This blog post isn’t meant for you.
It’s for me, not you. It makes me feel better, I really don’t know how it will make you feel. I hope you feel good, of course, but I can’t control how you feel. Also? I stopped caring. To be more precise, I stopped trying to write content for others.
I stopped back in November. I gave this blog a new theme and poured my heart into delivering the content I wanted to write. The result? We aren’t even halfway into 2012 and I already have the same number of hits as I had for all of 2011. The difference?
I stopped caring what others think.
I used to spend my writing time trying to deliver content that I thought everyone would want to read. The result was crap. I produced content that very few people would read. Some would argue that fact hasn’t changed. I won’t argue back, I’ll just point you to the title of this post.
I got tired of being told my blog “didn’t fit” with the other blogs. I grew weary of having folks tell me that my blog wasn’t technical enough for their liking, or they didn’t like my sense of snark, or whatever else they wanted to dump on me. So I decided to stop waiting for their approval to come through someday.
I took action. I focused on writing engaging content regardless of the reader. Are you here to read about data? I want to engage you. Are you here to read about professional development? I want to engage you. Are you here to read about performance tuning? I want to engage you. Are you here for the bacon? There’s a steam table in the back, help yourself. For whatever reason you may come to this blog, I want you engaged. That’s my focus these days. Eventually I hope to have the time to write epic shit all day long.
That’s my blogging tip for you today: focus on writing that which makes you feel good. Feed your soul first, because nobody out there is ever going to do that for you. If you sit around waiting for everyone to approve of what you are writing you will soon find yourself sitting around waiting.
Go. Write. Now.
Great post and I agree with the sentiment completely. I was asked in a job interview how many hits my blog gets on an average day. It old them that I have no idea. I don’t track visitor stats because that’s not why I blog. I don’t do it for recognition or to develop a fan base. I write about what I like to write about. If I start writing for the numbers, it’ll become a chore.
I like and agree, thank you.
Spot on! A blogger tendency sometimes is to get obsessed with traffic metrics and I’m guilty as charged!
Rpbert,
Sadly, all too often I see people measuring the wrong things. Thanks for the comment!
Sir, Awesome! I am looking forward to meet you during
PASS 2012.Thats my first PASS, and I am really excited to meet and talk to
people who have inspired me a lot, People like you!
Anup,
Thanks for reading, and I’m happy to hear you will be able to attend your first PASS this year!
It’s very true. I wouldn’t be able to write at all on my blog if I cared what people honestly thought about the content, because there’s no way I can compete with all the fantastic resources available from others. All I can do is share me.
Matt,
And thanks for sharing yourself, too. The SQL Community is richer for your having shared a voice.
I think of it more the fact that you started caring about the right things….
Your Mexican-American-Canadian mind tricks won’t work on me…
Wow, This is excellent blog post. I am totally loving it. Writing for ourselves is the best practice. I was always told that what I write is not what they want, I always reply but I like it to read it. Indeed spot on.
Pinal,
Thanks for the comment, and keep blogging!
Nice post. I recently discovered your blog and the style is different. That’s why I come back. Don’t change that.