A thousand years ago when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth and men were true hunter/gatherers I worked for a manufacturer of diamond tools. We made equipment that you could use to cut concrete, saws, drills and the blades/corebits that were used on them.

My first position in the company was in the Inside Sales department where we would take 50 or 60 calls during the day from contractors/distributors who wanted to purchase equipment and supplies as well as those who needed help because their saws/power packs wouldn’t work.

Some of my favorite calls started with “Listen you %$@%$ bleepity bleep, your bleeping bleep, bleep, bleep won’t work.”

And then I would calmly ask, “did you put gas in it?”  Usually that solved the problem and they would curse me even though I had explained that weren’t legally allowed to ship them with fuel in them.

Schematics and Analytics

Sometimes there were real technical problems that had to be resolved so I would pull out a schematic and try to diagnose the problem over the phone with them. This was always made more fun by the colorful language and or the need to do it in multiple languages.

Anyway, we had several department heads who used to try to figure out how to make our department more profitable and productive. Part of the way they would do this was by developing metrics they could use so they could do some number crunching.

In concept it made sense but in execution it didn’t always work because sometimes the numbers they would pick weren’t really good for any sort of analysis. They weren’t significant and consequently we sometimes found ourselves being judged on ridiculous material.

It is a problem/situation that isn’t limited to my old job or any single industry in particular. Every business tries to figure out how to measure success and many of them struggle because of flawed analytics.

Analytics and Social Media

Social media causes a lot of trouble because it is challenging to measure. It is harder to assign dollar values to Twitter followers, Facebook, Likes, Google Plus circles and blog subscribers.

Combine all those numbers and say you have 10 million people that like, follow, circle or subscribed to you and what do you have? In theory you have a great success story but in practice you don’t necessarily know if any of them have purchased your product/service or told friends and family to hire you.

Put that aside for a moment and let’s focus on blogs. Let’s pretend you have Google Analytics, Clicky or Statcounter installed on your blog. Let’s say you check your stats on a regular basis because you want to know what is going on.

Do you really understand what you are looking at? Do you know what bounce rates, pageviews and users are? Do you know how to figure which if any of those are important? Do you care about the time spent on page? Do you know how to figure out who leaves their browser open on your blog all day long and who doesn’t?

Many people don’t. Many people don’t have a clue what their analytics say beyond the most basic level and that is a problem. Because if you don’t really understand what you are looking at how are you supposed to make an informed and educated decision?

You can’t.

You just end up guessing and in business guessing can hurt you.

A Few More Thoughts To Share

When I used to sell online advertising I would sometimes find myself debating with the media buyers about how effective our campaigns were. One of the things that used to drive me crazy was when they would try to hold my feet to the fire for a $50k buy because they didn’t think they were getting enough out of it yet their broadcast counterparts spent $5 million on television commercials that were aired during some sporting event.

I would sometimes politely ask them how many viewers had x-ray vision that they could use to watch the commercials through the wall between the kitchen/bathroom and the television set.

Sometimes that would work and sometimes they would push back and ask me for analytics they could use to support my side.

The point here is that numbers can work for and against you but for them to be most effective you really need to understand what you are looking at and why they are meaningful.

What about you? What do you think about all this?

The post Do You Understand Your Analytics? appeared first on Joshua Wilner.

Sometimes the words don’t flow from my fingertips with the kind of ease I would like them to. This is not writer’s block. I haven’t any trouble coming up with a sentence, paragraph or story.

What I have a problem with is the way that it reads. It lacks the sort of flow and rhythm I would like for it to have so I attack it…repeatedly. Sometimes this works and discover that writing and rewriting is the solution, you know it is that bleed at the typewriter thing that Hemingway used to talk about.

And sometimes it doesn’t.

“I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English – it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don’t let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don’t mean utterly, but kill most of them – then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice.” – Letter to D. W. Bowser, 20 March 1880, Mark Twain

Were Mr. Twain available I would engage him in all sorts of conversations about writing and express my sincere regard for his advice. Plain language is exceptionally effective and something I try to use.

The only time I try to show off my vocabulary is if there is a need to cloak my message in the sort of obfuscatory verbiage that prevents clarity of thought and understanding.

In other words I want everyone who reads my work to understand what I wrote. I don’t need to hide it beneath layers of dirt and gibberish.

