Pause: The Blogomatic! It slices, dices, and even transforms a career!

I was asked by a blog buddy if I could speak with his daughter about her career path. I've had a number of requests like this, I suppose, because I've become the Poster Child of occupational change. Let's see, in roughly 12 years of post-collegiate employment I've had roughly...10 gigs (three of them fall into the self-employment category). I suppose this gives me master certification at how to help other people effectively jump ship.

In this way I consider myself something of a diving instructor; I help people adjust their oxygen so they save some for the tough parts of their dive into career self-realization. I offer ways that they can pace themselves and take on new avenues without burning bridges or burning out. I help them avoid panicking and running back to more secure, but less fulfilling corporate jobs so fast that they get the bends.

Truthfully, I love helping people with career planning. If I can help someone avoid overthinking and undercrediting themselves as early in their lives as possible then mission accomplished.

This woman, in particular, reminded me of me, or who I wanted to be, at age 25--a go-getter, confident, and a good networker. She told me of what she'd studied in college and the jobs she'd had. Like me she was a "liberal arts" type, who liked a little bit of everything. People like us have a hard time nailing down what we want to do with our careers. Put us in any job and we'll find something redeeming about it. We'll fantasize about working there for years and running the show. We'll toy with the notion of "Director of Such-and-Such Department" as our purpose in life, and then we'll wake up in the morning wishing we worked somewhere else. I understood this woman, a tightly packed ball of potential who wanted the right place to unleash it.

I listened to her story and avoided telling her outright what was on my mind; it seemed too typical of me to offer it up. Too facile. Too ... Silicon Valley woo woo.

To hell with it.

"Have you thought about blogging?" I said, wincing.

This seemed to be my panacea for everything from career dissatisfaction to relationship dysfunction. Somehow, in my world of open expression, just getting stuff out on digital paper for the world to see was the first step toward everything.

But I had a point.

As the conversation progressed I refined my suggestion a bit. For loosey goosey liberal arts types, or for anyone contemplating a career path that hasn't been etched with razor-blade exactness by others before them, blogging opens doors--in ways I could not possibly articulate for people, just for myself. Still, I think my experiences are helpful to anyone looking for something more in their work lives.

Coincidentally, this conversation happened as I was contemplating a keynote I will be giving at an Innovation Conference produced by one of BlogHer's Media partners, the Lyon's Network. I will be speaking to college women who are considering entrepreneurial careers--something I never thought to do when I was in college. When I was 21 I was trying to figure out how I would win the hearts of the media world, starting humbly at $19k a year and then catapulting myself onward, as was my inevitable trajectory based on everything else I had pursued. This was, of course, before I realized I was a tiny pure stream about to dump into an ocean of competitive, cynical waste. Before I saw that it took more than just good grades and admissions offers from grad schools to do anything significant in the business world--before I understood that my best shot of doing anything significant would only be possible if I created my own path.

I'm jealous of these women I will be speaking to. They are being exposed to these self-made possibilities early, before self-doubt kicks in. Before they've spent the bulk of their careers trying to make it in careers they don't want. Sure, some will get "real" jobs anyway; real jobs certainly helps someone learn a skill or two. But they likely won't have a Come-to-Jesus moment 20 years into their careers, when they realize, "Omigod, I didn't have to do it this way, give up my life/dreams/passion/sanity for a job." These women are learning to cultivate their passions early--God love them. They will save the planet time wasted on hating their work. And, they have the benefit of social media to help them save time.

I tried to explain to this woman what blogging has done for me. Hopefully she wasn't rolling her eyeballs on the other end--a side benefit of conference calls. My list:

Blogging helped me identify others in "hybridized spaces" and to build my own hybridized space. I'm a writer who loves business; when I write about it I take a narrative approach. This kind of interest, I'm learning, ain't burning down the doors at Random House. Apparently I haven't taken enough drugs or killed anyone and felt really badly about it. My life is boring. Work is my drama. And career memoirs are a tough sell. Blogging helped me find others who are equally melodramatic about career, or who don't mind my being melodramatic about it.

