Something about the blogosphere lately has been bugging me. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly what it is because it’s not a black and white problem and I’m an active participant and proponent of at least part of what I see as the issue.
Blogging as we know it today evolved from online journal writing, a very reflective and personal thing to do centered around one individual’s life. Back then it was expected that a “weblog” would focus mostly on the person writing it and consequently, unless the person led a very interesting life or had a gift for writing, only a small handful of people would read it – perhaps friends, family and coworkers.
Today blogs have become much more than journals, yet many of the blogs we idolize are very ego-centric. Often popular blogs are driven by the personality of the author. While most blogs are not necessarily talking about a person’s personal life, often “life” is the muse for topics, even if they are skewed for relevancy to a certain group of people, a target market.
For example, my blog here is about Internet business and blogging and many of the posts I publish draw on my own experience in these areas. This article you are reading right now is exactly that – I’m writing this as a result of my recent experience reading other blogs.
The blogosphere is personality driven, so it’s natural to expect that the people with the biggest personalities, the most interesting stories, unique talents and/or some form of celebrity, are at the top of the A-List of blogs. There’s nothing wrong with that on the surface, but what I do see as a potential problem is what we value and what concepts we raise to ideals to emulate.
Money As Motivation
I remember the first time Darren Rowse published how much he was earning from his blogs and the subsequent buzz that spread online about the potential for income from blogging. Since then many bloggers have revealed their earnings and continue to do so. I did exactly that for my March 2007 blog earnings.
With the obvious interest in the topic “making money online” many bloggers have launched blogs focused on it, some make money, some chronicle their journey of making money and may not make any yet. The focus is squarely on how to earn more and how to get more traffic so you can earn more. Again, there is nothing wrong with that per se, the problem as I see it, is how much energy we give to the topic and how we idolize certain people who have achieved something we want to achieve.
Will Money Make You Happy?
There’s a very old question that most people feel they know the answer to – Will money make you happy?
I don’t think money specifically can make you happy, but certainly it can buy freedoms that contribute to happiness.
The problem I believe is better defined in the reverse – does a lack of money make you unhappy?
I think for many people that last statement is true and we thus wake up each day with money as a key motivator, not the only motivator of course, but certainly a major one given society’s current structure.
If you have read my previous article – The Key To Happiness – you know that my belief is that happiness is simply a choice, but for the sake of this article I’ll assume that you may conceptually understand that, but have difficulty putting it into practice 100% of the time, which sums up my experience too.
Where’s The Value?
If you presently read blogs that talk about making money, or any blog where the author spends a lot of time focused on their own life, make sure you stop and ask yourself whether reading the blog contributes to a goal you currently have and whether you leave that blog having gained an insight or something you can actually action and benefit from.
What it is you admire about the blog and blogger and why have you have decided to offer them a portion of your life – a fraction of the time you have available in a given lifetime? That’s a hefty price to pay so you better be clear on why you are there and what you want from the relationship.
Many blogs offer very little value beyond entertainment, essentially a distraction from what you really need to get done. Entertainment is great, but often times entertainment is procrastination. This is an especially important point for all you workers out there surfing the web in an attempt to get through yet another “boring day”. Something needs to change.
At some point you have to consider how long you are prepared to read about how successful someone else is, how much money they make or the ramblings of X number of mini-me bloggers also attempting to replicate the success of A-List profit bloggers. What exactly is in it for you or are you there to simply help that blogger make more money by being yet one more visitor adding to their traffic count?
Focus On What’s In It For You
Watching others achieve what you want to achieve will not help you unless you actually take away a lesson and apply it. If you currently read bloggers that spend most of their time rambling on about how good they are, or how much money they make or what they last had for dinner, or how amazing their traffic growth rate is, and you walk away feeling feeling depressed because you can’t seem to make any money or you are simply “passing the time” you are not moving forward.
As you are about to finish reading this article you can ask yourself – What did I learn? How can I change my behaviors for the better as a result of this article from Yaro?
My hope is that you will start to make better use of your time and challenge every blogger you read to benefit YOUR life.
I may end up losing some readers as a result of this article as they realize that Entrepreneurs-Journey.com doesn’t specifically offer them any value given their current situation and goals. That’s fine, what’s important is that you read this article, have an insight and take a step that leads to enhancing your life and making you happier.
Remember, money as a purpose in life is a false idol, as is worshiping people who are fixated on making money. Monitor your feelings and gravitate towards what works for you and what feels right. There’s nothing wrong with making money and being motivated by it, just remember that it’s not the only reason to do something, there should be a deeper motivation and purpose – a reason why that makes sense to you, a way it can help you and a way you can use it to help others.
Yaro Starak
Idol-less
Not something you expect to read on a blog called “Entrepeneur’s Journey”, but a well thought out and important piece nevertheless.
Money makes a good slave, but a bad master.
Ahh, quite right Markk. This blog might be better served with a different name sometimes, although it is meant to be the thoughts of Yaro on his entrepreneur’s journey – you can twist anything around so it makes sense
I think it’s exactly what you should find on a blog called entrepreneur’s journey. Entrepreneurship is about more than money, some of the most successful entrepreneurs out there are not money hungry, simply people with a passion.
