Ask the SEO Guru

What's the Point of Blogging Anyway?

I probably ask myself that question just about every time I sit down and get ready to write a post. Most of the time I'm so busy I feel like a one-eyed dog in a sausage factory and I don't know which way to turn. Most days it's very difficult to stop the whirlwind that is an SEO's life and focus on a single topic long enough to write something that I feel offers something useful, informative, educational or at least entertaining.

From the first day I slid in an AOL disc that I got in the mail, (now those guys knew how to spam!), and found out what a chat room was, I knew that once you hit that enter button that you were no longer in control of your own words. I knew you couldn't take back anything stupid you said and that your stupid remark would likely be inerasably preserved to posterity.

One of my favorite quotes is:

Small words spoken in truth can sway the minds of nations. But I don't care who you are, keep talking long enough and you're going to say something stupid.

So, believing in the quote and realizing the potential shelf life of stored electronic data, almost from my first day online I have always tried to choose my words very carefully before I hit that enter button. I rarely post much of anywhere to keep my averages down but when I do it usually takes me quite a bit of time to make even a short post, (I'm not sure I've ever made one of those?), because I'll read what I wrote over and over again trying to check for grammar and context until I'm pretty darn sure I'm saying exactly what I want to say.

That philosophy has paid off well for me because my total number of posts to stupid ratio is relatively low.

Blogging is different than community contributions on forums, social sites and other people's blogs. Why do we blog when to do it well enough for anyone to give a crap it takes focus, dedication and no small degree of time-consuming effort?

Is it to increase revenues? A kind of back handed advertisement disguised as valuable content? Is it just to hear the sounds of our own fingers clicking the keyboard hoping someone sphinns our egos? Are we trying to share our wisdom and vision with those less wise and far-seeing? Or is it really motivated by a simple desire to want to help or fellow man to gain the benefit of our experience without any expectation of compensation other than just the warm and fuzzies associated with feeling like we really are a good person?

I don't really think it matters. I think quality is quality regardless of the motivation. I think knowledge and insight lie at our feet like small pebbles or blades of grass with each one offering some degree of cerebral reward  if we are willing to take the time to look close enough.

I recently had the pleasure of engaging in a discussion with Aaron Wall in the SEObook community forums, community.seobook.com. (I can't provide a link to the specific post because it is for paid members only BUT I can tell you it is a special kind of community and well worth the cost of membership.) Anyway, I gave a review of a product that was being discussed and I wanted to point out that I had worked with the creator of the product and knew the gap between what he was selling and what he actually did. Aaron replied with:

This is actually one of the hardest parts about being me in the SEO industry...I hear so much dirt about virtually everyone.

The core of it is that many people cloak, buy links, etc. and then make it sound like all of their success was organic. It seems after people get to a certain level of success hypocrisy is ok because everyone else does it, or we get selective amnesia. At the end of the day everyone is pandering for  

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I initially thought Aaron a little young for that kind of cynicism but it got to me thinking. I at first wanted to argue and then realized that it didn't really matter. Maybe he's right or maybe he has just become jaded from being him in the industry. Either way, his insight into internet marketing has been invaluable to me personally and I believe to the entire global SEO community. I could say the same of literally dozens, maybe hundreds of others in the industry who could convincingly argue from one day to the next that they were just trying to make a buck, or just trying to build a name for themselves or they were just unselfishly trying to help their fellow man. Whatever their reason, the fact remains that it is the quality of the content that is the dominant value and not the motivation. Of course value is subjective.

For myself, I have been guilty at one time or another, of pushing the envelope from one end of the scale to the other. I need to make a buck, I need to build a name for myself and I truly wish to help others, (when convenient of course). But one thing I have ALWAYS tried to do regardless of purpose, I have always tried to be honest and honestly try to impart something of value to the people who would give me their time and trust in everything I do in my business and in my personal life. (Actually, I don’t have a business AND personal life. They are one and the same.)  

That is a lofty goal and there have been times I have made horrendous mistakes and fell short of the mark but I think in all things human, the aim and the willingness to accept mistakes, learn from them and re-commit to doing better is about the best any of us could hope for.

So after revealing my basic philosophy with all it's flaws and gaps from ideals to reality, you can probably see why writing a blog can become extremely stressful for someone who has that damn perfection streak in him that makes him unable to throw crap and gibberish out there without forethought and  serious consideration. The crap and gibberish I throw has been carefully considered and sometimes even forethought wasn't enough and I took it all the way to fivethought.

There have been so many times I had to get behind schedule simply because I could not bring myself to post when I had no clear idea of what I could say to justify the time. So many times I've considered just giving it up because I didn't see where it benefited anybody. Not me or anyone reading. Then ever so often, once in a blue moon, something happens and I'm reminded of why I do it.

I'm reminded why anyone does it when I consider that most of you who have been doing the blogging thing longer than I has had the same type of thing happen. THIS is why we do it or at least why we should do it.

This is a comment left on one of my posts I wanted to share.
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Hi Bob.  Even though I don't understand much of anything about concepts of SEO, I must say the articles that you've written that I've had the pleasure to read so far have made a huge impression on me.  Beneath all the technical terms and advice (which are often a bit overwhelming and confusing to a total newbie like me), the insights that you offered go beyond online marketing and computer talk.  I especially liked the way you used stories, whether from your experience as a former salesman at a store or dealing with heating/air conditioning repairmen, you taught lessons about human nature, the value of hard work, and the use of reasoning skills to solve problems.  Reading your articles made me reflect about where I am at the current stage of my life.  It got me thinking about my strengths and weaknesses, my past successes and disappointments, and those things that I still desire that I have not yet achieved.  For thing to be better, I must become better.  There is no short cut to success. Thank you for your wisdom and for planting seeds of change in my head. 

Your friend, George

Comments page: http://massa.techndu.com/CommentView,guid,0A9E2543-37BD-436A-951C-D114D9AFA87C.aspx

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WOW! I don't think I have ever had a nicer compliment from anyone and I don't know if this person saying that will make me any money or get my name known or even if it really will do anything to help him. I just know that this kind of exchange is the way the web SHOULD be.

The web is going to be commercial. There are bad things in the world. Everyday is not going to be good for everybody BUT, if we all took just a little time to get other people to say things like this to you and to say these kind of things to those who have made you feel better or taught you something, the web and the world would be a better place. And that is worth blogging for.

At the very least, remember that there are people actually giving you their time and you have an honest responsibility to them. Your words, your actions and your re-actions do matter. You have the power through your words to contribute value, to change minds and to have an impact on the entire world. Pretty awesome when you stop and think about it huh?

Peace y'all

G

don't forget to say your prayers for ya git inta bed baby.