Likewise, for others in any pursuit, not just writing/publishing, blogging allows you to present the most nichified version of yourself to the public, something most are not able to do until they've become a millionaire, or married Tommy Mattola, or what have you. And by that time, many of these types are too removed from their original impetus that pushed them to create in the first place. Want to establish yourself as an expert/guru/thought leader/artist? Time was when you paid your dues by working with an established entity for years, under someone else's shadow, waiting for a Reality Show or some random lottery to showcase your unique brand of work. Now you can post.

Bloggers are connectors and opportunity makers. I remember the day I started reading blogs--I think I was on Tom Peters' blog--and I saw a comment that I really took to by a woman named Evelyn Rodriguez. Completlely ignorant of how to properly whore myself online, I emailed Evelyn privately about her comment. And I emailed others about their comments when they said something particularly appropos. It didn't matter how I connected, the important thing is I did, and in the process began to develop my circle of blogging co-horts. Some of them ask for favors (will you guest-post for me while I'm away?) and link to you. Some you get so excited about when you meet them offline. Some you decide to build conferences, or even companies, with.

I'm asked ALL THE TIME how I hooked up with Lisa and Elisa and created BlogHer. This wasn't the Boy-Band model of start-up, when one person decides to pull together a market-tested group of people--the cute one, the shy one, the rebel... This was a clear case of people with similar values who found each other through connections and blogging and who perpetuated the model by growing an organization the same way.

Imagine if companies recruited via blog networks--so much more could be determined about the cultural fit without judgement of the way people look, or how well they interview. Through blogging, we were able to find pre-motivated people who were willing to help us futher the vision of enhancing women's online platforms. We've always been able to tap this network to find compelling speakers and resources and to give back to it by offering up opportunities we receive. It's a system in constant flow, with new voices and proclivities allowed to enter at any time.

I've heard occasionally from men and women contemplating attending BlogHerCon that it seems like everyone already knows each other--it's like a little club. Next time I hear that I should say yep! It sure is, and you know the secret to getting in? A Web connection. That's how picky bloggers are.

People who decide to blog are people who want to express and/or connect. While a few may like writing in solipsistic little bubbles, most want to hear from you. And an interesting thing happens once you connect with bloggers; they suddenly want to help you, find out ways to partner, and share their backgrounds and experience. The corporate firewalls that exist in the offline world don't exist in the Blogosphere. You have access to all kinds of information that was once stratified, available to only the muckety mucks in the executive suite.

Blogging gets you seen quickly for who you are. I remember meeting with a career coach about five years ago who blew up a preconceived notion I had about doing what I loved. I was studying for the GMAT at the time, not because I wanted an MBA but because I figured that having one would allow me access to the right jobs and eventually the right stature to be listened to. I wasn't even sure what it was that I wanted to say, but I figured, the MBA would at least be the base of my pulpit.

"So let me get this straight," she said. You want to spend several years of your life and $120k to basically tell stories."

"Well, when you put it that way, you make it sound silly," I said, feeling silly.

Blogging has provided me with my pulpit. And, as I'm about to say at a panel today at the Hillside Club, when Lisa Stone and I defend blogging in the face of the media elite, people don't have to show up, but if I'm really worth my salt and have something to say based on my myriad experiences, I'll get heard, and I'll become known within the communities that matter.

The woman I spoke to who wanted career advice said that she wanted to open her own firm one day.

"Then start blogging now," I told her. "You can begin to show what you know. Hell, you don't even have to know it all."

Another benefit of blogging for me has been establishing what my opinions are. In one of my career contemplation phases I thought that I needed to get a Master's in Creative Writing from NYU. Mind you, I hadn't ever written a piece of fiction in my freaking life, but I figured where there's a will there's a way. My grades were stellar, and I had all the right recommendations, but I couldn't eek out a piece of sample writing for the life of me. Being creative on demand is tough, particularly when you've never been creative. A filmmaker friend of mine likens his creative process to taking up running. The first few times out are excruciating, but the body learns to adapt and eventually begins to work for you. Likewise, writing--and I would argue, gurudom--doesn't just happen on demand. You've got to be trained mentally to call it forth, and where better than a blog?