Entrepreneurship is bringing something new and fresh to the world, creating and innovating new methods and lifestyles.
I like to think of it as ‘artistic reality’. Paint something great!
Thanks Yaro, for snapping me out of my hypnotic state. If I read another blogging or online money making tip too soon, my brain is going to explode all over my computer. Which wouldn’t be good, as I can’t afford to replace it.
Which is why I read all these blogs in the first place, to find a way to make some extra money as a stay home mum. Seems though, the more I watch, listen and read about how to become a successful blogger, the more intimidated, overwhelmed and unmotivated I become.
I’m turning off my RSS reader. I’m turning off my modem. I’m going off to a quiet place for a few days, to let everything I’ve learned so far settle in my overloaded brain.
Who knows, I may end up getting back to the things I enjoyed doing since I was a kid, before computers came along – singing, drawing, sewing, crafts, reading REAL books and magazines about DOH business. HA, the good old days!
Cheers,
Annie
Hi yaro,
Great post – i wrote something similar myself yesterday here:
http://straygeek.com/the-john-chow-spamathon/
John chow was once a ‘blogging idol’ of mine – until he started linking to male enhancement sites. Check out the article, you might find it interesteing.
Thanks
Hi Annie – I’m happy I could be a force for calm. Information overload is a common malady online at the moment and something that can slow you down if you don’t deal with it appropriately.
SG – Thanks for the heads up about your article.
I agree with your sentiment here, Yaro.
When money speaks, the truth keeps silent. (Russian proverb)
Off-topic, I double-checked my laptop in case your email about graphic design was received there. No joy.
Ciao for now.
I totally agree with Yaro on this one. My personal experience has been that if money is all you are looking for you’ll likely fail at whatever you’re doing. You need to enjoy your activity first and if it leads to a little cash then fine–but that ensures that you in the very least get something out of it.
Good penetrating post. Excellent question to ask oneself and brings a new perspective to the table.
Yaro,
Posts like these is the reason that I prefer your blog over some other “higher profile” bloggers. I thought that your response to the question “Will money make you happy?” was insightful to say the least. Keep it up man. I’m lovin’ it!
Yaro, the part about happiness particularly struck me. I’m always interested in what really makes people happy as it seems to be so elusive these days.
You’re very insightful in looking at it from the perspective of what makes people unhappy. Perhaps if we’d spend some time rooting out the things in our lives that make us unhappy we’d be more successful overall. Thanks for the great post!
I love this post Yaro. Money, and keeping up with money blogs, just like anything else can become an idol. I am starting to think that keeping up with my favorite blogs is becoming an idol, since so many of them rehash things I have read elsewhere.
You wrote this at a great time for me.
Thanks!
i totally agree with you on this one. A lot of blogs are very ego driven – however, they are still worth a read.
I think that letting people know how much you earn can be a little ego driven however i also believe that readers are interested in seeing how well a site is doing and how the blog is making cash. I also believe that they can inspire bloggers as well.
Some bloggers ego gets the better of them and the quality of their posts drop because of it in my opinion – it reminds me of those ‘My Dad could beat your Dad in a fight’ arguments you had when you were in the playground when you were a kid.
Hey Guys,
Since I am at this juncture in time, not yet focussed on making money online, maybe you dudes that are…should drop by my blog…not sure if you are going to learn something…however…you will get a different vibe…
Don
ps…maybe in a few months I may have to consider ways to pay for bandwidth/coding..etc..till then its all heart…
Hi Yaro,
You have made some excellent points here. To be truly successful with blogging, you must love what you’re doing. If must give your readers value, just like you’ve done here at Entrepreneurs Journey.
Good things come to those who give the most first.
Blogging for money alone often doesn’t cut it. I’ve seen a few blogs mirroring popular ones and it gets stale pretty fast. And they usually don’t last long.
It’s about your own unique personality, or maybe better said, it’s about good character. In the end, that’s what’s worth reading. And it’s what separates a good blog from the herd.
Very interesting Yaro … and a nice vote for honesty and common sense. As you point out, meny is far from the be all and end all of our lives. I would submit that passion is what motivates people much more thna money.
Consider, if you will, how rich Bill Gates might (or might not) be today if he had not dripped out of college to the dismay of his dad simply becuase he had a passion to squeeze more and better code into a tiny eProm. It certainly wasn’t for money, the early days of the original Microsoft founders make interesting googling.
Consider how rich and famous Google might (or might not) be today if two bright guys hadn’t made contextual-based web search/idexing their passion … it sure wasn’t money driven … their “intelligent” career paths would have been to get their PhD’s and go to work for a big, established firm.
Follow your dreams, first.
This post made me think, Yaro… I have definitely been guilty of reading blogs for a purely entertainment value. The kind of “escape” you mention. Like peeking into another person’s world.
But isn’t it also like watching a movie, only it takes less time and attention? Or reading a novel? I mean, some blogs are darn funny and do make good points.
Plus, doing things that make you feel good contributes to the quality of life, no? And I also feel that witnessing a life of a person I find fascinating can be inspiring, energizing. It can help me see things from a dfferent perspective.
I think that things we do for entertainment can be just as important as things we do to develop our minds/knowledge base. I only think we need to select our sources wisely and never get too addicted