Sometimes Layers Are Appropriate

Sometimes layers are appropriate but that is usually when you are writing fiction. Layers work for fiction because when you create characters you want them to have substance and that doesn’t happen unless you provide it.

The most interesting characters to me always have some kind of depth. They aren’t just heroes or villains, they are people who made choices and followed a particular path to a particular destination.

I suppose you could write a series about a particular topic and use layers for that purpose. You would start out at station #1 and then add the layers that lead you the stations that come afterwards.

“You need not expect to get your book right the first time. Go to work and revamp or rewrite it. God only exhibits his thunder and lightning at intervals, and so they always command attention. These are God’s adjectives. You thunder and lightning too much; the reader ceases to get under the bed, by and by.”- Letter to Orion Clemens, 23 March 1878, Mark Twain

Now were I to talk to my buddy Mr. Twain I would ask him about whether he thought about how long it should take between the thunder and lightning. I would ask him if he thought you could bring it down more often.

I suppose you could equate it to the baseball player who swings for the fences each time they come up. This is where your personal philosophy comes in because the person who swings for the fences tends to strike out more often than he/she that tries to pepper the field with base hits.

If you get enough of those base hits you advance the runner and sooner or later you score. Do it enough times and your team wins.

On the other hand it is not nearly as majestic or exciting as the home run. Home runs are a guarantee score and oftentimes they lead to the win. The biggest and best of them lead to the sort of inspiration you can’t buy.

The post Layers appeared first on Joshua Wilner.

The extreme weather alert came in about 38 minutes or so ago, I am not really sure. It said there is a tornado warning until 8:45 and that we should take cover.

It was an interesting moment for me. I know natural disasters. I have been through multiple earthquakes of assorted sizes and been evacuated from a forest fire but I haven’t much experience with tornadoes.

Years ago my friend Daniel and I drove across country and during the way into Kansas we heard a warning over the radio, but we never did see anything.

Confession

After I received the text I walked outside and looked up a black sky and listened for the sound of a train bearing down on me. I don’t know for certain if that is what it sounds like, but it is what I expect.

Then I thought about my kids and wondered what I would do if I saw that funnel cloud coming. Where would I go here? How would I protect myself? What should I do?

Earthquakes are what I know. I can tell you what to do and how to protect yourself. I can tell you about how I  viewed them as an E-Ticket ride, until the Northridge quake that is.

Northridge was big and it woke me up. I saw what it did to places I knew well. Old Mother Nature busted us in the chops with that one and I recognized how small and insignificant we are.

The Big Show

I am not scared or frightened now, although I will admit that I haven’t showered yet. I spent 40 minutes on the elliptical at the gym and was a giant ball of sweat.

The plan had been to get into the shower but when I got the message I decided to wait until after the alert had passed. Even though I am not entirely sure where I would go I figured I would rather be dressed than caught naked in the shower.

It might sound ridiculous to you, but if a tornado hit while I was in the shower I would end up on being the naked guy on the evening news. I don’t have the washboard abs and hard body I had some years back but it is not really vanity that kept me from jumping in.

Nah, it was for my childrens’ sake.

I didn’t want them to be teased because their dad was the naked guy who ended on the news and was immortalized on YouTube.

Death

I am not afraid of dying. Honestly, it is not something I worry about. One day it will happen and that will be it.

My apologies to my parents, I hope this doesn’t upset you because I know what the thought of something happening to my kids does to me.  But this is different.

Your fathers and I spoke about this more than a few times so I suppose some of their influence rubbed off on them. Granted, they were in their nineties so their perspective was different, but it is what it is.

Nah, I don’t fear or worry about death. If you asked me to list the ways I don’t want to die I can tell you that being burned and or eaten alive bother me, but that is a different topic.

Anyhoo, I suppose death crept into my head more because another friend lost a parent this week and because of the tornado.

The Stormwalker

I kid around sometimes about storms following my footsteps and how I have become the stormwalker, but it is not necessarily something I prefer. And more to the point of death I was thinking about it more from the perspective of my kids.

Those little rascals have got a lot of growing up to do and I am not ready to check out and miss out on that. At some point my ability to follow their story will end but since I am going to be 130 I have a few years to go.

By that point in time they’ll know enough to take care of themselves, but now would be bad.

I have too much to teach them.

