The Issue: People have asked me why I am starting my own blog, and I’ve certainly asked myself. There are at least 3 good reasons to start one of your own. Keep reading, and you’ll find out what inspired me…and perhaps what will motivate you to “self-publish” on the worldwide Web.

The Hard Truth: Admittedly, a “blog,” short for a “Web log,” is the ultimate tribute to this celebreality era of self-obsession and self-promotion! Wasn’t it just a few years ago you were yelling at your mother for reading your diary? Now you’re publishing it online for the world. Does the world care? Well…yeah.

The Solution(s): YES. You should start your own blog if:

You’re about to travel extensively. Postcards are incredibly thoughtful, romantic and personal treasures for your closest friends and family. But be honest, you’ve had to mail a bunch of them after you got home because you couldn’t find or afford stamps abroad. But if you can get to an Internet cafe or have access to a computer, a blog lets you post instant, in-the-moment stories, photos, even audio, for everyone you can e-mail, with way more information than can fit on the back of a card.
TIP: Keep some things personal, still. Write special notes on the blog for people…or hold some info back for private postcard text only!

You’re about to dive into something new. Double the intensity of a new experience by sharing your thoughts/fears/joys on a blog…and opening the door for 24-hour feedback, cheerleading and advice! Best of all, you have a permanent record of your journey from day one (you won’t believe it years later). Fitness and new job blogs are already hot topics, but why not a “learning to cook” or “moving to a new city” theme? Or maybe a “start of a new romance” blog where you only invite one other person to join?
TIP: Commit to sharing one pro and one con of the new experience in each of your posts and invite friends to give you tricks for getting past the con.

You have something unique to share. You know you have a special niche in your family and group of friends. Are you the go-to guy for hooking up home electronics? Maybe everyone who breaks up with a boyfriend heads straight to your door? That smells like a big, steaming pile of blog! Why not go online and share what you do best with the world? It’s a great way to explore what you know, help other people and do what you love to do. It will help solidify your “personal brand” to an even larger and more diverse audience.
TIP: Not sure what your personal brand even is? The world is trying to tell you, believe me, and I can help, too. Check out the link for “My True North” on this blog’s home page!

So why did I start my own blog? Well, I just got back from a month of travel. But I’ve never really sent postcards, and I confess, I didn’t blog either. (I did read a friend’s exciting round-the-world blog and laughed at all of the drunken photos. She might need the blog to remember what she did all of those months!) I’m also diving into something new, putting my ten-year producing career on ice to pursue speaking, my greatest passion, full-time. But I have a fantastic marketing coach to join me on that journey. So it turns out I’m travelling, doing something new and beginning this blog all for the same reason: Door #3.

I’ve been a confidante and advisor to so many “stuck” people over the past fifteen years, and I keep on hearing the same phrase when we talk: “I’ve never thought of it that way before.” I love that moment of POSSIBILITY in their eyes, faces, voices. I’ve done so many things, I just assume everything is possible. And no matter what limitation people think they’re facing, I always find a way IN to get them to try a new step in a new direction. If you’ve been on the fence about starting your own blog, I hope this will tip you over to give it a try for one day and with one intention: not to put information online…but to put inspiration online. In the one, personal, singular way that only you can.

The Caveat: So is the answer ever “No, don’t start a blog, or we will track you down and spill a latte on your keyboard”? Well…yeah.

If you are: frequently intoxicated, deeply angry at a certain someone, bitter about bad times in life or trolling for unhealthy stimulation, don’t hook your “Web” up with a “log”! All that time you spend ranting, raving and venting online…is time you could be spending at AA, a therapy session or out on a first date moving FORWARD with your life. Blogs are so brilliant at capturing the present. Don’t abuse them-or anthing else!-to stay locked in the past.

To begin your own branded blog, go to www.blogger.com and follow the very simple steps to create a page and begin posting!

See you next week with the next question and, even better, the next solution. All the best. dma

Last Modified: Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 @ 10:49

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 30th, 2006 at 1:28 am and is filed under Business, Entertainment Industry, New Media, Reality TV, Screenwriting Story Structure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.