WATERMARK

For no good reason I can think of at the moment, I set a goal for myself to do a roundup of this week’s group writing project.

One hundred and thirty posts. That’s 130 posts. One hundred and thirty
submissions to this week’s ProBlogger
Group Writing Project. You have to be good to stand out in a crowd like
that.

Last
week I started at the top of the list, and began to lose steam toward
the bottom. This time I started at the end and bounced around a bit,
but generally moved toward the top. Next week I’m likely to abandon
this idea altogether — though it’s certainly not a waste of time;
there is some good stuff in there.

Christine
caught my eye:

My friends don’t recognize me anymore. The other day I said, “I’ve
gotta go figure out this Technorati stuff and then I’ll claim my blog, and burn
the feed, and read up on this social bookmarking thing cuz I so do not
get delicious.” My friend Beth, a Celtic musician, just stared at me. She looked
like the RCA Victor dog. Head cocked, and listening for some sound to let her
know that her friend Christine was still in there somewhere.

Hmm, I’m going to have to go listen to her music.

Cord
Blood is very clear about the goals of the blog, rather than the goals of
blogging — an important distinction, I think. Thatta Kedona is also focused on the goals of the organization the blog serves. So far, as I’ve been working my
way through this very long (130 posts!) list, most focus on writing posts,
getting readers, communicating with clients, and making money — rather than the
actual content of the blog; all very bloggish, very bizness, very
pro.

Then there’s
Prevent
a Midlife Crisis — Blog!

My decision at age 45 was to do what I love and strike out into the
civilian world as a freelance writer….and as a writer, how can I NOT blog?
If my goal is to be a successful communicator in today’s world, then it
must follow that my goal is also to be a successful blogger.  You have
to build an online presence to reach the largest possible
audience. Even if you are not a writer, surely you have some (secret?)
passion that you’d like to write about and share with the world.

Jason
Boog Always Screws Up His Goals, or so he tells us — but one of his goals
is to video-blog, and that’s exactly what he’s done here. And you know what?
It’s cool.

Tada!
Ezine

…just had an epiphany; I want to be like [this
ProBlogger guy who apparently makes a
killing blogging about blogging!] It’s not my goal though, since that would make
me part of the flock. My blogging goal is to find a goal in blogging: Why are
these interweb people putting up digital words when they could be talking IRL to
their neighbour?

Want a Yoda PEZ dispenser?

Bald Man Blogging (one of these days I’m going to search that site for a photo) takes a different approach, asking why blog?

Blogging is talking to myself… without having everyone looking at me funny… Blogging is paying it forward… Blogging is digital memory… Blogging is parenting in the 21st century… Blogging is my debt reduction plan… and then hopefully my play-money plan… Blogging is my disaster recovery plan… Blogging is my way to serve.

Small Dogs Paradise woofs it in a fresh way:

1. Find a Bone right for your bite size! (Niche blog where you’ve some knowledge of)
2. Bark as frequently as possible to annoy humans! (Post regularly to alert engines/directories and increase readership)
3. Bite as hard as possible to make your mark even it takes days to carve out your signature!

I love this one. Just go read it. It’s short. Go.

And this one: This blog is a Zen aberation. Do without striving. Learn without trying.

This one is funny. I like it.

Very, very clever.

Flash Driven’s goals statement
makes sense to me, even though the subject is not one in which I have
much interest. But I believe that this blogger will meet his/her goals,
because s/he is focused on the subject, and how to present it, rather
than on the process (blogging) and its potential monetary rewards.

G, who claims to be only sixteen years old, shares What I’ve Failed to Achieve so Far — at this rate, he won’t fail to achieve much.

Why is Manila Daily Photo here? For some very clear and good reasons, that’s why.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! heh. ha. hrmph. *cough*

And the creator spoke all these words, including these:  8 “Thou shalt not quote me without linking to me.”    And yes, I like it.

It’s clear that I tend to favor those who are not in it for the money, at least not primarily; or not obviously. I read problogger
because I learn about tools and skills that I can use on my own —
very not-in-it-for-the-money — blogs. I hadn’t intended to participate
this week, but by coincidence had written a post on Goals, Intentions and Disappointments   just days before Darren announced the topic.

But I will end this with an exerpt from one of the pro blogs, Blogging Baby Steps   – one of the better pro blogging posts, greatly truncated:

1. While installing most blog software is relatively easy, writing a quality post is not.
2. Use your own voice.
3. Concentrate more on quality content, not ad placement.
4. Give yourself some hard dates – but be realistic.