And now it is time to double check the batteries in my flashlights, not that I am really worried because my father’s crazy list making Virgo nature was beaten into my skull. I mean that in the kindest sense dad, the batteries are fresh and the flashlights are around where I can get to them.

Be good all.

Tornado warning (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The post Take Cover Now- The Tornado appeared first on Joshua Wilner.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What you have in the video above is solid gold. Gene Autry only wishes he could sing as well as I can.

Confession, I don’t sing in this video but if I did I would definitely sound better than Gene Autry but only because he is dead.

Yeah, I know it is sort of unfair to make him compete in that fashion but if I have learned anything in the past 44 years it is to leverage the strengths and angles.

Anyway, this is a short blurb about the importance of listening and how that impacts our relationships on a personal and professional level.

Feelings Affect Who We Spend Time & Do Business With

Our feelings about people has a significant impact upon our relationships. I actively work on cutting out those who create chaos in my life and or don’t make me feel good.

I don’t have time for that and unless there is a business reason to be involved with you I walk away.

That is not unusual. Many people take a similar approach which is why in professional settings we need to conscience of our impact upon others.

What do you think?

The post He Wore A Black Hat appeared first on Joshua Wilner.

Plan your next move.

The first time he beat me I flashed him my biggest smile and then silently cursed.  Sometimes the joy of the competitive spirit is stronger than I will show.

The smile was for my son and it was genuine. I was thrilled for him because he was proud and excited.  After having lost dozens of games to his dad he had finally prevailed.

But part of me didn’t want to lose because I don’t like it.

No one does, but some people allow their distaste for losing to prevent them from taking chances.

I am not that guy.

Lead From The Front

My gut instinct is usually to lead from the front. If I am playing basketball I want to be relentless in attacking the boards and do my best to wear out the other side.

Same deal in football.  Pound the ball again and again, force you to adapt and adjust.

It doesn’t mean that I won’t take the time to think about what I am doing or to consider the consequences of my actions either. Those are important, but if you are not careful you can suffer from Paralysis of Analysis.

The goal is to take action and to do things that lead to a better situation or outcome.

The goal is to lead from the front and to take steps to make changes.

What Seth Godin Says

Someone call Seth and tell him I am grateful for his having the presence of mind to write these words for use in this post.

A successful middle manager gets promoted when she takes the right amount of initiative, defers the right amount of credit and orchestrates success. That success might happen despite (not because) of who her bosses are, and that’s just fine, because she’s leading up.

In many ways, we get the bosses and clients we deserve. If they’re holding you back, change them.

We have an astonishing amount of freedom at work. Not just the freedom to call meetings, make phone calls and pitch ideas, but yes, the freedom to quit, to find a new gig, to pick the clients we’re going to take on and to decide how we’re going to deal with a request from someone who seems to have far more power than we do. “Yes, sir” is one possible answer, but so is leading from below, creating a reputation and an environment where the people around you are transformed into the bosses you deserve.

When you do this with intention, it gets easier and easier.

What Josh Says

I am a fan of Seth’s work but not a minion or groupie. I sometimes find it frustrating that some people can say the same thing as me but they are lauded as experts while I am just some guy.

Maybe that  is ego speaking or maybe it is approach.  We can discuss it later because the point of is that I follow a mantra of “It is easier to ask for Forgiveness.”

It means there are moments to sit and wait and others that require action.

It means sometimes you take a chance and you are proactive in starting a new project, writing an ebook, drafting a plan or taking steps to make things happen. You don’t need a focus group to prove that your idea is valid and you just go for it.

Sometimes you may fail. Sometimes it may flop, but it is easier to ask for forgiveness for trying to make things happen than to do nothing because no one asked you to or because you feared failure.

Risk Versus Reward

This is not license to be reckless or to say that every action that fails to go as planned is covered by this either. Rather it is encouragement to remember rewards come with a risk. We can’t always predict every outcome in advance so sometimes you have to take action and be prepared to ask for forgiveness.

What do you think?

The post It Is Easier To Ask For Forgiveness appeared first on Joshua Wilner.

A Bad Hair Day. Sometimes the devil is in the details.

Every year the night before my birthday I promise to call my parents the next day at 4:36 AM so they can relive the glory of the birth of their favorite son.  For the past forty some odd years my failure to come through has put a smile on their face, but that may not happen this year.

That is because we live in different time zones and at 6:36 AM C.S.T. I will definitely be awake and more than happy to remind them that their bouncing baby boy is hungry and ready for breakfast.

