Clueless About Blogging...

Ever feel like you thought you knew what was going on, when in fact you really had no clue? Well, that is the realization I came to this weekend about blogs and blogging. I’m going to come clean. I did not fully appreciate the art of blogging until this weekend after reading “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” by David Meerman Scott. Thankfully, his book assured me I am not alone in this. Apparently there is quite a bit of variance in people’s perception, knowledge and understanding of blogs.

For me, I think the problem might be that I haven’t really found my voice yet (even though this is my 7th blog for the class). I am getting more and more comfortable about putting my thoughts out in cyberspace, but I feel like I have yet to find my passion and therefore, any burning need to blog. It still feels forced and awkward for me. Every Sunday night…it’s like a trip to the dentist. I know I have to do it and will feel better once it’s over, but I dread it. Perhaps it’s because I am blogging about technology and feel I have no expertise here, but I am appreciative of the learning experience nonetheless.

Since I am not part of the ASC Online Communities program, perhaps I am a bit behind the learning curve here. But I almost feel as though I have been walking around with blinders on. Yes, of course I knew what blogs were, but I didn’t really see why I should care all that much about them. I was not aware of the value of tagging, or blog search engines or why they might extremely valuable to me. Even though I have been faithfully (and happily) reading the tech blogs each week for class, I have certainly not given individual blogs the attention they deserve. I usually read everyone’s weekly blogs and have learned a lot from all of you. I have been impressed and entertained when I have least expected it. It has been a very positive experience. So why have I not embraced this format on a more global level? Honestly, I’m not sure.

My plan for this week is to start taking a look at other individual blogs on topics that interest me and to start leaving comments when inspired to do so. Perhaps engaging in this way will help to fire a passion inside of me that seems to be missing when it comes to blogging. I’m even more inspired to get on sites such as Technorati to see what I can learn from blog search engines.

Has anyone else felt this way or is it just me?