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The Five Reasons You Should

Invest More Time in Your Blog

by Kendall F. Person

I was a late bloomer when it came to blogging, not entering the scene until August 2012, and only at the suggestion of a close friend and fan of my work. When I posted U.S. Open: the drama in sports, it was not because I had suddenly seen the light and wanted to join the blogging community, which as it turns out, was the best decision I could have made, but it was because, after a 12 year self-imposed exile, I wanted to discover if I were still able to write. I was not working at the time, having only recently returned from a 30-day project in Philadelphia, so time, as far as hours in a day, was on my side. Locating an apt subject was simple, for as a huge tennis enthusiast, the approaching United States Open afforded the perfect topic. Blogger, Google’s easy to use blogging platform, gave me the tool and my good friend had given me the motivation.

I had spent 15 years in the marketing arena, five of those years marketing my own work, so I knew about promotions and the need to promote my first post if I expected anyone to read it. My confidence was not low, it was non-existent, so I chose an inventive way to promote my work, while protecting my fragile ego in the process. I derived a pen-name, hence, thepublicblogger.

Knowing the importance of statistics, after conducting a generous amount of promotional work, I sat back and stared at the counter, which is a built-in part of the blogging platform. While tennis is a niche sport in my home nation, it is a major attraction in most other parts of the world, and to my surprise, U.S. Open: the drama in sports took off (on a relative scale). I would gain a 1000 views in the first week of that first post, and even some infighting in the comments section. And then, something remarkable happened….Kendall F. Person the writer was given a second life.

I began searching for permanent employment, but continued to write and soon after published my second post, Rudyard and Michelle: A Literary Union forms a Century Apart. While the numbers were not nearly as impressive, the comments reaffirmed that the literary world was where I belonged. I continued to blog, even confirming – via the series BREATHE – rumors among close friends that thepublicblogger and Kendall F. Person were one in the same. Nearly one year, 30 posts, and 12 promotional videos later, I realized that investing more time into my blog, can only make me mentally stronger, more visible as an author, more determined as a writer

and more knowledgeable about the

world around me.

So without further ado, I give you The 5 Reasons why YOU should invest more time into your blog.

If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run – from If, by Rudyard Kipling



Time

For those who enjoy a comfortable and refreshing night’s sleep, consider it a one of life’s guilty pleasures. Those who suffer with insomnia, either on occasions or as a way of life, perceive a peaceful, uninterrupted night of slumber a gift straight from the heavens. Lack of sleep does not simply leave you tapped for energy, it actually becomes painful as one tosses and turns, slugging pillows, throwing the blanket on and off of your tired body, begging for the sandman to take you, which he never does. But why suffer in silence, or disturb your loved one, if there is one sleeping beautifully next to you, or drain more brain cells watching television shows you would not normally watch, when you can invest that time, not being used by anything else, into your blog.

Rather it is a rant about not being able to sleep, or a piece of work worthy of a Nobel Prize for literature, producing new posts, adds depth to your site, material for readers and yes, writing a full post at two in the morning, even acts as a natural tranquilizer, allowing you to get some much needed rest.

In vain have you acquired knowledge if you have not imparted it to others. – from Deuteronomy Rabbah



Share the Wealth

There is nary a challenge, problem, question or quandary that is unique to any individual person. And while I completely understand that just reading about another person’s struggles, that are similar to ones own, will not solve your problem, it sure can make you feel a whole lot better. I use my own posts as examples, simply because I know them, I do not pertain to be an expert in all fields that I write about, so read the comments under your own posts or others’ you follow, and you will note the truth of what I state. When I posted about operating under the confines of bipolar disorder (Elevators: Using Mind Games to Cope with Depression), readers who battle depression, anxiety or other mental blings, joined in the conversation. Some were grateful of my personal anecdotes, while others left messages of their own successes and challenges. BULLY opened the doors wide to a societal discussion on worldwide crime, and my music reviews introduce artists to new listeners. Whatever direction your blog has taken or the platform you have chosen, there are others who can be assisted by your strengths or, in turn, even offer meaningful suggestions to the one that made the posts.

Omwana ni wa bhone (It takes a village to raise a child) – Kijita (African) proverb



The Blogging Community Depends On It.

In the small, working-class neighborhood of Strawberry Manors in the city of Sacramento, California, it is not uncommon for police helicopters to hover overhead or gunshots to be heard through the silent air of a warm summer night. The local elementary school, at one point, ranked dead last in academic performance in the state of California. The neighborhood and its residence were thought so little of, when the great floods of 1986 threatened to inundate expansive land geared for development, even though it was vacant, developers purposely diverted flood waters that drowned nearly ever single house. But Strawberry Manors proved that the strength of its community would be measured by its residence and fought back against every challenge that threatened their pursuit of living a normal, happy life. They embraced wayward youth rather than shooing them away. They demanded a strong academic program for their children and they waged a winning class-action battle against those same developers, being awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair their washed out homes. But if not for the active participation of most of the home and property owners alike, Strawberry Manors could have easily fallen into despair.

In writing post and maintaining our blogs, we are making a contribution to an institution with a world wide influence, allowing everyone to voice their opinion and deliver sound, experience-driven advice. Each contribution deepens the level of the well. Rather your contribution is entertainment, how-to or a rant about your bad day, it allows the blogging platform to earn the mantle of being an expansive, online community that brings the world closer together.

Just make me feel good. – Halle Berry, Monster’s Ball

Releases Negative Energy in a Positive Way.

Leticia Musgrove, Halle Berry’s character in the brilliant, but depressing Monster’s Ball, had lost her husband through capital punishment, her only child was hit by a car, she was evicted from her home, and literally thrown out into the streets. Alone with Hank Grotowski, (immortalized by Billy Bob Thornton) who had problems of his own, he asked but one question “What can I do for you?” Her reply, “Just make me feel good.”

Venting frustrations, even at an unchangeable situation, or presenting your self-produced podcast, video or book, blogging has a way of making each of us feel good. There is a sense of accomplishment whenever we complete and publish a post. Rather it is a photograph of the sunrise, taken from a mountaintop somewhere in paradise or the final episode of a 5-part serial post, we exhale at the small wonder we achieved, and revel in victory when readers find solace or passion within our art. We feel good because we have taken a step toward reaching our goal, or simply because we find joy in being ‘Liked’ by someone that we may never know.

Say it forget it, Write it regret it. – Unknown Origin

Our Contribution to the World

‘Say it, your words will be forgotten. Write it, your words will transcend time’ should be the bloggers motto. Following the Columbus High School track team debacle, I joined the discussion via telephone and in person. But I found the incident extraordinary, for whatever reasons, which incited to me to write the post A Lonely World. My life is still a work in process. I am humbled by both my readership and the incredible comments that readers leave. While I am a confident writer and do comprehend its craft, there is still much for me to learn and room for me to grow. So when I say, A Lonely World is a special post, please accept my words in the spirit in which they are given, and by no means a braggart or conceited boast. And that spirit is to prove my final point. Had I not written the post and only stated verbally the exact same words, what has turned out to be my most read, most liked and most heartfelt piece of work, would have found no further listeners then those few people that I spoke with, who have no doubt forgotten, the words that transpired about such a meaningful topic.

Everyone has a story or a song or an experience that once immortalized through blogging, will produce comfort or force thought or a reaction, somewhere around the world. Investing more time recording those experiences, assures that our imaginative creations, valued opinions and wealth of knowledge will find audiences to enjoy and learn from them, long after we are gone.

– an opinion from thepublicblogger (Kendall F. Person)

music, ‘My Motivation Inspiration Everything’ courtesy of P-Shaw Productions