Sadly we won’t be able to share that meal together or any meal on my birthday but I do have a potential solution. They could print out the picture above and place it at my seat at the table and sing my praises.

You can consider that my last silly suggestion for year number 43. Did I mention that 43 is the smallest prime that is not a Chen prime. It is also the third Wagstaff prime.

Where Should You Focus Your Attention

That picture was taken in early March of this year. I have mixed feelings about it. I don’t like my hair, my pants are falling off and I really should have worn a different pair of shoes.

Does any of that matter? Is any of it significant or any material import?

It really depends on who you are speaking with. Friends and family might have some interest in those things and someone who is into fashion might have comments or questions about my attire.

But what happens when you look at my face? Does it look honest, trustworthy, warm, intelligent and or friendly?

There Is a Business Lesson/Comment Here

Ignore the narishkeit (foolishness) of the beginning and think about how your business and how many different parts make it go. Think about how much information is being thrown at you at breakneck speed and then ask yourself where do you focus your attention.

Ultimately the question of where to focus our attention is one of the most critical ones we face on a daily basis because time is a limited resource and how you spend it has a significant impact.

The most successful companies I have worked with and people I know have all been very good at mastering time and controlling the flow of information so that it did not overwhelm them.

Information Overload

A couple more thoughts/comments to share with you and then it will be time for me to focus my attention on my kids.

If your business has a website and you haven’t installed some sort of analytics package you are making a huge mistake. If you have installed an analytics package and haven’t taken the time to learn how to use it you are making just as big a mistake.

Data can be great but if you don’t know what you are looking at you can succumb to information overload and lose you ability to determine what really is important. There is no real distinction between not having data and not understanding it.

What do you think?

The post Where Should You Focus Your Attention- Analytics appeared first on Joshua Wilner.

I march to the beat of a different drummer and my guy has no rhythm. Wouldn’t matter much if he did because it wouldn’t mean that I could sing or dance any better than I can now.

You need to know that because when we talk about social media marketing  you are going to see me roll my eyes at half of what is said. That is because after almost a decade of a blogging and about 14 years of helping companies figure out how to use the net I have a few opinions about things.

The number one and two rules are to have fun and to stop worrying about what everyone else is doing/saying.

The Echo Chamber

The blogosphere is cluttered, noisy and saturated a billion bloggers who love the idea of the Internet Gold Rush but very few of them are sharing anything interesting, novel or useful.

Some of that is because they are parroting what they hear elsewhere because they think/hope it will help them gain traffic and notoriety. That is not the sole reason for the content quality problem but it is a significant part of it.

You can add a few other things like not taking the time to find your blogging voice  and not spending enough time thinking about how to create compelling content.

My focal point isn’t on whether people only focus on white male bloggers but on coming up with good content and upon sustaining my effort.

Dancing Around The Storm

The storm is the clutter and noise in the blogosphere. It is the chaos that surrounds so much of this and the whining that comes from people who forget this takes hard work, effort and time, this being blogging.

Two of Mark Schaefer’s posts this week fall in line with what I am talking about: In praise of the naked business and Could too much tweeting cost you your job?

Why?

In praise of of the naked business provides an inside look at how Mark operates but not in the sense of him providing actionable tips you can use to become a Internet giant. No, it is a reminder of the person behind the blog. He talks about how he likes to work in a way that makes it clear he is human, no different than you or I.

And the next post provides another thought/reminder of the importance of how we treat other people because that impacts our professional and our personal lives.

It reminds me of when I first started working and learned that some people were treated differently in the work place because they were members of the family that owned the business or because they had the kind of charisma that made people like them.

I had expected to find a workplace where everyone was equal and your future was contingent upon the quality of your work. So I was very surprised when I found out that it wasn’t always like that.

A Victim Of Circumstances

Luck and timing are important. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. If you got into the space earlier, sustained your effort and kept going you might be among the more successful bloggers, or so some people argue.

Not me, because it doesn’t matter. I am not interested in being seen as a victim of circumstances.

It is not fair that some people produce crap that is lauded as being gold or that they are held up as examples of what we should aspire to be, but it doesn’t matter unless you let it.

