Hot on the heels of the Blog Apocalypse meme created by the Urban Monk, I now find myself tagged by Anthony at Antbag as part of the “Why I blog” meme that is also going through the blogosphere at the moment.

The question of why I blog is an interesting one, because there are times I don’t really feel like I am blogging. To me this is simply maintaining and updating a website, a term that used to be a little more common ten years ago, which is when I designed my first personal website.

The term “personal website” has gone the way of the dodo though, so blogs and blogging it is.

The InterChange Desk is a blog, or resource dedicated to providing information and advice to people considering changing careers. I guess in effect The InterChange Desk constitutes a career change in itself for me.

It’s the first time I have done something quite like this, jumping on the whole pro-blogging bandwagon, choosing what is called a niche, despite having the aforementioned personal website and journal (the predecessor of the blog) since 1997.

So why else? I blog because I almost love to hate it!

Despite the fact I love writing I can have a lot of trouble with the creative aspect of it, and I will sit, fidget, wander around, surf the net, and sometimes feel generally frustrated for long periods of time before I can finally get myself started on a piece, and get “into the flow”.

This is a difficulty that has a name. “Eating your frog“, and is a term I first heard mentioned by the people over at Flying Solo. Once this “frog” (and I guess we aren’t talking about frogs of the chocolate “Freddy” variety) is consumed however, the floodgates of productivity fly open!

The satisfaction and fulfilment of (finally) getting into the flow is more than enough to quell any doubts or uncertainties I have in regard to the writing and blogging process.

I also love the way, that once I get going and into the flow, the articles I am writing seem to evolve a life of their own, and often end up “writing themselves” as it were.

This sometimes has a knock on effect, and often as I am writing one article, ideas for one or two more can be spawned. This article is partially a case in point, as it is kind of relates to yesterday’s The career puzzle post.

So there you go, how’s that for a couple of reasons for blogging?

Hopefully though I am being of some assistance for those who are looking for career direction, having had so much difficulty finding itself myself for so long. Hopefully what I am doing here is creating a resource, even if it is 500 words at a time, that will in time be of value to a wide range of people.

So thanks to Anthony for tagging me, and in typical meme fashion I shall pass the baton along, mainly to a few of the people I met at the Sydney Blogger’s Meetup last week.

So Icy, James, Miss Andrea, and also Cedric, since he likes these, and even you the reader, if you’d like to pick up this tag, please go right ahead!

If you believe the geeks shall inherit the Earth, then their time has come.

That’s if you also believe that someone who keeps an online journal, weblog, or blog, is in fact a geek. And thanks to strides in technology anyone can become a blogger, and by definition, a geek, at the click of a mouse button.

At the height of the dot com boom, way back in the day, 1999, being a web design superstar was the IT (no pun intended) occupation. Now the humble blogger’s time has come. Whoever thought that sitting at home “blogging” about your favourite topic, (ops, I mean niche) could turn a respectable buck thanks to some shrewd ad “placement”?

But you’re no longer a web designer, or even a blogger. You are a “pro blogger”, and with any luck a superstar to boot. And being a pro blogger superstar is more than receiving cheque proceeds for the aforementioned ad placement, each month, from the world’s favourite search engine.

Some of the pros, the big names, spend their time roaming the globe presenting at conferences, speaking on panels, and attending their own book launches. A fairly fabulous, glamorous occupation, no?

There are A-lists, the elite, the upper echelons, and the inner circle. And every blogger wants a piece of the action, to be not only above the fold, but also in the fold. But maybe blogging has become a self absorbing obsession unto itself. The focus is no longer on producing content, it’s about web stats, technorati rankings, back links, and page ranks.

But let’s put that superficial stuff aside, and answer the question. How do you make a go of it? How do you succeed and become a pro blog superstar? Well, there is plenty of advice around on the subject, so you have no excuse!

If you don’t have time to read though, let me summarise. It’s about writing articles that are at least 500 words long (like this one) and publishing such articles at least five times a week just so the search engine indexes don’t lose sight of you. It’s about networking 24/7, and trying every promotional gizmo and scheme that someone “introduces” to you.

It’s about being creative, brainstorming and finding inspiration on the fly. Some days the ideas flow, and you’re writing nine to the dozen, while at other times writer’s block descends, and it takes days to knock out the requisite 500 words, or even conceive an idea. And you know what they say; lose a day baby, lose two page rank points!

But there I go being a geek again. Or a wanna-be geek. A plethora of tools and applications means anyone can be a “geek” though. It’s a term of derision that became cool but has now become a cliche.

The writers of those of blogging applications are the real geeks though, the ones we owe our (imminent) success to, and it is their efforts that have bought about the dawning of the instant, or D-I-Y, entrepreneur age.

They somehow missed out on inheriting the Earth, but made millions when they sold their applications though. Now that’s glamour for you.

Several years ago while in the process of becoming a web designer I discovered the best self promotional tool I had was my personal website.

It proved a great way to not only learn new design skills “on the fly”, but also showcase them at the same time. Since I didn’t have a whole lot of commercial work to produce a “proper” portfolio with, I decided to design my website according to a fictitious theme, and “tell a story” as it were.

One of these “themes” entailed my being a researcher at a disposable razor blade manufacturing company, and I designed a website that outlined by “work” at this “company”.

Though a million miles from web design as such, the website nevertheless demonstrated my design abilities, and due to its “quirky” nature was noticed by a number of professional web designers, including the one who went on to offer me a design job.

While having some sort of showcase website may seem like an over-obvious requirement for an aspirational web designer, there are a number of reasons why anyone who is changing careers should also consider having their own personal website, or blog.

Blogging isn’t just for those who wish to share details of their personal life or an interest in a pastime, and with some thought and careful execution, a blog can be a powerful self promotional and networking tool for career changers.

1. Make a name for yourself
A blog allows you to introduce yourself to the world and potentially make yourself known to a large number of people, and all before you’ve even left the house!

Who you are, and what you do (or would like to do) becomes visible to anyone looking (through search engines for example) for someone with your particular profile, interests, or goals.

2. Network with potential colleagues and contacts
A blog is a great way to create a network of people who share your interests and outlook, and it shouldn’t take too much searching around to find others who are blogging on the same topic as you.

You can start to make yourself known to these people by adding them to your blogroll, and making comments on their blog posts, or even by directly introducing yourself to them.

3. Share (or show off) what you know
One way to demonstrate your interest and knowledge is to write posts sharing your insights on issues and developments relating to the industry, or career field, you are interested in.

Well researched and written articles will give your readers the clear impression you are knowledgeable and up to speed with what’s happening around you.

For my part this proved very effective in finding web design work.

4. More than just a name
Many people effectively use discussion forums, news lists, and other online communities as a way of networking, and making a name for themselves, by sharing their knowledge on a given subject.

A blog though, containing more information about who you are and what you know, linked from your profile page or forum signature, can add a little more dimension to what is otherwise a two dimensional screen name or avatar.

5. Brand “You”
Creating a personal brand is one way of standing out from the crowd, and a blog is ideal way to go about a establishing your own brand.

Conclusion
Getting started and creating a blog has never been easier thanks to tools such as Wordpress and Blogger. Not only are they free to use, complete web novices, or those who don’t have time to develop a website, can be up and running in a matter of minutes, by simply using a standard blog template.

While becoming a “blogger” may not be everyone’s cup of tea, as a promotional and networking tool, it is certainly worth giving the prospect some consideration though.