Hello Blog, I’m Jason
I really enjoy blogging, both here at HR Think Tank and over at Cyclingagainstcancer.com. Back in February, I posted my answer to the question – Why Blog? – focusing my argument not only the tidal wave that is the ‘Social Media Revolution’ but also how blogging can facilitate connectedness. I don’t have to tell most of you how important I think being ‘connected’ is in today’s global economy where partnerships and relationships are king.
But lately my blog hasn’t been getting much love. After all, my last post was on May 4th and as of today my hits per day is about half of what it was in periods of more predictable, sustained posting just 1-2 months ago. What can I say? When my schedule gets a little crazy, something has to give. For me, it’s been blogging. I still love it, but I love getting on my bike and networking in person too. It’s baseball season, and the Red Sox need me at Fenway occasionally.
As I have thought more about this, I realize that I do need to get on more of a schedule. The blogging preachers out there will tell you that you have to post [insert # here] times per week/day/month to sustain a following and stay relevant. I’m not disagreeing, but that has to mean that you truly care about sustaining a following and staying relevant! For me, blogging is about starting good dialogue, building a community, and creating relationships.
So, here’s the deal – I’m going to try to get more regular with my postings – at least bi-weekly to be exact. But there will be times when I won’t post regularly, but I also won’t put up some filler post that I don’t care about just to keep momentum. I’ll post when I have something to say, and if I need to come back and reintroduce myself to my own blog then so be it. In times where I go MIA, there’s always this great invention called the telephone and an even greater invention called beer. Give me a call and we can have a few and figure out how we can put some of this stuff we talk about into action and get some stuff done, eh?
I know there are some strong opinions out there on posting frequency – I would love to hear your perspective. Have you stopped reading blogs because of inconsistent posting patterns?
Side note - on the topic of creating community and leveraging relationships – if you are a graphic design firm or small marketing shop that has experience building marketing collateral for small companies, let me know. I’m in the market for your services, and it’s time sensitive. Contact me here and let me know about your firm.
For me (I’m no expert) – content is what matters…no time for fillers. I have the blogs I follow on a home page, so I can see when my “usual suspects” update theirs. In fact, I’ve stopped reading habitual offendersin the past – off my home page!
Unfortunately, though, it’s tough to ignore the expert’s assertions regarding what it takes to build credibility and a following…blogging is hard work!
Sometimes keeping a schedule is REALLY difficult and I’ve found that there are definitely times that I need to just take a week off of blogging. When I first started my blog, I committed myself to posting 2 posts per week, and overall (minus a few weeks here and there) I’ve maintained that. Yes, it takes a lot of commitment, and yes there are tons of other things that I need to do (and sports teams to support) but I also know that the people in real life rely on me, people on my blog rely on me. And I don’t want to let them down.
There have been a few bloggers I’ve followed and fell in love with and then they just drop off the map and I get so disappointed. I think it really just comes down to time management. I get that things have to be sacrificed when you get busy, but I do think that if you commit yourself to something you should stick with it.
Hope you find time to write more, Jason! I personally enjoy reading your blog!
Erin – I agree, this is definitely less of an issue if you use your Google Homepage or an RSS reader (I use Google Reader) for the blogs. You stop in, and read new content as it’s available. I am still a little old school though, and like to stop by the actual sites. Bloggers that maintain a rhythm are easier to follow, hands down, but I don’t want ‘filler’ either, so it’s a Catch-22. Blogging should be fun – a good way to have a voice and talk about things important to the industry and that you are passionate about – if it’s not fun anymore and it’s too much work, you are probably blogging about the wrong things. That’s my 2 cents.
Elizabeth – 2 posts per week is impressive! Thanks for calling me out on the time management piece – seriously – this is the type of comments I was expecting, and I agree, like I said to Erin, if it’s fun and I’m committed, I should do it. Thanks for the compliment, I’m glad someone is reading it! (Oh, and Go Celtics!)
Since I read via Google Reader, frequency on the low end doesn’t bother me. However, frequency on the high end (5+ per week) WILL cause me to drop you. Nobody has that much good stuff on hand, and if you do, maybe you should be guest posting elsewhere.
Hi Jason, I have three words for you that others have shared with me – quality not quantity. I’ve done the filler post stuff before and it’s just not good. Keep writing when you have something to say. Like Ben, I have you in the reader. Relax! This is supposed to be fun.
Ben – thanks for the comment, I’ll try to keep it under 5 posts per week. Shouldn’t be too hard!
Lisa – I’m relaxed, and definitely having fun. I have Simply Lisa in my reader as well. Big fan of your blog!