This is about working on your game and focusing on sustaining your effort while accepting that you need to do something to make yourself interesting. There is no single road to success which is good because I am a firm believer in the Mark Twain quote below:

“You can’t reach old age by another man’s road. My habits protect my life but they would assassinate you.”
- 70th birthday speech, 1905

Find what makes you happy in this wacky blogosphere and find a way to incorporate it in your writing. When your passion and personality come through it will help you find like minded individuals who appreciate you.

Some of them will hire you and some will just join you for the journey, but you need both because one of the few critical elements for success here is to sustain your effort and those who walk with you will help do that.

Don’t forget to try to be likable occasionally too. People respond better to being nice than constantly flaming them.

What would you add?

The post A Victim Of Circumstances- Echo Chamber Effects appeared first on Joshua Wilner.

Reebok high tops, rolled jeans, fanny pack- Yep is 1989.

Twenty-four years ago that guy on the far right was me. Of course if you are among the regulars here you are probably getting sick of seeing that photo but sometimes you just have to roll with what life hands you.

And I am rolling, oh yes, I am rolling because there aren’t many choices and I am good with that.

Today I am looking at the 20 year-old boy in that picture because I am trying to figure out if the almost 12.5 year-old boy who calls me dad will look anything like the guy in the picture.

I Don’t Like Girls

The boy who told me he doesn’t like girls because they are annoying has almost finished his first year of middle school. That is a milestone in itself as will the Bar Mitzvah this Winter, but that is not what got me thinking today.

No, what caught my eye was the birthday party invitation he received…from a girl.

Yes, a girl in his class invited him to help celebrate her 12th birthday. He hasn’t decided if he is going to go yet because he wants to check in with his friends first. I understand that, I appreciate it.

Maybe I am making too much of it, but when he got an invitation from Olivia it surprised me. I have no idea who she is and that is ok. Why would I know all of the students in class, middle school is different.

Parents don’t get to hang out there and that is cool too.

Every time I speak with him I notice changes and it occurs to me that we are on the verge of some big ones.

Seven Years Later

Don’t ask me to explain why I picked seven years later because it was arbitrary. It was an easy number and some ways a surreal one.

Seven years from now I’ll be 51 and he’ll be turning twenty.

Seven years from now he’ll be in college and living who knows where. Can’t say I know where I’ll be living for certain either. I can make some predictions, but if life has taught me anything it is hard to predict that far into the future.

Maybe if certain plans go well seven years from now he and I will be doing another Iron Man together.

What I Am Sure Of

What I am sure of is that he has my hands and that seven years from now they’ll look an awful lot like my hands do now and in the picture.

Can’t say if his face will resemble mine or if he’ll be taller or shorter and that is ok. He likes to be his own man and I want him to be. It is a bit obnoxious for me to want him to look like me, but blame it on a father’s hope for some control of the future.

Not that looking like me will bestow wisdom or other magical properties.

I look forward to the future, but I won’t complain if seven years feels like it takes seven years, time moves too quickly as it is.

The post Your Life In Seven Years appeared first on Joshua Wilner.

More than a few of us are among the age to remember when Darth Vader was a real villain and not a sympathetic character. I’ll spare you the routine commentary about how George Lucas tried to rape my childhood with many of the changes he made and underscore my hope that Disney doesn’t do any more damage to the Star Wars I love.

This is really more of a spot about Facebook and some thoughts about the utility of using pages for marketing/PR efforts.

You’ll hear more than a few people say you absolutely have to include Facebook in whatever you do because everyone is on Facebook. I take issue with it because it is a broad generalization that doesn’t talk about usage.

Many people have accounts that they set up and abandon or rarely use it at all. But ignore that for a moment and assume that everyone who signs up for Facebook uses it on a daily basis.

That isn’t enough to guarantee that fans of your Facebook page will see your updates. That is because Facebook has set up a nifty little algorithm that is supposed to help decipher what people really want to see/read.

Or maybe it is because Facebook wants to do all they can to encourage the people/companies that run Facebook pages to buy advertising.

The Power of Facebook

That is a screenshot of my page.

I haven’t spent a lot of time working on building the page because the majority of my traffic has come from other places and I have had enough success for it not to be a priority yet.

It is good that Facebook isn’t the primary source of traffic because if you look at the stats it shows that a bit more than a third of the people who are fans of the page saw my update.

However Facebook has a solution for this that is included in my screenshot. For a modest investment I can boost the post by paying for advertising. Boy, aren’t I lucky that Facebook throttles the exposure so that I can pay for the opportunity to try and reach more people.

