Why Blogging Really, Really Matters

Recent Career Hub posts have focused on why blogging isn't the be-all-and-end-all of marketing/job search (Louise Kursmark), and why you should be careful about what you say in your blog (Barbara Safani). I agree with both these ideas -- but I think that more needs to be said about the positive aspects of blogging. No, let me rephrase that - the absolute necessity of blogging for anyone who wants to be taken seriously in their field of expertise.

Louise points out that blog readers are still in the minority. This is true. But numbers are not what counts here because the people who do read blogs are the early adopters. I'm one of them. I read blogs on pretty much everything. I also had an iPod before most people and I was using Google long before it became a verb. By the time most people have caught up with the newest trend, I'm usually bored with it. I'm not particularly smart - I just like new things. And usually the things I like wind up catching on with everyone.

Now there's no advantage to having an iPod before my next-door neighbor (other than the fact I got to listen to more music every day) but that's not the case with blogging. It takes time and hard work to build up an audience for a blog. There is already a lot of clutter. How much harder do you think it will be 5 years from now? So I do have an advantage because I'm building my audience now.

And if you're saying "yes, but we won't be blogging 5 years from now, we'll be doing something else" you're right. But I'll have an audience for whatever that is because I'm blogging now.

Blogs are just one aspect of the revolution that some geeky types call Web 2.0, but which basically means the revolution that gives us all the ability to publish content and collaborate online. Whether we're posting videos on Youtube, creating a MySpace page, or writing a blog, we are establishing a web presence and promoting ourselves in ways that were unthinkable just a few years ago.

Focusing just on the number of people who regularly read blogs misses a key aspect of their value. Search engines love blogs. A search for the term "behavior-based interview questions" turns up Career Hub on page 1 of Google, despite the fact that we have only one post on the subject. So people do not have to be regular blog readers to find your blog. And of course, once they are there they discover you.

I truly believe that there is now a very real digital divide, and every single job seeker needs to be on the right side of that divide. That's not to say blogging is for everyone. You need to have something to say (or at least be able to say nothing in an entertaining way) and you need to be a good writer. But if you can do it, there are few better ways to establish yourself as an expert in your field, and this is only just the beginning.

Posted by Louise Fletcher

Comments

[Justin Driscoll]

Louise

I have been blogging about this very issue for the past couple of weeks as well. I agree with you completely. There is too much competition out there for job seekers not to try everything possible to set themselves apart. If a job seeker is going to use the internet to find a job they might as well use it to its fullest extent. Blogging, poddcasting, MySpace, You Tube, and other sites allow the job seeker to turn themselves into a content matter expert rather than employee.

As I always say employers seek out experts and they hire employees.

Justin Driscoll
http://justindriscoll.wordpress.com
www.justindriscoll.net

[Louise Fletcher]

Justin thanks for pointing me to your blog. I plan to have a good look around in the next few days but I'm really impressed. Keep blogging!

[C.M. Russell]

Well said Louise, I also am a big proponent of blogging for jobs. Just check out this post.

http://secretsofthejobhunt.blogspot.com/2006/08/yet-another-example-of-how-blog-led-to.html

[Kent Blumberg]

Job search is all about multi-channels, and I agree that blogging is one of those important channels.

I've been blogging (see the link to my name) on leadership, strategy and performance since late May. Before I began, Google turned up only a few, relatively old references to me. Now, the great majority of results on the first couple of pages are links to one of my blog posts, or to comments I have made on other posts.

Better yet, my blog came up in a recent interview. One of the interviewers had googled me, and then read my blog and my comments on others' blogs. About half her questions were related to those links. Since I blog about areas that I believe are my strengths, it gave me a great chance to reinforce what makes me different.

Blogging also helps show that I am up-to-speed on the latest technology and not stuck in the old economy.

Finally, it's just plain fun to blog. And who knows - in a year or two, I might have the makings of a book.

[Louise Fletcher]

Hi Kent,

I just checked out your blog and I love it.

What struck me when I clicked through is that I don't view you as a job seeker, or an 'average Joe' when I look at that blog - I view you as an expert. It's instinctive because you have a website and you're talking about leadership and your photo is there and it all looks very official.

Even before I read a word, I was impressed. And then when I read your posts I was even more impressed. And that's the reaction every HR person, manager or recruiter will have too.

You're a poster child for what I'm talking about. Kudos!

[JibberJobber_Guy]

Hey Louise, great post. If I could sum it all up it would be your last sentence in your first paragraph: "The absolute necessity of blogging for anyone who wants to be taken seriously in their field of expertise." In other words, blogging allows you to create a personal brand. And this personal brand should be used during each of the 9 or 10 job transitions that you may have in your career!

Will job seekers who have blogged to create their personal brand as a subject matter expert have a huge advantage over those that just have a resume? I love how blogging gives you a history of thoughts and expressions on your area of expertise.

My only warning is (and you can write a serious of entries on this) DO IT RIGHT. Figure out a strategy and start, but no one wants to know that you had Cheerios instead of Rice Crispies, unless you can tie that back to your area of expertise ;)

[Aliyah Marr]

Hi Louise,

Blogging is central to my work these days.

I am an artist, teacher, coach, writer, and graphic designer. I use my blogs and wikis to establish myself as a brand. Since I work in advertising, PR, and marketing, branding comes easily to me, but I started a conscious effort to become more visible on the internet about 6 years ago.

Right now, a Google search on my name in quotes brings up about 32 pages of real references to me. This is directly attributable to my own efforts. About a year ago I came up with the idea of building a constellation of websites for myself to help promote and document my work.

Then I started blogging; you are right, a blog is much easier to update, and I am a web designer! One thing, I will say, it is very gratifying to be able to instantly publish one's thoughts. A caveat: be careful what you say; once the search engines find you, your message is hard to erase. While you may be able to change the content of your blog, be especially circumspect in your choice of titles. I recommend that people act responsibly and professionally when they write. Your image is at stake.

It also seems to be true that the search engines are targeting blogs more than websites, perhaps because they are updated often. Google finds articles with my name on them now in under 12 hours. At the beginning of the year, it took 3 days. This is probably due to the sheer amount of content that is now on the web with my name on it.

An interesting note for those interested: a blog can be inserted into an established website through the use of some nifty javascript. So when you update your blog, the column on the website that contains the script updates that content with your blog.

Search engines do not like duplicated pages (the spider software throws you out as a spammer). However, this javascript trick seems to work without problems.

Since the beginning of this year, I have been writing a book on creativity that I publish as I write it in a blog online, called Parallel Mind. I also write in 6 blogs and 2 wikis on fields of interest and expertise.

My goal is to be known for my creative work through my writing and to be hired by corporations and individuals as a creative consultant and coach; I want to get paid for my creativity.

I am not recommending this much blogging to everyone. However, I would recommend that everyone have at least one URL with their full name on it, if for no other reason than branding and self-promotion. I use such a site to provide links to all my work on the web, and to host the blog with my press releases. This central hub of my constellation of websites, wikis and blogs is here:

http://www.aliyahmarr.com

Thanks Louise, for the information on your site. I will be following the links I find here for a while!