Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway

I was talking blogging (again) at an event I attended and filmed for my personal video blog last week. I encountered the usual suspects: “What’s a blog?” and a politely-veiled stinkeye from a person who, from personal experience, has formed a negative opinion of blogging.

So let's tackle each of these. The first is simply from one of the many smart, successful adults who are not early adopters of technology. And fornow, blogging is still much more popular in that community, and not adopted by the mainstream business community. I don't see this as a problem, as the internet itself was the same way. I can still recall the oft-received question, "What's email?" when I would offer to email someone a proposal or some information.

The latter issus though, the fear of blogging is more troublesome to me. In this case the woman runs property management associations for various upscale developments. Her job is to enforce the covenants. If you've ever lived anywhere governed by covenants, you know they can be challenging as there are almost always those who want to push the limit. I've been one myself. Really liked the house, really liked the neighborhood, but indeed thought some of the rules were rather unnecessary.

So rather than be "at effect" of the complaining bloggers, I suggested she start her own! Information can be such a tonic to people who are confused and it stops the escalation before it gets to angry. It also gives people who don't want to side with the angry blogger, facts and figures to use in developing their own informed opinions on the matter.

Not only do you get to manage the messages that affect you and your business. It is your reponsibility to do so.

But only if you are willing to put in the time to do so. And that's one of the nice things about blogging. It doesn''t take a lot of time. I just read the headlines of three blog subscriptions, found one that motivated a response in me, and wrote this post — all in 27 minutes. (And I tend to write way more than is necessary! Just count the paragraphs.)

Yes, it does take practice learning to look for and sort through information, formulating your opinions, and knowing how to use blog technology. That's why we sell two hours of phone coaching every month with our web sites because we want our clients to be successful technology users. Nothing you buy is all that valuable, if you don't know how to use it.

Homage to Susan Jeffers for the title of her book, Feal the Fear and Do It Anyway.

COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Roxanne Darling
URL: http://www.barefeetstudios.com
DATE: 05/23/2006 07:41:35 AM
For anyone who wants to check out my personal video blog, here is the link to it that I forgot to include in the post.

The Business Value of Blogging, #356

It seems the insight and discussions around blogging in the biz-0-$phere have a long ways to go before being done. The Wall Street Journal put up an e-debate today between Alan Meckler of Jupiter Media and Jason Calacanis of Weblogs Inc. The third millennium is revisited here by a “failure to communicate.”

I found this topic over at GigaOM.

Really, the whole point of this debate was something of a canard I think because there are basic fundamentals that can predict the answer. Duh. Take any activity or enterprise, and for now, there is a predictable response curve aka pyramid: a few will make it to the very top by whatever measure you choose to use, and the rest will be happy or miserable at various steps down below, depending on their nature and their goals. Leave it to traditional media to pick a blatantly silly and almost irrelevant topic to engage two influential thinkers.

However! It highlights something I think about almost every day. The digital divide between those who are embracing the internet and those who are either ignoring it or dismissing it.

I don't want to be an agist, but I think older people who were raised on last century business practices are really having a hard time "getting it." To get it means, in my mind, not having any guaranteed idea where the internet is taking us and how it is transforming our lives, not to mention the business landscape. That is one of the subtle and striking observations I notice when reading these sorts of articles as well as talking to clients. And mind you, I am 53 so I have the tendency towards status quo too. But as I rebelled against it then, I am reveling in the potential of the internet now.

If you get it, you don't have to predict it. You are just open to the possibilities and you are in on the game. The jock is no longer the shoe-in; the nerd may win by sheer force of personality.

If you don't get it, you dismiss the game as temporary and insignificant. Read this dismissive comment from Alan Meckler, CEO at Jupitermedia, "an Internet media research and marketing firm:":

"Blogs are really the "diaries" of yesteryear." No actually they are the opposite. Diaries were highly guarded caches of personal secrets and gossip. Blogs are highly public fonts of (mis)informed (both) opinions backed by supporting citations with the power to affect elections among other things. Not to mention direct revenue generators of various proportions.

To which Jason replied: "You are correct that the majority of folks are not going to make a living from blogs, but that's because they choose not to try, not because they couldn't. If folks focus in on a niche and own it there is a good chance they could make half a living from blogging."

The internet truly does bring more power to the people. If you're a person, you too can enjoy more power by participating on the internet.

My bottom line is that it's not life threatening if you don't get it. One of the most powerful aspects of the internet is that it has allowed us to bare our souls and insecurities and come out stronger on the other side. You're actually on the road to getting it by admitting you don't get it. And that's altogether different than thinking you get it, and then dismissing it. You got that?

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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Mary Schmidt
URL: http://www.maryschmidt.com
DATE: 04/20/2006 02:32:02 PM
Um, I think I got it. Or, at least I know that I don't got it, but I know what it is. Or, something like that.

