Posts Tagged ‘Writing’
With A Little Help From My Friends
Posted on: April 19, 2012
- In: Blogs | ConnectingHR | Feedback | Networking | Reflection
- 5 Comments
I have had a sore throat lately…metaphorically at least…and temporarily lost my blogging voice over the last few months. I’m happy to report that it seems to be well and truly back, due in no small measure to some of the brilliant people I have around me.
Whilst I was on holiday, my good friend Flora started her own blog (if you haven’t read it yet, you really should, it’s excellent) and what struck me most when reading it, is how her voice jumped off the page to me. Her voice, her style – undeniably, emphatically her. It reminded me of why I had started blogging and gave me some insight into how honest, personal blogs can be so rewarding and refreshing to read. It also inspired a little spark of recognition that I still have plenty to say and a voice and style of my own to articulate it in.
The other thing that struck me in reading Flora’s first post was the great way that she described her network – vibrant, full of varied, precious friends and family, people she loves and respects, people who she helps and who help her. That reminded me of the general fabulousness of the people that I am privileged to have become friends with through ConnectingHR and Twitter, as well as those who I have met through more conventional means.
And then, a chance conversation in Twitter with one such lovely friend of mine, Anthony Allinson, led to him emailing me some really thoughtful feedback on what he likes about my blog, things that have helped and inspired him and some ideas for future topics, should I feel like returning more regularly to the blogging fray. Reading his email not only lightened my heart, but somehow also had the effect releasing lots of ideas about future posts and musings and generally cheering me up and inspiring me no end. I was, and am, touched beyond measure that he had taken the time to think about me and about my blog and what would be helpful to move both of us forward. He will be blushing furiously by now, I know, so I will simply say that I am hugely appreciative of his consistent, understated kindness.
The lesson for me is that asking for and accepting help from friends, family and colleagues is not only OK, it is more often than not absolutely essential in order to continue to grow and develop. There is undoubtedly a fortuitous element of right words, right place, right time to all of this…but the simple fact is, you have to be open to being helped, as much as you are willing to offer and give it yourself. And it feels great…I shall be practising doing it more often!
So to Tony and Flora, thank you! Beers…or rather red wine, whiskey and cocktails…are on me :).
- In: Blogs | Engagement | Learning | Trends
- 10 Comments
So, last week was my blog experiment, where I wrote each day on topics with the highest votes, suggested by others. The original motivation for the experiment was to cure a temporary sense of writer’s block, but I found that I experienced and learnt much more besides.
On a pure measurement level, it was interesting to see what changed and what didn’t. The traffic to my blog increased substantially – but given that I usually post once or twice a week, that was no surprise. When I look at the overall page views for last week though, what is striking is that most posts get around the same number of views, with two exceptions, which were retweeted and then viewed by people outside of my usual network. In the interest of transparency, you can see the posts which received the most views below –
Whilst it is probably true that titles of blogs make a difference, there was also a huge increase to blog traffic in some ‘power’ RTs – it was notable with the ‘Why Are HR The Worst People Managers Of All?’ post that once the CIPD retweeted it, it led to a spike in page views and further RTs. Similarly ‘The Only Person Who Really Looks After Your Career Is Yourself’ was retweeted by @Jobsitejobs, leading to increased readership.
What else changed? I gained around 30 new followers, certainly more than an average week and my Klout score increased by 5 (I’m sure it will drop back soon enough ;)). I was fortunate to have some great comments on all of the posts that I wrote, but the numbers of comments are broadly in line with what I am lucky enough to usually expect. Perhaps interesting to note, there were no new subscribers to my blog during the experiment.
So these may be the ‘tangibles’ in terms of what can be measured, but of course the real story and learning for me goes much deeper than that. My main reflections are as follows –
- Rather than writer’s block, what I was really experiencing was a dip in creativity and lack of inspiration of topics to blog about. Whilst I worried that I was being lazy asking others for ideas, what I discovered was that people were keen to contribute ideas and thoughts
- Through blogging on topics that were not originally mine, I stretched myself out of my comfort zone, which felt at times nerve-wracking, but ultimately rewarding
- The topics that were suggested were almost all completely different to anything that I had previously considered writing about
- I loved the interactive process of asking for ideas and getting people to vote on them
- I have huge respect for individuals who blog on a daily basis in addition to busy, demanding day jobs…doing it for one week was just about fine, but it hasn’t tempted me to make it a permanent commitment!
- I missed the reflection time between blogs
- I am not by nature an experimenter…but found I enjoyed it and learned from it
- My readership may be small compared to many others, but I’m truly appreciative of the support and level of engagement I receive. Small but perfectly formed, perhaps?!
So, all in all, I enjoyed last week very much and will continue to reflect on the experience and learning I gained from it. I’d love to hear your thoughts as well.
The HR Juggler 