Category Archive for ‘Blogging’

You may have noticed that I am attempting to establish a sort of regularity to my blog postings – let’s call it a “Blogging Rhythm”. A quick Google search for “blogging rhythm” will reveal that my mind may be incapable of originality at this point, but I assure you I invented that phrase on my own, just now. Great minds, it seems, really do think alike.

The concept of blogging rhythm is a key idea to keep in mind as one progresses through their own blogging experience. Keeping a decent, or even halfway decent, sense of regularity to a blog naturally lends a certain reliability to the content creator. If visitors can come to expect new content consistently, more trust is created between the content creator and the visitor. Obviously, if the visitor can expect new content at a reasonably regular interval, they will be more likely to bookmark the site and return again and again – as long as fresh content continues to be regularly added, of course. This is why RSS is so important. In an even better scenario, the visitor would subscribe to the site’s RSS feed so they would be automatically notified when new content is added. Once a visitor does this, the blogger has nearly guaranteed a repeat visitor.

In fact, the idea of a rhythm isn’t unique unique to blogs. Any site will benefit from fresher content, but blogs themselves are optimized for their ease of use, especially when adding new content.

Another perhaps overlooked side-effect to having a regular, consistent blogging rhythm is word of mouth. Once visitors have begun to expect fresh content at a regular interval, the more likely they will recommend such a fresh website to their friends and colleagues. Of course, the rate of this word of mouth spread will be related to the type of content the creator is providing, but this basic rule follows for all types of content.

One of the questions that I’ve asked myself as a beginning blogger is:

Is it better to be sporadic but spontaneous with new content?
Or is it better to be structured but reliable with new content?

There is of course a range of styles between these two approaches, but most content creators will lean hard one way or the other. And as much as I love spontaneity, I’ve chosen to side with the latter. At this stage, it’s more important for me to pattern a regular blogging habit into myself.

Yet there is a happy medium between these two extremes which I intend to implement once this first habit becomes ingrained into my neurons. After implementing a regular blogging rhythm, a content creator’s blogging habit will basically be on autopilot, like brushing their teeth every night. From this point, the creator would be able to supplement a spontaneous element to their blogging habits. Whenever the mood strikes, they’d allow themselves to add new content on the spot, but they wouldn’t rely entirely on their own spontaneity for content. They’d have that regularity already built up as a habit, so they wouldn’t have to even consider the possibility of their site even getting stale. The habitual part of themselves would already be handling that in case the spontaneous part decided to delve into refining site code or reading a book instead of creating.

Creating habits isn’t always easy though, so I suggest starting small and always remembering the reason you are doing what you’re doing. Make it as easy as possible to keep your word to yourself, because that’s what you’ve really done. You’ve made an agreement with yourself, and writing it down makes all the difference.

Let this be my public declaration:

“I have given myself permission to make mistakes with this website.”

When setting out on new territory in one’s life, many people become paralyzed by their fear of making a mistake. Instead of doing what they should do, they become like a deer frozen in an oncoming truck’s headlights, unable to move. My experiences in life, especially in Martial Arts, have taught me again and again how vital it is to be comfortable with making a plethora of mistakes when one is first starting out at something, and then even more as one goes on. Why should blogging be any different?

Being a rather introspective person, my natural tendency is to assess the possible outcomes and ramifications of any course of action I take before I take it. To a certain point, this is always a good idea. One wouldn’t want to break someone’s arm, steal candy, or insult the President for instance. These kinds of mental checks are necessary in society – ingrained into people as they learn and grow. However, there comes a point where the mental checker in one’s brain begins to paralyze them, filling them with worry if they allow it.

I once read a quote that went something like this:

“In the mind, there is a madman and a janitor. Both are essential for creativity. The problem happens when people let the janitor out first.”

This quote holds special significance to me because, being rather analytical to begin with, I have a tendency to let that janitor loose early. It’s something I’m making positive change on. Everyone is capable of great creativity if they would only keep the janitor away from their ideas for a little while. “Perchance to Dream” is the madman’s mantra. The janitor part of our minds tries to order and arrange the mess before the mess has a chance to be made in the first place. What the janitor doesn’t know is that messes are the stuff of creativity and critical for any kind of synthesization of a new idea. (By the way, if anyone can tell me who originally said that quote, I would greatly appreciate it.)

So don’t remain in front of the headlights because the deer will eventually be run over. Plunge in! Life is too short to look back on it someday and remember all of the chances one let slip by because of fear. Instead, sing the madman’s mantra:

“Fail more to succeed more!”