[Dean's World] Dean: Advice To A Young Blogger

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Posted by Dean:
Advice To A Young Blogger
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1151645284.shtml


   I am often asked what it takes to be a popular weblogger. I get that
   question fairly regularly, in email or sometimes in person. As
   obnoxious as it sounds, the truth is that Dean's World is a popular
   blog. So how did this happen?

   Surely some of it is that I write well, and I've chosen contributors
   who also write well. Which, in the vast scheme of things, is about as
   significant as saying you can bench-press 250 pounds, or, that you're
   so flexible you can put your left foot behind your head. Or, you can
   kiss you elbow. Or, you can stick out your tongue and lick your nose.
   (Oh, go ahead and try it, no one's looking.)

   Yes, if you can actually do things like that it's impressive. But so
   what?

   The real truth to understanding blogs is that you have to realize that
   it is conversation. Not "like a conversation," either. It is
   conversation.

   Every day on this blog--and I do mean every day--I make a mistake.
   Without fail, I make at least one mistake. And do you know what the
   result of that mistake is?

   Someone points it out. And I either fix it, or, I say, "yeah, you're
   right."

   The real secret to blogging is this: be you. Always be you. The more
   honest you are about things, including yourself, the more people
   respect you. Never apologize for being you. Never apologize for being
   wrong, either. Just say, "I was wrong."

   Oh that's so hard isn't it? Those three difficult words: "I was
   wrong." Or to say it more informally: "Whoops, you got me."

   Even if you are not a sports fan--and I am not generally a sports
   fan--the sport of American baseball is very instructive. If you watch
   baseball at all, you should notice that it is a study in failure.
   Pretend for a moment that you are a professional baseball player: if
   your lifetime batting average is .333, you will almost certainly be
   inducted into the Hall of Fame as one of the greatest who ever played
   the game.

   .333? That means that in a thousand times at bat, you made it to first
   base 33% of the time. It's not even that you scored. You just made it
   to first base. You just have to have made it to first base at least 33
   times out of a hundred.

   Which means that if you failed 66% of the time. That would make you
   one of the greatest players in history.

   Many people consider Babe Ruth the greatest baseball player of all
   time. Maybe he was, maybe wasn't. But his [1]lifetime batting average
   was .349. Which means that out of a thousand times at bat, he made it
   to first base 349 times... and was struck out or called out 651 times.
   And that's not how many times he scored, it's just how many times he
   made it to first base. (For non-baseball fans, that means he only came
   close to scoring.)

   The greatest player who ever played the game f***ed up 63 times out of
   100. He failed far more than he ever succeeded.

   But he never quit, did he?

   If you blog, you should put 100% of your passion behind it. Your only
   promise to yourself (the most important promise is always to yourself)
   should be that you are honest.

   You will always have bad days. You will always f*** up. You will
   always make mistakes.

   Your only test: "Was I honest? Did I speak truly to what was in my
   soul?" If you can do that, you can be proud. Even if you often make an
   ass of yourself (and I promise you, you will), if you were honest then
   you know you did good

   But don't stop. That's the real secret.

   Don't ever stop.

References

   1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe_Ruth