2011: A look back A look forward
- I don’t like these “year in reviews”….
- being entrepreneurish…
- measurables…
- coaching
- lurking vs. joining the conversation
- guest blogging
- pro-bono
- what matters
- memory work
- getting in the Word
- Wrap up and a Look Forward
What happened :
- “Desktop Application from URL’s via Google Chrome” came out of a comment I made on this post (I was the first commenter there).
- “Do We Really Get Revival” came out of a comment I made on this post by my friend and co-worker, Geoff Heeg.
- “How is Mobile Technology Changing the Church and Non-Profit Sector?” came out of a comment I made on this post (some great conversation sparked in part by an iPhone giveaway)
- “A Perspective on the Church” came out of a comment I made on this post. I also had an opportunity to give a cool new app a try to help illustrate my thoughts.
What I learned:
Engaging with authors by leaving comments is a valuable thing to do. It…
- helps with your own creativity. Some great article ideas have come out of comments I’ve made on other blogs.
- connects you with other people.
- connects other people with you. A good comment will bring traffic to your own blog.
I also learned that it’s hard for me to overcome being a lurker. This is most likely because of my insane attention to detail and wanting to get things totally right that adds to the time it takes me to write and then I don’t write because it takes too much time. Sad. There were a lot of half-written comments this past year that I abandoned because it was taking to long to write. I’m just not the kind of guy who can just leave a “great post” or “this article sucks” as a comment with out backing up why I think that way.
So, what about you? Are you a lurker on the internets, or do you feel you have a pretty good handle on this “engaging” thing? If so, what would your advice be to people like me?
Darren,
I like to comment, but I think the time thing rings true for me too. I tend to only comment when I have something that I think is really valuable to contribute. (Hopefully this comment won’t be judged in that light…I’m stepping out on a limb).
I do enjoy reading your posts.
Thanks Heather!
Well, I read this on January 11th, and here it is the 18th, so I’ve lurked for 7 days on this post. All I can say is, “Great post.”
Actually, I think my most frequent response to a post is either “I agree, and don’t really have anything more to add to what was said,” or “I disagree, and I can’t be bothered to explain why.” It’s time management.
Now I’ll go back to my lurking.