Blogging as an Education ??

In 2007 I decided I wanted to pass on some of my Worldly knowledge to the wider community that was growing in the ever expanding universe of cyber space.

Blogging appeared to be the way to go and like most who make that decision I was full of optimism and believed that I could teach someone, anyone, something that would make their life simpler, more rewarding or just plain old better in some minuscule way. What ended up happening was the realization that in order to teach, I first had to learn. The world of the web was a complete mystery, full of potential pitfalls and sharks that were willing to strip me bare for their own ends.

It was akin to the frontier days of the the Wild wild west only guns were not necessary in order to conduct a highway robbery.

For every gap in my knowledge of Blogging I identified there were 50 people who had JUST the solution for $47, or $97 and even higher.

Fortunately or perhaps unfortunately one of the lessons I was to learn very quickly was their solution was based upon techniques or solutions and it was, so their solution was in fact NO solution. I also learned that web pages back then stayed up for years, so as long as suckers bought they remained nets cast in electron waters waiting for the next minnow to get snared. Most of the information programs available then were trash 10 page e-books that left more questions than they answered. Some were genuinely helpful but in a single dimension. The whole picture was just not available in a single solution.

Blogging is a technical challenge

I wish I had fully understood the technical challenges that were ahead, before I had ever decided to go and explore the murky waters of the Internet Marketing world and Blogging in general.

Just as most fledgling business owners will attest, when I started my first blog I had no idea how difficult it was to simply go put some words on a “virtual webpage” and how to begin the arduous task of making the doubtless Millions of people searching for that info, aware of its existence.

As it turns out getting a post up was perhaps the simplest challenge I was to face, there were much bigger challenges ahead, most of which I had never encountered before. Like the language of the web. As in Life there were many languages “spoken” on a web page. HTML, Javascript, J-Query, Flash and so on. I had never heard of WordPress and had no clue just what it could do or even what FTP was. The more I think about it the more I realize how unprepared I was for the adventure ahead. the real trouble was that despite my growing knowledge there was so much still to learn. Overcoming challenges was almost a daily business, and to some extent that remains true even today, 5 years on.

At that point I had not considered the pace of advancements that would render a lot of those initial challenges mute, only to replace one challenge with another equally complex challenge. In truth the world of cyber space is a self perpetual world of renewal. which if you consider this for just a minute, you realise that’s life in the 21st century. Companies the world over survive by renewing an old idea and replacing that 5 year old Ford Model t with a newer (no less capable) and better (slightly more fuel efficient) model than its predecessor. Online marketing is like traditional marketing, in that there are a Million corner stores eking out a living from the downtrodden masses out there all looking for their keys to the mansion house. Whilst the Multinational or national BRANDs dominate the shopping Mall. There are also an online elite referred to as “Guru’s who make a killing 2 or 3 times a year with their version of the Model t. Faster, better simpler.

When I first started in 2007 I was a total void when it come to anything to do with websites. I had never heard of WordPress, HTML was another language I would never master and I was never going to be taken for a ride by anyone. Yet, here we are some 5 years later with my unconventional education behind me and my professional development seminars still ahead and YES i have bought more junk than a scrap yard in my pursuit of that all important golden highway. I have had a lot of success and a few dismal failures along the way.

I have been educated, and its now my time to reciprocate and try to educate those who follow. So if you read this, understand one thing; I have chewed the same grass you chew on now. I have spent the time, money and dark winters nights huddled up to a 5 year old clapped out laptop on a journey of discovery. I ask nothing from you but to hear my wisdom. What you do thereafter is your damn fault.

Blogging

is an education. I hope you learn well and prosper as I have from what you read here. Blogging is a lot of fun, but its also not for everyone. So, that’s my take on my Blogging education, have something to say – Leave a comment.