Facebook Is a Free Service

I understand why Facebook would do this and appreciate that it is a free service. We can debate about whether we (people) are the product and if they should do more to make us happy, but I don’t see much merit in it right now.

What is the point?

Well I suppose the point is that smart businesses take time to determine what sort of ROI they get from advertising on Facebook and if their fans include people who are truly spending money with them.

In some cases they certainly do and it is a great tool for building engagement and relationships but it is a mistake to think that just being there is going to provide your company with major benefits.

Are You Arguing Against Using Facebook?

No, I am not saying that. People are going to have conversations about your company/brand so you should develop tools you can use to funnel the conversations to places where you can engage and try to manage the messaging.

But you need to have  realistic expectations and understand what you are dealing/working with. That means remembering that you have to work with the Facebook Edgerank (remember the nifty algorithm) to find ways to make sure your message is seen and remember that you don’t own your Facebook page.

Facebook owns that property and leases it out to you. If they decide you have violated their Terms of Service they can pull it down at any time and you may not have much recourse.

Your Turn

Like I said, that was just a quick hit and run post, there is more to be said and we could put together a more scientific post to chew on.

What do you think about Facebook for marketing/PR efforts? Do you like it?  Do you have any tips or advice you want to share?

The post Don’t Underestimate The Power Of Facebook! appeared first on Joshua Wilner.

Here come Andy and Opie…

The lack of punctuation in the headline is intentional. Sometimes I do that to remind myself that I am asking a question and making a statement. Think of it as being similar to a play with multiple acts.

Act One:

Why Josh.

Act Two:

Why Josh?

Act Three:

Why Josh!

It doesn’t take much to change the meaning and direction of a few words. It is one of the things that fascinates me about language.

How Do We Build Connections

On a professional level I think about this daily. What do my clients need to do to reach out and touch someone. How do they do more than just broadcast news and information about whatever products/services they offer.

The simple answer is always the same. They tell their story in a way that helps their customers and prospective customers understand what they offer and how it will help them.

But the rub comes down to what methods to use and how to it in a way that makes people buy what they are selling.

Those last five words are sometimes the fly in the ointment because when I say it like that people sometimes push back and tell me they want to be authentic and that this particular expression makes it seem…less authentic.

Honest, Open and Transparent

We live in funny times in which we like to demand that people live honest, open and transparent lives but complain if someone tries to hold our feet to the fire. We live during times when people work hard to catch politicians and brands doing things that aren’t any of those three.

One of the challenges of being in the public eye is that when you do slip up you can find yourself the object of a piranha like feeding frenzy.

And under some circumstances you can be the victim of a modern day witch hunt. Think about what happened after the Boston Marathon and the frenzied approach that was taken to identify the terrorists in pictures.

Building Connections Online

Social media is a big contradiction. It has made the world into a global village and in some ways it has made it a colder and lonelier place.

I think I am more cognizant now of how easy it is to feel alone in a crowd. I went to Mayfest today and I had a great time. But when I wasn’t with my colleagues it was very apparent to me that there were lots of groups of people around and that I was alone.

It is not something I think about real often. I eat almost all of my meals by myself and spend most of my time outside of work by myself. It is a temporary thing and mostly my choice, but from time to time you notice.

Social media can build connections between people but if you aren’t good at it you can create a situation in which it feels like you are among the few people who don’t know anyone. Or if you are new to a blog or online community you can feel like the person who is standing on the outside looking in.

The best way to break through this feeling is to start commenting and interacting with people, but that is not always easy. Some people are shy and don’t want to be the only one speaking and others aren’t quite sure how to insert themselves into the conversation.

Building Connections With Bloggers

I haven’t had as much time to visit and interact with other bloggers as I would like to. There has been a lot going on and I have had to focus my attention elsewhere.

In concept it is not a huge problem because every week I see growth here. The pageviews continues to go up, subscriptions have increased and overall more people are paying attention to and reading than ever before.

But I wonder about this. I wonder because part of rhythm and flow of the blogosphere comes from comments and writing. Part of how you grow a blog is by building your engagement on the blog and off.

So if you aren’t visiting other blogs you might find some additional challenges and missed opportunities.

There is untapped gold in a good commenting crew. Part of the development comes from spending time building connections elsewhere.

And those are my thoughts on a Saturday night.

What say you?

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