my year in blogging top ten

As I've been looking back to move forward, I started thinking about the impact social media has had on me this year. In the the glory days of December "08, I laid out a strategy to launch my blog. I have recounted my experiences in several spaces including 'Boards online, at their October Summit and right here. 

My reasons for starting a blog are different than the reasons I continue posting. It's been an interesting evolution. Lots of learning. Many surprises. And, a few affirmations. 

Here are my top ten realizations from my year in blogging.

1.     IT WORKS. You can build a niche audience through consistent posting and addressing relevant issues.

2.     TRANSPARENCY. The more honest and open, the more receptive the audience. Also, there is very little of it in the industry.  I'm still amazed by the number of people that contact me directly but won't comment publicly. 

3.     BACKLASH. Never has anything I posted come back to hurt me or Epoch, at least to the best of my knowledge. I actually believe it has enhanced our brands. 

4.     COMMITMENT. It's increasingly more and more difficult to write consistently.

5.     TOPICS. It's increasingly more and more difficult to find things to write about.

6.     METRICS. I still don't understand how they work and probably don't care enough to figure it out.

7.     PEERS. I assumed by now another industry leader would start a blog. See numbers 2, 4 and 5 for the reason why it probably hasn't happened. 

8.     COMMUNICATION. My opinions occasionally resonate. I remain unsure if it's more monologue than a dialogue. Wish it was more the latter.

9.  ADDICTION. I feel an almost obsessive compulsion to keep posting even when I'm too busy and too  tired to do so. 

10.     DIFFERENCE. I believe it makes one. If because of a posting, one person stopped to think about their role in the industry OR their personal responsibility to it OR approached their business differently OR even watched an episode of Mad Men, it was worth the effort.