This is not a “I don’t know what to write on my blog so I will convince you to write some questions just to get comments post’ It is a post about how I filter myself online.
Background
I am the writer for three websites, including this one. Each website has a different twitter handle. And I also run a Facebook Fan page. You see I write about Study Skills, Cutting Horses and Social Media. I can’t really put that all on one blog or one twitter account.
Trust me! Those niche markets don’t have much in common.
Oh, and I am also a ‘job blogger’. I get paid to write for other sites. At the moment I write about education and parenting.
So I am quite visible on the web. Google my name and you will find I have a lot to say. You would be able to determine my passions, my profession, stories about my daughter and knowledge and opinions about blogging and social media. You will see the people I support. You will find out what I like to read.
You will see so much, and yet I have still filtered my life!
This is how I filter myself online.
Before writing a post, commenting on a blog or forum, tweeting or liking a Fan Page I ask myself “What does that audience, or future audience, need to know from me today?” I guess if I was to group my responses they would fall into the following categories:
- Personal Knowledge
- People and Information that relate to them and me
- Experience
Personal Knowledge
I mention my likes and dislikes. I comment with other parents about toddlers! There are little crumbs of personal knowledge scattered across the web. I do this because I want people to know something about me. That they can relate to me and my experiences. I wouldn’t have got the parenting blogger job if I didn’t comment about that online.
People and Information that relate to them and me.
When I wear the “Cutting Horse” hat I blog about horses and trainers. I tell my audience when a new clinic has opened. We discuss the upcoming Futurity. I take the time to talk about people and information that is important to them and me. Sure, I do give some tips on how horse trainers could use Facebook to get more business but I don’t send them here to read that information. I create an article that uses people and examples about their area of interest.
Experience
I also spend some of my time online telling people what I have been up to. I don’t mean an email blast or twitter spamming. But I do keep people up to date on new gigs. This type of information helps my audience make informed decisions on whether I am credible. There is no point saying I help small equine businesses use the internet to promote themselves if people can’t see the proof.
I am human
I do all this because I am human. That may seem silly to say but I think people forget that online. Deb Schulz, in her Connect Now presentation, said “It’s about the people, Stupid” And that is what I am going to try and do on this site. More social thought and less tool talk.
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