Archive for the ‘Marketing/Social Networking’ Category

Blog Anxiety

Tuesday, March 11th, 2008
Dear Blog,

Please forgive me. It’s been 3 days since my last post. I feel terribly guilty for all the inactivity.

blogacalm pharma ad

Given the prevalence of anxiety in our society and the inevitability of big pharma cashing in on it, I’ve gone ahead and made an ad for them. I hope they get through the FDA testing quickly, because I need me some Blogacalm.

Let me explain. I did not work at all this weekend (gasp!), which was a nice break. When Monday arrived, I had to finish some contract work. By the time I curled up on the couch with my laptop to put in some blog time, my wi-fi flaked and I ended up just watching TV. No multi-tasking. This was surprisingly uncomfortable, and I almost started freaking out during commercials when I couldn’t check MySpace. I also started to get anxious that I hadn’t done any activity with or on my blog in 3 days.

This is my first serious attempt at blogging. I have a few creative writing blogs out there that I hope no one ever finds, so if I don’t post on them for 6 days or 6 months, I really don’t think much about it. But I really felt guilty and worried about a few days of inactivity on this blog. I have recently come across a number of posts where the blogger writes profuse apologies for not posting in awhile, usually involving an excuse about getting married/moving/dog dying/changing servers, etc. And I get what all the fuss is about. As a blogger, you work hard to build a brand and a community of readers, only to disappear and not post for awhile. At the same time, for some of these bloggers it’s just a part-time gig, and life happens. I personally don’t mind when someone doesn’t post for a bit, because then it’s one less blog I’m behind on.

I did a search to see if others were talking about blog anxiety in this way. The results were pages and pages of all kinds of anxiety blogs. It made me think of “eco-anxiety”, a term that cropped up and got tons of media attention recently, at least in California. Magazine editors were confessing left and right about taking cold showers with the lights out to conserve energy and the guilt they felt about their espresso machines and hybrid cars. I can’t help but think of the absurdity of liberal intellectuals in million-dollar San Francisco homes afraid to turn on the heat above 65 degrees. Good for you for worrying about the environment, but I don’t think we need to create another psychological disorder because of it.

I’m an inherently nervous person, so I’m going to be anxious if I post, and if I don’t. I can live with it. I just hope you can forgive me every now and again for a few days off.

-Kate Miffitt

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5 Other Reasons to Start a Small Business Blog

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008

There are a lot of reasons for entrepreneurs and small businesses to have a blog, but I’ll let the internet marketing and social media experts make the compelling business arguments for it. I have started this blog for more personal reasons that I think can be as beneficial for the entrepreneur.

    1. It’s the journey, not the destination. If you’re just starting out and developing a business idea, blogging your experience as you move from planning to development can be invaluable. Often our experiences are colored by the outcomes, so if you have a win you may forget all the steps it took to get there, and if you fail, you may be too dejected to uncover where you made mistakes. Blogging about the daily challenges and decisions you make will give you a history to look over at the end and a place to make better choices from in future ventures.
    2. You are not alone. Blogging is one way to form community with people who are working towards similar goals. This is especially useful if you work from home and primarily discuss your ideas with your dog (which I totally do) or the baristas at the coffeeshop you have made your office (which I’m too shy to do).
    3. Ideas beget ideas. A funny thing happens when you start working on your own ideas and solutions: you keep coming up with more ideas and solutions. It feels like the synapses in your brain start firing more rapidly when your work for yourself, which is a good thing, but it can also be distracting. A blog can be a bucket or holding place for your brainstorming, so you don’t spend your day chasing ideas and not getting anything done.
    4. Sometimes you just need busy work. My biggest pet peeve at every job was the inevitable busy work that was involved. Now that I work from home, I’d happily take on some busy work. Small tasks that don’t take up too much brain power are great to have to get your brain firing and to feel a sense of accomplishment. A blog provides good “busy work” tasks. You can write a post in the morning to get your day started, check out other blogs during lunch, and reply to any comments while watching American Idol. You are still nurturing your business while getting a mini mental break.
    5. Learn about yourself and your work style. When you stop comparing yourself to the guy in the next cubicle or worrying about your next manager review and start facing you own strengths and weaknesses as you sit in your apartment by yourself all day,  you can learn a lot. Most of the blog posts that come to mind have to do with observations about myself (like noticing I hadn’t worn a bra in 4 days because I didn’t have to go to an office) than with concrete entrepreneur advice. Regardless of where I am professionally in 6 months, the knowledge I gain about myself and how I work with my partner will be valuable in any future endeavor.

    An entrepreneur or small business blog can yield wins for your business, but it will also enhance your personal and professional development.

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