DISQUS

Connie Bensen · 1 year ago

Hi Lee,
I read that post of Shel's but I don't agree. I see forward movement. I'm choosing to be a part of it.

I'm not sure why you tagged me - maybe you just wanted me to come & talk with you?! :)

I haven't seen you on Twitter for ages. There's a lot of noise there. But I'm around!

chin up,
Connie

Gavin Heaton · 1 year ago

For those who have been involved with blogging for some time, it may feel like the conversation is going around in circles. But the truth is, it is only just starting to reach a level of maturity that is acceptable to business.

And while there are millions of blogs out there, most fold within the first few months. And there are many examples of poor social media strategy, non-existing integration within a broader marketing program and limited understanding of the impact of social media on business objectives. This is where the hard work now lies. It is time to work on the case studies and success stories.

We have got to stop talking amongst ourselves and start talking to the businesses and organisations who can tangibly benefit from the innovations that social media + networks offer. And that is where folks like you, Lee, will come in handy.

Judd Exley · 1 year ago

Great post Lee, and now that I've found you, you can bet that I'd miss it if you didn't blog any more.

This is an interesting issue though, and I have noticed very similar things in blogging both for business and pleasure.

@Gavin - You are spot on mate, coincidentally something that I was tangentially blogging about just yesterday and then having ensuing conversations about with some of Perth's web professionals. Must be something in the air!

And that Josh Hallet reader's comment really hit home with me too, as not only did I start on diaryland, but I made many friends (one of whom had the most popular post to ever appear there) and even met my wife there (she's the whole reason I'm even IN Australia - other than it absolutely rocks).

There is something changing with how we communicate on the web. Blogging started something big, and while I don't believe it's value has lessened, I think it has changed the web enough that it now means something very different than even a year or so ago.

Brilliant article though, and a resounding answer to the title's question, I would say.

Heidi Miller · 1 year ago

Lee, we'd all miss you if you stopped participating in the social media conversation all together. However, if you switched primarily to Twitter (as I have) and saved your blog for more thoughtful posts like this one, that'd be OK. Or if you stopped blogging but kept up a podcast, we'd still be happy. Or if you just left a bunch of 12seconds.tv comments to our posts! Or just left a few witty strike-bys in CAPOW.

Lee, you choose how much you can participate and what works best for you. We would miss you if you left the social media sphere all together, but somehow, I don't think that's a big danger. ;-)

Trevor Cook · 1 year ago

A great post Lee and particularly the honesty with which you deal with the daily stresses of trying to do it all. I always feel keenly that tension of blogging vs paid writing (for other outlets) vs consulting (lucrative as you say compared to other activities but also requiring the most intense effort) vs study vs family / personal life etc.

One of the points I was trying to make in that Unleashed post though is that, like the web a decade ago, social media is not meeting its revolutionary promise. Blogging means a lot more people are in the conversation but are we seeing the changes we might have hoped for in business, media, government? Maybe at the edges but not dramatic yet.

Thanks for responding to my article in so much depth btw. And thanks for the bad news that year 2 of doctoral studies sucks up a lot more time.

But hey I'd rather be really busy, and chasing the small dollars, than bored witless in some public service or corporate office somewhere.

What's more, I'm glad I'm a (relatively) early adoptor - I want to be always getting those glimpses of what lies beyond the horizon rather than just glimpses of a herd of assholes in front of me

Yours, from time-deprivation central