Further on Blogging

Different spin on blogging, from (The Doc Searls Weblog : Friday, August 18, 2006)

I had a prior post was about economists...
Looney Dunes: Why Blog?

Back to Doc's piece.
Is blogging just about getting rank, promotion, and therefore just about advertising?
Not necessarly.
Doc rebuts the following "...in the end, that¹s what the A-list is all about: directing traffic. They are the traffic cops of the blogosphere and they are not as easily replaced as some would like to make us believe. They are brand names and we tend to trust them, even if they let us down sometimes."

and (excerpt)

"

As the blogophere has become more rigidly hierarchical, not by design but as a natural consequence of hyperlinking patterns, filtering algorithms, aggregation engines, and subscription and syndication technologies, not to mention human nature, it has turned into a grand system of patronage operated - with the best of intentions, mind you - by a tiny, self-perpetuating elite. A blog-peasant, one of the Great Unread, comes to the wall of the castle to offer a tribute to a royal, and the royal drops a couple of coins of attention into the peasant's little purse. The peasant is happy, and the royal's hold over his position in the castle is a little bit stronger.

Bullshit.

Want to succeed in the blogosphere, or the Web in general? Easy. Do search engine optimization. Here's how:

Write quotable stuff about a lot of different subjects. Do it consistently, for months if not years. Link a lot, as a way of giving credit and of sending readers to other sources of whatever it is you write about.

That's it.

I can't promise royalty, because there isn't any. But I can promise a rewarding relationship with the readers you'll get, regardless of how many there are.

---
Back to my "voice"...

Can blogging be commercial? Damn right it can, and it can be a powerfull tool for those that know how to use it. But that discussion is for another time/place/

But it can also be simply a means of communicating with friends (know and unknown) and a broader community.

I personally "work" from a home on a lake in NW Mich, surrounded by a National Park.
We have our circle of friends here, but I also have friends, business associates and other contacts from coast to coast. I can work the hours I want, post ideas (good, bad or indifferent) at any/all hours of day or night.

This blog is public, others are private - family/friends only.

Now back to anger management practice ... (VBG)