Aug 21 2008
Personality and Panic
Merlin Mann (prolific guy, and very funny) writes, among other things, 43 Folders. According to his site, Merlin’s “practical and encouraging advice has helped thousands of professionals to regain their time and attention — to make better decisions, both in the moment and at a strategic level.” Gimme some of that! I have just begun to dig through his vault of stuff.
Here’s one post that caught my eye: What Makes a Good Blog? His first point is:
1. Good blogs have a voice. Who wrote this? What is their name? What can I figure out about who they are that they have never overtly told me? What’s their personality like and what do they have to contribute… What tics and foibles fascinate make me about this blog and the person who makes it? Most importantly: what obsesses this person?
Scott McLeod, at Dangerously Irrelevant, talks about the uncovering of personality through the social web. “Chink by chink, brick by brick, pixel by pixel – the picture becomes more clear and complete. Is this someone with whom I want to connect? Is this someone with whom I want to converse? Is this someone from whom I want to learn?”
I notice the blogs I go back to have a voice, a personality revealed through the style, content, and tone of the author. I have been enjoying Michele Martin’s The Bamboo Project blog, particularly because her voice is honest. Bloggers whose humanity, not infallibility, shine through their posts keep me reading and learning (though, yes, I admit to reading bloggers whose arrogance pushes me out of the room). Michele’s latest post, In A Panic, points to a side of life most of us keep hidden: dealing with stress and anxiety. This is so familiar:
My first inclination when I feel the panic rise is to stuff it back down, like an inappropriate relative who pops up at a gathering to say embarrassing things in front of the guests. I keep smiling and nodding and speaking over my panic, as though by pretending that it’s not there, it will decide to go away. Sometimes it does. Usually, though, it’s simply biding it’s time, waiting for the moment when my attention is turned elsewhere.
I’d like to say that with the years of teaching I have under my belt that I don’t get worried at this time of year, but I do. Just twelve days ’til school starts, and I am feeling the surge of panic–I don’t feel ready. Yes, I am excited, but…well, it’s the same worry about the unknown that kids experience too.
Perspective and optimism have helped me in the past: I will get through this! I remember telling myself during pregnancy that the only way out is through (which is both literally and figuratively true). And then there is the voice of Dory (Finding Nemo) reminding me to “just keep swimming, just keep swimming–that’s what we do, we swim, swim, swim.”
So, on blogging: what aspects of a blogger’s revealed personality most interest you?
And on school: how will you stay afloat this year?
Photo: Why so glum?? by bensonkua Creative Commons license
5 responses so far
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Jan, thanks for linking to me so that I came over here and found this awesome post. It’s time for me to read more and discover YOUR voice… =)
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Thanks, Scott.
It’s an interesting process to voice my thoughts through blogging. Much of what we say in a “regular” conversation is throw away stuff, but at the same time reveals so much of who we really are. Blogging puts more meat on the bones of my thinking, and so has a bit more risk involved. I feel I have to be more committed to what I say, but then that slows me down. An interesting dilema.
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I’m guessing that your thinking about your blogging will be very different 6 months from now, as your audience grows and you start to really get a feel for this kind of conversation space. I look back at many of my earliest posts and just laugh! There’s such a learning curve. It’s a powerful process, though, so I encourage others to explore it to see if it’s for them. Have fun discovering what your online voice looks and feels like (and how it impacts the other aspects of your life)!
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Jan, thanks for using me as an example of an “honest” blogging voice–that’s the highest compliment you could have paid me!
I’m always glad when I do posts like the one on panic because I’m able to see that I’m not alone and other people share the same concerns. That is such a powerful aspect of blogging that can be easily missed. As you’re looking for your own voice, I think it’s finding that balance between being willing to reveal yourself and wanting to appear like you know what you’re doing all the time that can be so tricky to navigate. It’s definitely a process!
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Balance. There’s another fine line to walk!
You have probably seen the TED talk video by A.J. Jacobs My Year of Living Biblically. He mentions a previous experience of living a month of “radical honesty”. The idea is that whatever is on your brain should come out of your mouth. Not surprisingly, Jacobs says it was the worst month of his life. He called the article “I Think You’re Fat”.
So, being honest is also a work of judgment, and judgment takes mental energy.
Michele, I appreciate the way you think about your posts, and the way you enter into a dialogue with your readers. The conversation keeps my thinking (and writing) moving forward.
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