I’ve got a new attitude when it comes to blogging. Well, it’s actually the attitude that got me here in the first place. Allow me to re-introduce myself…to the blogosphere.
A little bit about what makes me tick: I’ve always been fascinated by new media technology and using it to reach people. The ability to reach a large audience, and deliver them something that they enjoy, gets me excited. I’m not sure exactly why. It just does. It really hit me last year when I was at the ESPN headquarters in Bristol.
I’ve always experimented with new media technology. I bought my first domain name in 2002 before my voice had cracked. I made a website where I shared music that my friends and I made on our computers. They were mostly comedic rap songs recorded using the computer mic and the Sound Recorder that came pre-installed with Windows. I would play the beat over my speakers in the background and record myself rapping the lyrics. The quality was terrible, and the music wasn’t exactly Grammy worthy, but none of that mattered. The point is that we were using the technology that was available to us at the time, and doing new things with it. We weren’t concerned about the perception. We were just having fun, being ourselves, and learning by doing.
I had that same attitude when I launched Hiptics in 2008. I didn’t overthink it. I just did it. I wanted to see if I could make a popular website so I took the available technology, created entertaining content, and experimented with innovative ways to market it. I didn’t write out an elaborate marketing plan. I created, marketed, analyzed, optimized, and repeated. I did this over and over and over. And I got the results.
As my professional ‘status’ has increased, I’ve become uncharacteristically sheepish about sharing original content. I think I’ve just become more conscious of the image I project about myself online. It’s not like I was ever posting shirtless selfies in front of my bathroom mirror, though. My point though is that I’ve gotten away from the same mentality that got me here in the first place. In an attempt to manage my ‘personal brand’, I’ve gotten away from the mentality that got me here in the first place.
When it coms to personal branding, the question you have to ask yourself is ‘what are you selling?’ I’m not selling anything. I’m busy and satisfied with my current work, and I’m not looking to leverage my blogging into something else. I’m back blogging because I believe in stuff like this i.e. taking the existing technology and taking it to a new level. Doing things that others talk about doing.
My personal blog is going to be a mix of insight and entertainment. It’s going to be me. After all, me is what got me here.