
    basketer said

    Hey liz! no problems, I cant afford that right now :). I will fight and get it working and if I do I will let you know for sure

29. March 20th, 2007 at 10:25 am
    ME Strauss said

    hey Basketer,
    I understand completely. One person who blogs alot about Blogger is A Consuming Experience. You might find the answer through her search box.