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Mini-Session 10: 5 Things I Look for in a Blog

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Guest Speaker: Terry Starbucker

5 Things I Look For In a Blog –

  1. Fine Style – The look and the “feel” of a site on first glance sets the tone for the reading to come; if the presentation is messy, than the writing probably is too.
  2. Good Headline Writing – I like to be “grabbed” by pithy and oftentimes whimsical headlines that pull me into the post
  3. Positivity – Now I couldn’t call myself a “Half-Fuller” if I didn’t prefer a positive take on your subject matter, would I?
  4. Subject Matter Passion – Care about what you are writing about, put that on the page, and I’ll gobble it up
  5. Simplicity and Elegance of Prose – I can’t help it, I paid attention in English class – I love the proper and concise use of the language (including punctuation and spelling.

Thank you, Terry!
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Visit Terry’s blog, Ramblings from a Glass Half Full, to get and keep a positive view on people, life, business, and what things are about. –ME “Liz” Strauss
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Let’s open the Q&A . . .

I’ll go first. Terry, what is the one thing that will get you to keep coming back to a blog??

During the Virtual Conference today, you can take $100 off registration to SOBCon 07.

Why DO I Blog . . . ? Uh-oh! The Deep, Meaningful Answer

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I've been thinking . . .

When a close friend, Chris Cree, asks me a question, like the one at the end of this post, “Why do you blog?” I have to figure out whether to respond with my default response –a deep meaningful answer.

Some questions — “What are you doing?” — don’t ask for philosophy. I find I keep more friends, and they are happier, if I sort which questions want a deep, meaningful answer and which call for information. (Hey, in the end, you can walk away, but I’m stuck listening to me rattle like an old three-wheel bicycle.)

Gosh, . . . I might have already said more than you needed to know.

[Sorry]

Why do I blog? was the question.

I have three blogs of my own and two others that I blog on regularly. I did two interviews this weekend. Why do I blog? The answer to that has grown, but the reasons haven’t changed.

Chris, you asked for five reasons. When I look out at my blogs these are the ones I see.

  1. I blog because I said I would. When I wrote my first blog post, I made a commitment to myself to write every day. With the next blog, and the blog after, I made more commitments to myself and to anyone who reads what I write. Keeping my word is important to me.
  2. I blog because people need a friend. For years I gave away copies of two journal-like books by one writer. I gave them to folks I knew who needed to know they had a friend. Then those books went out of print. I wanted to make a blog that would offer a place where anyone could go to find a best friend at any hour of the day. I think people deserve a safe place.
  3. I blog because I am an entrepreneur in the 21st century. Blogging is one strategy of my business. Blogging gives my service business substance and a voice. I know that any business supported solely by print and word-of-mouth relationships is isolated and insecure. Blogging directly and indirectly supports my family. It is my credibilitiy across more than 2000 blog posts.
  4. I blog because I value the wealth of the blogosphere. The people, the relationships, the generosity of spirit, the joy of discovery, the learning and laughter, the humanity I experience are what bring me back day after day. Who with curiosity could be bored? We’ve set the bar with words I strive to live — authenticity, transparency, trust, respect, acceptance.
  5. I blog because I believe words can change the world. How could I walk away? Blogging is not an addiction. It’s a heady way of communicating, a meeting place for ideas where they become visible — more visible than the people who have them. I cannot turn my back on the possibility of being useful.

Nothing in my life could have prepared me to be a blogger, except everything in my life.

Now I wonder, you are each unique, Lisa, Brian, David, Tony, Chris . . . Why do you blog?

Liz's Signature

Terry Starbucker Is a B.A.D. Blogger!

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Blogger A Day Call: Hello is Terry there?

What threw me was that I had to ask Terry, if I might call him later than we planned. He said it was no problem — I was getting to talk to the glass half full guy, and I was making him wait. What was wrong with me? That was my thought at the time.

When I finally got connected to him, I jumped into a story about how I was only called predictable once in my life.

Starbucker’s such a gentleman. He acted as if every phone starts with a story about the FBI and guys in tuxedoes. When I was done, I asked him if the phone call was what he expected, and he implied that he knew not to come with expectations.

Starbucker knows people, especially this one. I suspect everyone says that.

Terry’s not Mr. Predictable himself. He’s Mr. Positively Alive and Aware of Everyone. He still remembers that we first met over a post that compared writing to driving through the mountains. He danced with all of the girls at Open Comment Night more than once. He has a fan club that knows the soundtrack to his life — it’s a life that’s lived with gusto and a glass that’s half-full.

Once I caught my breath again, the actual conversation got rolling. I asked Terry what his real job is. He told me that he is a Sr. VP of Operations. I said I never met one that traveled as much as he does. He said it was the only way to know the people who work with and for his company. Terry said that being there Is the only way to be fully part of the process. He said that way he can champion what works and stop ideas that surely won’t. We discussed the value of the intuitive detail that a person gets from experience. We both agree it can’t be replaced by a description on the telephone or the data on a spreadsheet.

Terry and I talked about consultants. We discussed how some are so good at what they do. He said they connected like-minded positives with like-minded people. We talked about how some are, well, not good. That led us to the subject of people who don’t know what business they are in — who their real customers are.

We ventured into a discussion of how VCs look at what they do, the dot.com bubble bust and how it hurt good companies who weren’t a part of it — his and mine — because the banks were so busy covering bad debts, they didn’t have time for us.

Then somehow we were back to talking about people and how important they are.

Starbucker knows people are at the center of everything. That’s why he has a fan club.

B.A.D. Blogger Quote

If what’s on that computer screen is real, it does carry over and you know it, . . . forging relationships, great ones, meaningful ones, . . . astounding.–Starbucker

Stop by Terry Starbucker’s Blog, Ramblings from a Glass Half Full, and say hi!

Thanks, Terry, you B.A.D. Blogger!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Want to be a B.A.D. Blogger see the. . . a B.A.D. Blogger? page in the sidebar.