Benton Crane

As I mentioned before, my wife Brittany recently started her own blog at wordpress.com. I love the service and had only two worries with it:

1. I think that someday it could prove important to own the content of your own blog instead of leaving it to wordpress.com or whichever blogging service you use (I have nothing but a hunch to back that up).
2. I’ve heard that search engine optimization on your own name is much more effective if you have your own domain (once again I don’t know how true this is).

I just figured out that you can register a domain name through wordpress.com and apply it to your blog (you have to pay for the registration of course). You can also use any domain name that you own through another registrar.

I had already bought http://brittanycrane.com so I directed it to her blog then through wordpress I set it as her blog address. I guess wordpress.com will still be the true owner of her blog, but at least problem number two is solved.

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Wordpress.com didn’t exist when I started this blog. My few friends who had blogs told me it is important to host your own so that the content therein is really “yours”. With Jeff Harmon’s help I set up hosting with BlueHost and started my blog using software from wordpress.org. The learning curve was horrible! I spent hours figuring out how to use themes and plugins. I’m not a programmer and I’m far from a computer guru, but compared to most of my peers I am a pretty advanced computer user. Now over a year later, it is time to update my Wordpress software, and even though I want the new features, I keep putting it off because I’m sure it will take me hours (after updating the Wordpress software there is a good chance I will have problems with my plugins and have to update those too).

My wife recently started her own blog, brittanycrane.wordpress.com, and because I had such a negative experience hosting my own blog, I directed her to wordpress.com. I couldn’t believe how easy and seamless it was. Updates are automatic. Themes and plugins are literally “point and click”. Normal computer users can figure it out!

I don’t know what the consequences of not truly owning the contents of her blog will be, but I’m confident that hosting her own blog would have deterred her completely from blogging. So in this case a blog hosted by Wordpress is better than no blog at all.

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I met Jason Alba through blogging–we have yet to meet in person, but have stayed in light touch for over a year. He is the founder of jibberjobber.com, a tool for managing personal contacts in a career management context. So for example, I’m graduating next April and using jibberjobber as a way to keep track of the companies where I apply and the people within the companies who I interact with. The more involved I get in this job search, the more I’m glad I have Jason as a resource (imagine all the other relationships I could build if I were consistent in my blogging).

Jason’s book, I’m On LinkedIn–Now What??, is a quick easy read that packs some great ideas for an experienced LinkedIn user. Its greater value, however, would be for someone new to LinkedIn or someone who has tried Linkedin but didn’t see the value of it.

For me, the most valuable part of Alba’s book is the chapter on how to use LinkedIn as a tool for personal branding. I haven’t been consistent in my blogging, and need some other ways to build my personal brand on the internet.

The book is overpriced for a 100 page paperback ($19.95, but S&H brought it close to $26). I felt like I should be getting a nice hardbound book at that price. Once you get past buying a paperback book at a hardbound price, however, it’s easy to see that the content of I’m On LinkedIn–Now What?? has a value far greater than $26.

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I presented today to Team iMemoryBook on why we should each keep a blog. I narrowed it down to 3 reasons:

1. To Learn:
We are all learning valuable lessons every single day. We learn from personal experiences; from successes as well as failures. We learn from those we work with. We learn from what we read and what we hear.

Blogging is an opportunity to record these lessons. In writing them down; we recognize, analyze, evaluate, and internalize these lessons. Through this simple act of writing, we elevate our understanding and level of expertise to a whole new level. Many bloggers have even reached the point of being considered “The Authority” in their perspective field. All of us can become experts in what we do, and blogs are a great tool to get us there.

2. To Network:
In blogging, we acknowledge the source of our lessons learned by linking out. We link to other blogs and websites in order to show their contribution to our learning. As we link out, the owners of the other blogs and websites take notice. Others begin to read our blogs. Online conversations develop that, over time, become relationships and networks. Many experienced bloggers consider their blog to be their most valuable asset–in terms of networking–that exists.

3. To Generate Business:
Meaningful blogging results in links–lots of links. Links result in high search engine rankings. High rankings result in lots of free internet traffic. This traffic, if leveraged correctly, results in business. A well established and well known blogger can drive unimaginable amounts of traffic. For example, when the book Call to Action was released, Seth Godin (one of the most powerful bloggers) wrote a short blog post about the book. Within hours, the book was sold out and back orders were being placed by the thousands. Before long, the book was a New York Time’s best seller.

Our individual blogs might never have the power of Seth’s, but what leverage they do have will be extremely valuable.

Tell me why you blog. Do my 3 reasons cover it?

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Imagine this:

Yikes! You just lost your job! You’ve been so busy at *work* that you don’t feel your network is as strong as you would like it to be! What are you going to do with (and to) your network in the next 6 weeks as you begin an aggressive job search campaign? And, outside of your network, what job search tactics will you employ? Or your best networking tips related to job searches.

That’s the question posted by Jason Alba as part of a “blog carnival.” He will eventually link to all the people who have posted on the topic. Here’s what I would do:

Pursue a passion:

I would decide what I’m passionate about, what I really love to do, then I would pursue it. 

Read:

I would read a careful selection of books, blogs, and magazines to learn everything I can about the job I’m pursuing.  I would learn who the key players are in the industry.  What is their history, their niche, and their focus.  I would find a need then prepare myself to fill it.

Write:

I would carefully document my job pursuit in a blog.  What are the lessons I’ve learned?  Who are the people I’ve met? What is the industry need that I can fill?  I would link-out a lot and be fairly transparent in my writing, but when something is sensitive, I would write it in my private journal. My blog will be a valuable networking tool at the same time it builds credibility.

Go Get The Job:

After updating my resume, I would use what I’ve learned and who I’ve met to go out and find the job I want.

My perspective might be kind of unique in that I don’t mind if I’m unemployed for a few months.  I’m single, and can live on very little.  It wouldn’t be hard for me to squeak by until I find the job I really want.  The important thing is that I put myself on the road I want to be on.  I hope I never have to take a job just to have a job.

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