We have pretty much dissected why we gather here, why social media matters, why twitter will change the face of business, why all this is important. There are many that write on a regular basis - that produce original content consistently, that create thoughtful and meaningful responses to emotionally- or politically-charged blogs or discussions. There are those that prefer to simply peruse the pages of RBC searching for answers or shared experiences. Lurkers represent the listeners, the audience, the foot soldiers in the trenches. The readers.

The opportunity to step out of the trenches every now and again is here, right in front of you. Click on "write a post" or "start a discussion" and there you have it. An instant platform, an opportunity to put thoughts to page, to raise awareness, to share know-how, to stir the pot or spoil the stew - whatever the case may be. Some write "because it's there." Others write because they have to - to increase their vocabulary and develop their brains or simply to spew some venom. To liberate their thoughts.



"Blogging is free, it doesn't matter if anyone reads it. What matters is the humility that comes from writing it. What matters is the meta-cognition that comes from thinking about what you're gonna say... If you're good at it, some people are gonna read it. If you're not good at it and you stick with it, you'll get good at it. This has become such a micropublishing platform that, basically, you're doing it for yourself, to force yourself to become part of the conversation, even if it's just that big. And that posture change changes an enormous amount." So says Seth Godin at a recent Amex Open Session.

Blogging is free but does that lower the perceived value? Because anyone and everyone can do it, express themselves in numerous forums through the written word, should they? Should we? Bloggers have been blamed for putting reporters and columnists out of work, for twisting the truth, for gaining knowledge using unethical or easy means, for not checking their facts, for not having a formal education or experience... Oh, because the news media, in its previous form, was never charged with those accusations, right? Seth Godin was a columnist for printed media, yet he doesn't appear to be out of work. Why is that? Is it because he changed as technology did? Because he embraced the new and saw the direction media was going? He put down his pen and now fervently moves a cursor.

Tom Peters, co-author of In Search of Excellence , finished Seth Godin's preceding statement with, "My first post (blog)was in August of 2004. I will simply say, no single thing, in the last fifteen years professionally, has been more important in my life than blogging. It has changed my life. It has changed my perspective. It has changed my intellectual outlook. It has changed my emotional outlook and it's the best damn marketing tool by an order of magnitude that I've ever had."

Godin responds, "And it's free."



That being said, the only question remaining, "Why aren't you blogging?"





by rayannethorn