Blog buddies like Jennifer Rice, who have established themselves as experts in their particular fields, say that their current roster of work as independent consultants has come largely from their blog. It's all about who you know, and blogging allows clients to know YOU.

Blogging rewards outward facing thinking. I've found it ironic that I've been asked to help companies with STRONG competencies in media to better understand Web 2.0. The problem is they've become so focused on the day-to-day of their business reality and have become stuck in the insular thinking that inevitably results.

Companies that claim they can't afford to allow employees to blog are saying that they can't afford external PR, market research, and connection with clients. I still don't have the magic time management formula for corporate workers who want to blog but can't find the time. All I can tell them is that blogging forces expertise. You must read and interact in order to have something to say. If you don't want to have something to say, don't blog. And don't read blogs. Sure, you can read trade publications, but the act of blogging enforces a deeper thinking of your craft. It's hard to blog about something that you haven't grappled with and come to a conclusion on in some way.

That said, bloggers are by nature more intuned to whatever community they are writing about. And they can establish quickly where they can impact it. The Intrapreneurism that companies require to now stay ahead of the curve is easy to cultivate. Encourage people to blog. It's hard to feel out of the loop and disengaged with innovation when you are blogging.

This poor woman may have received more bloggy advice than she knew she'd get in a short, half-hour phone call. I reminded her that I had no idea what blogging would do for her--none at all. And I'll have to tell the women at the Innovation Conference the same thing. There's no patented outcomes from blog juice. But there are stories. Lots and lots of stories.

blogging social media entrepreneuris BlogHer Lyons Network

Comments

What a GREAT post! Anyone who blogs...young or old...knows exactly what you're talking about. I love this.

Posted by: Joy | March 19, 2006 at 08:07 PM

Thanks for the advice! My son who has just escaped Iowa State with a marketing degree will get a link to your words for "his reflection".

Loving fathers do that sort of thing.

Keep creating, Mike

Posted by: Michael Wagner | March 19, 2006 at 08:08 PM

Where were you 20 years ago when I needed you? Well, maybe in my next life!

Your enthusiasm just bubbles through and is very infectious. Glad I found your blog.

Posted by: joared | March 19, 2006 at 10:57 PM

Once again I'm reminded of how much better/stronger/faster I could have been had I been one of those kids who was moving into the dorms with a computer instead of one of those kids moving out who'd never seen one.

Sigh...

Posted by: Colleen Wainwright | March 20, 2006 at 08:40 AM

Thanks for the uplift! I was just a tiny bit depressed about blogging.

And I'm really glad that I found out my best career path has been doing what I do anyway and then find a way to make money from that, instead of trying to fit into a 9 to 5 job.

BTW, I'm also one of those "liberal arts" types who likes a bit of everything...

Posted by: Susanne | March 21, 2006 at 06:02 AM

Jory, this is a manifesto...and I mean that in the absolutely best sense. LOVE.IT. Strongly suggest you put this on your sidebar as a featured link. FABULOUS!

Posted by: Marilyn | March 22, 2006 at 04:20 AM

This should be required reading for college students. I love the title...The Blogmatic...wow! As usual, you capture reality with a finesse usually only seen in women of a certain age. But then... being but a youngster, you have insights we lost track of long ago.

Posted by: Yvonne DiVita | March 22, 2006 at 09:28 AM

You wrote great!
Actually one thing about the time. How many time you spend for blogging? And how many for reading blogs? Just want to know some average hours.

Dmitry

Posted by: Dmitry Linkov | March 23, 2006 at 04:15 AM

Hi, im Mark and I guess im introducing myself!!

I came across this site using 'stumble' (Firefox) and thought all the ideas floatiing around ehre seemreaopy interesting! (Although I don't seeem to agree with everything lol)

Well, thats me :)!

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