Today I Am Grateful For: Not Being an Ass

Today I Am Grateful For: Not Being an Ass

So I listened to an audio conference between Jon Morrow and Johnny Truant (two successful bloggers) on tips on how to become an influential blogger…

During the conference call they discussed that the number 1 sin of bloggers is to be boring – and in their minds (to some degree) that meant that you needed to be offensive at times. Jon talked about how he loved to get hate mail as it meant that he was touching a nerve…

Now I learned something from this conference call – that might not have been what they were trying to convey…although it was mentioned.

There is a need to be authentic – Johnny Truant stated that (FYI – he uses a stage name which helps him, he states, be authentic and also allows him to be offensive).

The insight that I got was that my authentic self is not to be an Ass. I realized that I wouldn’t want to increase readership by being controversial or mean or disrespectful…that is not who I am.

Now does that mean I have to be boring…I hope not, but it might. Does that mean that I won’t say something that someone will disagree with me on…no, I will state what I believe, but I’ll say it in a polite way (most of the time).

And I realized that I’m ok with all of that. I don’t have to have the largest readership out there. The people who read this blog should be here because what I say is interesting and helpful – not just because I can be controversial.

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4 Comments

  1. Paul

    Well said Kurt.

    Being a trash-talking loud-mouth is one way to separate yourself from the herd. These guys live in the world of talking heads and that’s the only lever they can pull to differentiate themselves.

    Another way of doing this – and I would argue that this is the better way – is to be genuine, articulate, relevant, and concise.

    Paul

    • Thanks Paul – I agree that genuine, articulate, relevant and concise are the way to go…so now I just need to work on the articulate, relevant and concise part!

  2. Your voice will resonate with the right people, your audience is waiting and your message needs to be heard. I for one like to hear genuine, considered opinions and informed comments rather than hyperbole and unsubstantiated ranting… There’s room for us all thankfully!

    • Thank you Katie! I appreciate knowing that people agree with me and that you think my message needs to be heard. The web is a very large place and you are correct, there is room for all of us…unless of course you come across the web page that I did the other day that said, “You’ve reached the end of the internet, now go outside and play” – then we just might be getting crowded out…

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