An Example of a Post Gone Awry

I cut my nose to spite my face and I paid for it. The post below was supposed to be for “Who Do You Write For?” It was a semi-serious piece that used humor and sarcasm to make a point. It didn’t come about because I didn’t focus on it the way that I should have. Somewhere my father is shaking his head and muttering “I told you so.” It is an old fight between the two of us. We’re long past the bitter part that existed when I was 14 and refusing to accept his instructions to focus on what I was doing. In part it is because I admitted that he was right.

There are some things that you should focus on so that you do them right the first time. I didn’t focus on this post and tried to do too many things at once. Consequently this didn’t come out the way that I wanted it to. Had I focused I would have taken fewer words to make the following points:

• Write about what you know and what you love.
• If you don’t like blogging you won’t last.
• If like blogging and you write about what you know and what you love you will be authentic.
• Authenticity leads to passion.
• Those things will help your community grow around you.
• Your community will provide support and you’ll end up in a mutually beneficial relationship.
• Just Write.

It is well past midnight and I am tired of using toothpicks to keep my eyes open. For those who are curious the post that fell apart is contained in the block quotes below. See you all in the morning.

It is Tuesday night and I am flying high because I made the list of the The Top 25 Sexiest Dad Bloggers. Let me tell you that it was one hell of a fight and frankly Beta Dad bit me or I would have clawed my way right past him and taken on the terminator. Look out Jim, next year I go all the way.

Ok that is just flat out ridiculous but it is the sort of off the wall banter that is appropriate for a post that asks Who Do You Write For? If you write for your business than it is an easy question to answer. Your job is to represent the brand in a professional manner that provides a more human touch. You turn the corporate world into something a little softer and friendlier. You make existing and prospective customers get that warm, fuzzy feeling about the company.

Personal blogs are different. Personal blogs don’t have to have the same focus as a business blog.

I don’t follow blogging schedules. I don’t worry about posting too often. I know that most of my readers won’t keep up. Some people won’t like it but that is ok because a lot of those people won’t stick around anyhow. My community will form around me. For some people I am acquired taste and to others I am their favorite philosopher/father/writer/wingnut/whatever.

Again, I don’t worry about it because my community will form around me. They’ll come because they like what they see. They’ll appreciate the passion and authenticity. They’ll read because they relate or something else resonates with them. The reasons why they read matter and they don’t matter. I know it is a contradiction but I am a contradiction.

The one rule that I follow religiously is that I do what makes me happy. It is the only way you last and for me it has been both rewarding and effective. That doesn’t mean that you should try to emulate my style. While I find it exceptionally flattering I would hate to have more competition for the 2012 sexiest dad bloggers contest so be yourself. Besides you do a better job of being you than you do being me.

Not to mention that the idea of there being more than one of me is scary for all sorts of reasons. Of course if you were a clone and were willing to do all of the work that I hate doing we might have to talk. Like the dishes. I hate doing the damn dishes. Would love to have a clone who would do that for me.

So let’s circle back to the original question of Who Do You Write For and I’ll share a few more quick thoughts with you.

Contradictions abound. I already said that I write for me first and everyone else is secondary. That is true but I do pay attention to some things. This blog has served as a chronicle of my life for almost seven years. It contains a chronicle of the lives of my children. It contains my thoughts, ideas and feelings as a man, husband and father. If you ask me to define myself as a blogger I either say daddy blogger or writer. They are both accurate but neither encompass me in totality and that is ok.

If I had no interest in monetizing the blog or in leveraging my work here none of this would matter. But the reality is that I do. When I identify myself as being a member of those two groups it provides