The Art of Pointless Angst
Guest post by Brian Meeks
Ken Mueller wrote a blog piece entitled 4 Little Known Blogging Secrets. It got me all worked up. The first 3 points were fine, but the 4th started my “rant-o-meter” running. The article was well written and, sadly, I agreed with all four points.
The problem was, I didn’t WANT the 4th point to be valid.
As a species we have evolved to be rather clever creatures. We learned to harness electricity, which is very impressive. Show me a single quadruped that has an electric blanket for a cold winter night. Nope, those silly creatures evolved to have fur. Point goes to the humans.
We have also crafted the art of sliced bread, which allows for sandwiches containing … yes … you know where I am going … BACON! Carnivores of the Serengeti don’t even bother combining their lunch-meats into sandwich form. It is so barbaric.
Filed under Blogging, Guest Posts | Tags: blog teasers, blogging tips, brian meeks, chicken breasts, ken mueller | Comments (20)Critically Speaking
Criticism. When it’s good, it’s great.
It takes a big person to take criticism well. It takes an even bigger person to act on his/her own criticism. And by “big,” I don’t mean literally; I mean “big of heart or spirit,” as I believe King Arthur was, or any of your mythological heroes.
The criticizer
Take Brian Meeks‘ comment on the recent guest post by Erica Allison on vlogging.
Back story: I’ve come to know Erica over the last several months and think she’s killer smart, so asked her to guest post for me. I tend not to give my guest bloggers specific story ideas; I like to see what they come up with, I think it gives them more freedom. Since Erica is a frequent vlogger, however, as well as one who gave me such great tips on using video, I asked her to write a post (and vlog) on the subject. You can see for yourself that it was pretty well-received.
Filed under Blogging, Communication, Shonali Burke | Tags: brian meeks, comment policy, erica allison, taking criticism well | Comments (46)When Twitter Gave Me Howler Monkey Angst
[Ed: I'm on vacation. Here's the fourth of a week's worth of guest posts.]
There was an auto-DM waiting for me this morning. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I felt my #HowlerMonkeyAngst boiling to the surface.
It is from the seed of angst that most of my guest blog posts are born. The wheels were turning and my mind started flying off in dozens of different directions.
I considered all sorts of examples that could illustrate why this DM was worse than a marketing plan based upon offending 80% of the population, just so the remaining 20% would feel special.
My seething rage continued to boil, until I was calmed by the soothing afterglow of a bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwich on an English muffin.
Filed under Guest Posts, Shonali Burke, Social Media, Twitter | Tags: #howlermonkeyangst, auto DM hell, brian meeks, twitter etiquette | Comments (27)I asked myself, “Was this person trying to make me so angry I wanted to abduct her and confine her to a room with The Girl From Ipanema playing over and over again?”
