I really enjoy listening whenever Merlin Mann talks about blogging. Because even with Merlin’s hate of pointless productivity blogs, and of all the crappy things people do with social media, when he talks about blogging you still get a sense that it’s something he thinks is worth doing, and that it’s worth doing well.
Merlin’s insights into blogging are usually prefaced by 10 minute long admissions that “this is going to sound really douchey.” The funny thing about that always is that the more time he spends telling you how douchey what he’s about to tell you is going to be, the more likely it is what he’s about to tell you will cut straight through the bullshit and reveal really enlightened principles that stick with you. In some of his talks, his system for rewarding blogging is roughly: 1. Find your passion2. Find your voice
3. Blog the shit out of the two. It took me a long time to find the passion part about what I wanted to blog about when I had my last job, but afterwards I lost interest in it quickly. One approach I’ve been adopting lately is to blog about my ideas. Instead of focusing on blogging about a passion, the only other topic I’ve been able to think of is to focus on all of the ideas I have, and the interesting things that get me thinking. If you could ever consider blogging about your passion (say, marketing) as a way to increase your knowledge, improve your thinking, and grow your confidence in a topic, then using the same method to reflect through the things that are occupying your mind should work equally as well. … Or it could be because Merlin gets paid to talk about blogging. Hmm… John Gruber & Merlin Mann’s Blogging Panel at SxSW: http://www.merlinmann.com/media/2009/3/14/audio-john-gruber-merlin-manns-blog…
How to Blog: http://www.merlinmann.com/media/2008/9/15/video-how-to-blog.html
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