I agree that it could be partly a matter of age (and I'm 48, so I'm not age-bashing here.) I was talking to an older colleague this week about blogging and the Web, and while she said she wanted to learn more, she then said "I'm amazed when you tell me about all you do on the Internet. I just don't have the time to play on the computer all day." Of course, I called her on the "play" and she quickly backtracked, said she didn't mean it that way. Freudian slip there, methinks.

But, we all have to find our own level - in life, business and technology, don't we?

Would you like cheese with that whine?

This is one of my mother’s favorite quotes. When she’s feeling neutral and detached, she can make light of what is troubling me. (And you can guess what she’s like when not feeling neutral and detached!) So my two points here right up front are that 1) staying neutral and detached allows humor to be a healing and helpful antidote and 2) there actually can be a place for whining. Like most things, there’s more to it than believing it’s simply good or bad.

I got started on this post after reading a post by Melissa Reinert over at Kirsten Osolind's Reinventioninc blog this morning. (Jeez! What a list of resources and links she and her colleagues have put together over there. A great resource.) Melissa provides a good summary of some of the recent research into blogging habits and numbers comparing men and women.

I do however disagree that we should altogether "stop whining." Like most things in life and in business, there is plenty ‘o nuance to be had on the topic.

I agree with Melissa that women have a bad reputation for whining on the job. It's inaccurate in my experience, as I've met some world-class male whiners! Who cares, though, for now women shoulder the blame as a gender.

I think the secret to erasing this bad rap though, is for all of us whiners to know when to whine. And when to show up with a smile.

It's easy to pontificate about things like "are you part of the problem or are you part of the solution?" but what I've learned is that it can be hard to get unstuck. Hard to put on the smile, authentically, and not just cram more s*** down the throat. That is after all, so last century.

Real women do whine; they just know the when, why, and how of it!

So here's my tip on the the topic: Whine to your heart's content — in private. Get the frustrations out of your system. Business is tough, it's fast, it's as competitive as ever. Pretending you're not frustrated when you are is no better than whining in public. Taking the either-or approach rarely works over the long term in my experience. Knowing when to whine and with whom, well, that's a useful business skill for women and men!

Roxanne's Tips for Productive Whining

1. Pick a time to whine when you are offline and it won't interefere with your professional and personal responsibilities. Yes, that time does exist even though it may not be staring you in the face.
2. Pick a place that is private. Your whining really is no one else's business, unless #3 applies. Think closet, shower, car, underwater in the pool or ocean. There are lots of private spaces that may still be in close proximity.
3. Optional: Pick a person who will listen to your whine, without piling on. In other words, affirms your frustration but does not add to it with all sorts of "Yeah, you are totally right and that other person was totally screwed up!"
4. Pour your heart and soul into it! Be brash, extreme, detailed, and over the top. Get it out of your system! Cry, rant, and rave if necessary. (Remember, you're doing this in private.)
5. Place a time limit. This will help you focus and be successful at #4. If you don't feel done, schedule another whining appointment with yourself.

I was a guest presenter at Rancho La Puerta Spa several years ago, when I first taught this method. Back then I called it, "How and Why to Have a Meltdown." The female power execs in my classes ate the stuff up!

The real key to all this for me is realizing there is nothing wrong with getting utterly frustrated to the point of tears. It's knowing what gets me to that point, applying some preventive medicine (productive whining is one cool pill) and being able to get back to my positive and successful self asap. Goodness knows that's where I prefer to be, not to mention what the people around me want! I know I'm there when mom (or biz partner) can say, "Would you like some cheese with that wine?", and I can laugh right back and say "Yes!"

Here's my mom's latest challenge.
Here's my mom walking her talk.

Hey, Aloha Friday to you!

Still Doubt Blogging? IBM is in the Game

My digital divide alert sounds went off today once again.  Half the country does not know what a blog is, most don’t know how to use one when they do come across one, yet business giant IBM has announced it is developing its own blogging tool.

What's a small business owner to do?

1. Keep focused on your business and what IS working for you. That is always good advice.
2. Give yourself a gold start - you are reading the Bare Feet Blog!
3. Remember that the internet is not going anywhere. You don't have to be the first adopter. But if you are, there is some good press to be had and some possible "first mover" advantages.
4. Set aside an hour or two a week to read up on technology. You can find information in the mainstream press, and you can start googling things like "blog home repair" - if you are intersted in home repair for example - and go from there.
5. Attend meetings and seminars (many of which are free) to learn more about blogging, podcasting, and how to use the internet for your business.
6. Hire someone to give in-house seminars to you and your staff on technology and how to use it more efficiently.
7. Make sure you have a technology partner who doesn't go blank when you ask questions about the latest business tools for technology.

And yes, that's where we come in. We provide knowledge, support, and training - and blogs of course too.

Links

IBM and Blogging
Business Tips for the Third Millennium
Study Shows Confusion with Blogging

What's your biggest technology challenge? Leave us a comment - and we'll address it here in our blog. You'll also be able to get over any reluctance to using the tool, and you'll be adding a link back to your web site — which will help your search engine rankings. That's what we call peership in action, or what used to be called a "win-win."

Aloha,