15
December
2004
|
22:27 PM
America/Los_Angeles

If you are not publishing to your community, you are not known to your community--send me a guest blog!

by Tom Foremski for SiliconValleyWatcher.com


For at least a year, I've harbored ambitions of becoming a micro-media mogul. So much so, that I even bought the URL: MicroMediaMogul.com. This would give me the option of at some point, using Tom@MicroMediaMogul.com as my email address. I think it would look good on a business card. (I also have ThinkTankThinker.com, which looks great on a business card.)


However, I am not yet a micro-media mogul. I need a lot more content. And so while I try to recruit others to join me in this innovative venture about the business of innovation, in the innovation capital of the world, I have devised a process where I can nearly double my content without increasing my workload by much.


Which is why you will see us repackaging some of our content in various ways, and continuing core themes in future entries, columns, and e-books.


Also, you will see a lot of guest bloggers. Think of these as guest columnists from people you probably already know, and others such as you and your colleagues.


Would you like to blog but can't find the time to do it?


Those RSS news readers are a vicious way to root out the weedy bloggers. If there haven't been any new entries on your blog for a while, it's likely to get deleted from the news reader. So then you lose your audience. Which is why you should send a guest blog to us. And then you can have a life too, because blogging is extremely time consuming.


Your guest blog doesn't have to be long, you can keep it under 800 words, or cut it into smaller chunks. The content should be meaty, original and fluid. Shoot from the hip style, one-take journalism! Or use your own compelling style in your voice. This way, you can get your name out into your community. Because these days, if you are not publishing to your community, you are not known by your community.


For software engineers, this has been the case for a couple of years now; you can't get hired if you are not blogging. And your page rank had better be good too. Jeremy Zawodny, the Yahoo engineer that runs one of the top tech blogs, got his job at Yahoo largely because of his blogging. It is the best and most honest self-promotional tool out there--bar none.


That's why you should consider becoming a guest blogger for Silicon Valley Watcher. You can directly address your community, and we will feature you on our "watch" sections focused on tech, PR, media, VCs, Angel and many other Silicon Valley communities.


Also, you'll be reaching an international audience. The Silicon Valley name is a huge global brand that has acquired a mythology that rivals that of Hollywood. The world is very interested in what goes on here, and it wants to listen in on what you and your colleagues are thinking, saying, doing.


So send something to us. Think of it as "letter to the editor" or a column or, better yet, an e-mail. Over at Voce Communications the other day we were chatting about how some of our best writing is often in our emails. Those quick, off-the-cuff, one-take emails are probably your best blogs! Send me an email on any topic. You can also send in news stories, or reports from a conference, or anything you think that will interest your community--you will know best.


In return, we'll look through your copy to check for clarity and typos. And we might or might not suggest a cut or an edit--but only to make you look even better!


So send something in, and keep sending it in. Then, with your help, I will be well on my way to becoming a micro-media mogul--and I can print it on my business card.


Email


dk0556