Comments on: Permission To Change Direction On Your Blog

By: Joanna

Joanna — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 19:14:30 +0000

Jean, I think a blog grounded in a personal philosophy like that is very powerful, and gives you the room to change direction so long as you remain within that framework and those values. I’m sure a lot of people would take heart and confidence from writing from that kind of source.

Thanks for sharing the Ueland quote too. It captures the dynamic between reader and writer very well.

By: Jean Browman--Cheerful Monk

Jean Browman--Cheerful Monk — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 21:54:19 +0000

I have two blogs. The posts at Transforming Stress Into Personal Power are loosely related to stress management.

The ones at Cheerful Monk are about anything that catches my fancy. They’re bound to be related to my basic philosophy:

“Stay curious and open to life. No matter what happens keep learning and growing. Find what you love to do and find a way to share it with others.”

Why do I write? I agree with Brenda Ueland’s sentiment:
“… at last I understood that writing was this: an impulse to share with other people a feeling or truth that I myself had. Not to preach to them, but to give it to them if they cared to hear it. If they did not—fine. That was all right too.”

Her feeling is if we write something that’s meaningful to us we can’t lose. Also I’ve found when I’m changed by a post I’ve written, then there’s a good chance that someone else might be touched by it, too.

Jean Browman–Cheerful Monks last blog post..Touching Hearts and Changing Lives

By: Open up and think big. « Tom Altman’s Wedia Conversation

Open up and think big. « Tom Altman’s Wedia Conversation — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:22:42 +0000

[...] Permission To Change Direction [...]

By: Links: 2008-09-19 | Meryl.net

Links: 2008-09-19 | Meryl.net — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:19:01 +0000

[...] Permission to Change Direction: Must read if you have a niche blog and strong reader relationship… you don’t mind if this blog turns into one about sewing, right? Just kidding. [...]

By: Joanna

Joanna — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:50:16 +0000

Thanks Karen. I’m pretty sure this is an issue we’ve all faced or will face – maybe because blogging by its very nature is something organic, that grows and develops as we create, collaborate, read, learn from feedback, and interact with our readers. (A point the wise Brad made about ‘what blogging is’ some while back.)

By: Joanna

Joanna — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:48:36 +0000

Amy, that sounds like a lot of good practical suggestions, thanks for sharing them. There’s a lot to be said for making incremental changes till you get where you want to be – like moving an oil tanker round – so each shift is fairly imperceptible for your readers. It also gives you as blogger the chance to test and adjust rather than announcing it all in one go and then realising it wasn’t quite what you wanted!

Design changes are interesting too – and probably easiest done all in one go. There’s a whole other conversation to be had about how we as readers feel about design – it can be unsettling to go to a familiar blog and see it looking different. We feel like ‘our’ space has changed. Which reinforces the point that readers can have a strong sense of ownership about a blog.

Interesting stuff.

PS Not exploding anyone’s brains is definitely a good rule of thumb

By: Karen Swim

Karen Swim — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 03:09:33 +0000

Wow Joanna, this really got my wheels turning. You have taken a subject that we've all faced, and undoubtedly will face again and given us a clear blue print for handling it. I can't choose one thing to comment on in this post as there are so many morsels to continue to chew on. I can say that it has given me much to consider not just for the blog but for my business as a whole. Thank you Joanna and thank you Don for the question that sparked this thoughtful post. Karen Swims last blog post..Customer Responsibility - The Other Side of Service

By: Amy Derby

Amy Derby — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 22:12:22 +0000

Loved this post, Joanna. I try to make changes either all at once or in tiny chunks. For example, I recently made a bunch of changes to my blog’s design. I did that all at once so I could write up a post and be like “Here’s the new stuff. Here’s how to use it. Tell me what you like and what you hate.” Other things I try to ease in, like guest posters. I’ve just started excepting guest posters, but I’m only posting one a week. That way, if folks don’t want to read today’s guest post, they can come back tomorrow and read me. I think if I did a full week of guest posts, a lot of my readers would unsubscribe. Also, I’m working on a series, and I’m only posting one post per week for the series. I could have done one a day for a week or two, but I think that would be information overload for some folks (and for me). My rule of thumb is if it’s going to shock the ODD half of my brain or bore my ADD half of my brain, then it’s likely going to cause a reader upset too. I don’t want anyone’s brain to explode, mine included.

By: Joanna

Joanna — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:29:53 +0000

Brad, what a great point. It does feel strange to get off the stage and let others blog and host conversations. It’s a good way to get a feeling for what you works (or doesn’t) for you, as host, but I hadn’t really thought it before as viewing things through the perspective of your own readers.

What came out of it for you – were there things you felt you’d like to see more of, or less of?

PS I think there’s an interesting synchronicity between this piece and your JJL post on intention(s) – it’s that constant dynamic between staying true to our values/intentions and respecting the needs and interests of our readers

By: Something positive always comes out from something bad « Life Tree

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