newsome

Kent Newsome

My blog is a creative outlet for the energy and need for expression that I used to direct towards writing songs, and a medium to initiate conversations with people who share interests of mine that are not generally shared by my real world friends. I write because I like to build things and to see if I can become meaningful in an area other than the one in which I make my living. Fundamentally, I write for the people who will allow me to become part of their conversations, either because they like what I have to say or because they are willing to try to change my mind. And, to be honest, I write to show some of the people who believe they are blog stars that a middle aged ex-farmer from Texas can compete with them on their field, and on their terms.

I think blogging is a wonderful method of self-expression and, indirectly, life and data archival. Because we blog, our children and grandchildren will have a vast repository of our opinions, thoughts and actions. Imagine how amazing it would be to see years’ worth of posts, pictures and conversations by your parents or grandparents. The tragedy is that so much of the baby boomer generation is oblivious to blogging. Part of the reason blogging has not reached further into the consciousness of the general public is that people blog for different reasons. Like almost everything else, there is a percentage of the blogging population whose first question is not “how can this enrich my life,” but “how can I use this to get rich.” The biggest buzz kill in the blogosphere are the people who view blogging, in and of itself, purely as a way to make money- as opposed to a platform to share and store information. Like the friend who is constantly trying to sell you something, these folks keep others from coming to the party.

The best way to promote your blog is to write hard, link a lot, respond to links from others, comment often and develop a core group of blogging friends to help nurture cross-blog conversation. And when that pays off and you get a lot of readers, to remember where you started and be grateful.

I pick my topics by scanning my reading list, reading the news, looking at collaborative resources like Delicious, Techmeme and Digg, and by trying to know when I have something to add and when I don’t.

My blogging high points are when I check my Bloglines alert feeds and see comments on and links to my blog from other bloggers. When someone takes the time to talk back to us, it is the highest and best form of validation for the effort we spend writing. It’s what makes blogging worthwhile.