Virtual Friendships and Blogging

The ladies in the North East Regional offices and I have been enjoying each other’s company as of late. The topics are all over the board and keep us connected. In the seven years I have been here, this has to be the most interaction we have all shared together. What we have in common is our job title, our manager, and the mutual effect that has on us. It makes us feel less alone in our circumstance. How does this tie in with what I have to say next? Read on.

Over the past several weeks, I have been enjoying some reading on how to grow your blog. I have gleaned some kernels of helpful information, and suggestions that I want to pursue. Here is an overview:

First I need to ask myself some serious questions about why I blog in the first place. Why does my blog exist? That question is easy for me. I love writing, want to perfect my craft, and enjoy musing about the world around me. I combine all three and use the blog as the venue for perfecting my craft.

Blogs that reveal the lives of their writers tend to have more subscribers, so the fear of exposing our souls needs to be overcome. I feel I am doing well here. I speak from the heart, hold up for others my view of the world, and hope that my readers come away with images and stories that can touch their hearts and souls in some way.

Blogs tend to be topic focused. I have a broad and general topic rule. Write about my motorcycle adventures. Since the motorcycle is limited to seasonal riding, the musing covers the rest of the year, and fills in the gaps. When writing about motorcycle adventures, my focus is to engage riders and non-riders alike. I realized the value of this when reading two stories about the same hunting trip from two perspectives. One was precise and hunter focused. The other, was written with detail, like the other, but with humorous observations that anyone could appreciate. Not being a hunter myself, I enjoyed that story more than the first. The story sticks in my memory, and I remember big blocks of detail. This is sign of a wonderfully written story.

One aspect of blogging successfully is thinking of your blog as a project. As I read (yawned) through most of the technical points, one sentence made me sit up straight and pay attention. “Building the Roadmap!” was the heading of the next paragraph. Now there is a heading that poked me between the eyes. Over the past seven years I have lived with roadmaps to a certain extent. Software development labs live by the roadmap. My support of engineers was closely tied to their “roadmap”. I moved on from this document to more study on tracking and managing a project.

I said I would tie in the ladies from above? Have no fear; here is where they come in. Successful blogs often have guest bloggers. In our daily virtual interaction, I can see that the ladies have a lot to say that would fit into the “musing about our world” theme. I have invited the ladies to post guest blogs. I’m looking forward to reading how they feel, view their world, and sharing it with you.