So Long, Facebook
Today my blog is saying goodbye to Facebook.
A year ago today, I decided to do one very simple thing: write a blog post once a day for a year.
It's a year later, and I managed to do it. (Phew!) I really like writing, and generally, there's not shortage of idea running through my head, so I honestly didn't think I'd have any trouble coming up with 365 little brain dumps.
The second part was something I was a little more conflicted about: I fed the RSS feed of my blog into my personal Facebook account, so that every morning, all my friends would see it.
I actually didn't take this decision lightly. The idea occurred to me, and I liked the idea because I'd never heard of anyone doing it before. But actually doing it seemed like a bad idea.
There's a very simple reason: attention is the scarcest resource any of us have. Asking people to look at something I've written once a day isn't trivial; it's asking a whole lot of people. Every day, when I hit the "Publish" button, I would freak out just a little bit inside for fear that eventually, a bunch of people would call me out on being an arrogant showboater.
People were actually nicer than expected about it. All the feedback I got was positive. To all of you: thanks.
A few people asked me why I did it. And the answer is important, because it's not what most people think. I didn't feed my blog into Facebook in order to get people reading it. Some people did, and I'm grateful they did, but that kind of shameless self-promotion doesn't scale, and if you're a blogger, tapping your online social network is no way to build an audience.
I didn't do it because I wanted people to read what I was writing. I did it because I wanted people to see that I was writing.
I was hoping at least one person might see my daily posts and think, "Well, Jim's finding the time to write all those posts every day...now that I think about it, maybe I have time to do something of my own." The best way to inspire others is to lead by doing, to do something grand, to make an ass of yourself trying to do something grand, to be playful, to try new things, to fail out loud, to live out loud, to be enthusiastic.
I think everyone should have a blog, and everyone should write once a day. Even if no one reads it. Even if you suck at writing. The mere act of writing changes you, and it leads your brain down creative paths and sparks ideas that wouldn't have emerged otherwise. Blogging becomes not just about what you believe, but about what you can articulate and defend.
Considering that half the country is snowed in at the moment, there's no better time to start. Find an itch. Go back through the past year's worth of ideas on here, find something you disagree with me on, and write a blog post about how you think I'm wrong. (Don't make it about me, though. Formulate a response to my idea, not to me. Write it to make it your own.) Then tomorrow, write about something else. The important thing is, whatever you do, don't stop. The fountain of youth is movement.
As to this blog, going forward, I'm not sure how regular I'm going to write. I can't promise I'll post every day. And for those of you still want to read my stuff in your Facebook feed, I created a Facebook page for this blog here, which you're welcome to "Like" if you please.
Thanks for your time and attention. And by the way, there is a very fine line between showboating and exhibiting enthusiasm. Coming across as arrogant is always a risk, but I think it's a line well worth learning to tread on.
A year ago today, I decided to do one very simple thing: write a blog post once a day for a year.
It's a year later, and I managed to do it. (Phew!) I really like writing, and generally, there's not shortage of idea running through my head, so I honestly didn't think I'd have any trouble coming up with 365 little brain dumps.
The second part was something I was a little more conflicted about: I fed the RSS feed of my blog into my personal Facebook account, so that every morning, all my friends would see it.
I actually didn't take this decision lightly. The idea occurred to me, and I liked the idea because I'd never heard of anyone doing it before. But actually doing it seemed like a bad idea.
There's a very simple reason: attention is the scarcest resource any of us have. Asking people to look at something I've written once a day isn't trivial; it's asking a whole lot of people. Every day, when I hit the "Publish" button, I would freak out just a little bit inside for fear that eventually, a bunch of people would call me out on being an arrogant showboater.
People were actually nicer than expected about it. All the feedback I got was positive. To all of you: thanks.
A few people asked me why I did it. And the answer is important, because it's not what most people think. I didn't feed my blog into Facebook in order to get people reading it. Some people did, and I'm grateful they did, but that kind of shameless self-promotion doesn't scale, and if you're a blogger, tapping your online social network is no way to build an audience.
I didn't do it because I wanted people to read what I was writing. I did it because I wanted people to see that I was writing.
I was hoping at least one person might see my daily posts and think, "Well, Jim's finding the time to write all those posts every day...now that I think about it, maybe I have time to do something of my own." The best way to inspire others is to lead by doing, to do something grand, to make an ass of yourself trying to do something grand, to be playful, to try new things, to fail out loud, to live out loud, to be enthusiastic.
I think everyone should have a blog, and everyone should write once a day. Even if no one reads it. Even if you suck at writing. The mere act of writing changes you, and it leads your brain down creative paths and sparks ideas that wouldn't have emerged otherwise. Blogging becomes not just about what you believe, but about what you can articulate and defend.
Considering that half the country is snowed in at the moment, there's no better time to start. Find an itch. Go back through the past year's worth of ideas on here, find something you disagree with me on, and write a blog post about how you think I'm wrong. (Don't make it about me, though. Formulate a response to my idea, not to me. Write it to make it your own.) Then tomorrow, write about something else. The important thing is, whatever you do, don't stop. The fountain of youth is movement.
As to this blog, going forward, I'm not sure how regular I'm going to write. I can't promise I'll post every day. And for those of you still want to read my stuff in your Facebook feed, I created a Facebook page for this blog here, which you're welcome to "Like" if you please.
Thanks for your time and attention. And by the way, there is a very fine line between showboating and exhibiting enthusiasm. Coming across as arrogant is always a risk, but I think it's a line well worth learning to tread on.