Last year The Emotion Machine received a “Top 50 in Wellness” award from Ecollegefinder.org. I hadn’t shared the award with anyone until now. Cheers!
There were a lot of other good sites listed, many of which I’ve been a fan of for awhile:
- The Happiness Project
- Upgrade Reality
- MentalHelp.net
- Abundance Tapesty
- Yoga Journal
- The Jungle of Life
- Balance in Me
There were also a lot missing that I would’ve liked to see:
- Tiny Buddha
- A Daring Adventure
- Mindful Construct
- The Shrink for Entrepreneurs
- Lateral Action
- Mind Adventure
- Productive Flourishing
- Heart of Business
- Becoming Minimalist
- Dumb Little Man
- Finer Minds
Truth be told I could probably write my own “Top 50 in Wellness” but I’ll save you guys. I’m sure the last thing many of you need is more sites to distract you from actually going out into the world and making things happen. Don’t become a “keyboard jockey” like me…
…but, if you have the time, definitely take a browse through some of the sites listed above.
Have a problem? Try blogging about it. Blogging is a great way to record your progress when trying to achieve long-term goals. And it can be applied to almost anything. If you want to lose weight, you can write about new exercises and diets. If you want to write a book, you can use your blog to brainstorm different characters or plot-lines. And if you are recording an album, you can blog about song ideas or lyrics.
When I first started The Emotion Machine I wanted to learn more about mental health and living a meaningful life. Since then I’ve expanded my interests to aspects of creativity, productivity, and self-improvement. Whenever I submit a new post here, I feel like I’ve learned something new or gained a different perspective on how to live my life better.
This blog has helped me become a better person, as have all my other blogs.
In another, I write about political issues, economics, and current events. It’s a way for me to think more critically about the stories I so often read and listen to on the news. It helps keeps me sane, and (I believe) a lot smarter about the issues.
Just recently I started another blog. This time it was about online business. It’s a site called Business Diaries and I use it to help me keep track of different methods for driving traffic, building relationships, and creating content that people find valuable. It’s something that has always interested me, and I’m glad I’ve finally created a blog to help me sort it all out in my head. It really does help.
Somewhere in the future, I would like to also create a blog about health (to motivate me to be healthier), a blog about calculus (I used to know it well in high school, but have since forgotten), and a blog about music (I’ve always been a huge fan, and I want to share all my favorite bands, artists, and songs).
A blog can be about any aspect of life: health, financial, educational, creative, social, or spiritual. The applications are endless, and you can create a site for virtually any niche.
The moral here? Blogging has tremendous potential for anyone, and I don’t find enough people taking advantage of it.
Sure, there are zillions of people who have blogs. But I don’t think they are really blogging to the best of their ability. I want to stress the point that we should look at blogging as a tool for improvement. A way to help us overcome obstacles and find solutions. In the future, I want to see more psychologists recommending blogging to their clients to cope with issues. And more business executives recommending blogging to their coworkers to aid creative problem-solving.
What are some of the ways I can use a blog?
- Compile relevant research you find online.
- Record good ideas, brainstorms, and plans
- Keep track of progress with a current goal.
- Write about your feelings and opinions about a current issue or personal event.
- Share your work with a network of other bloggers and get their opinions.
What if I’m not a good writer?
So what? I’ve been writing for about a year and a half, and I’m still not a great writer. The only way you are going to get better is if you practice. Even if you never think you are that good, any writing is still better for your thinking, memory, and emotional well-being than no writing at all. If you are that embarrassed about your lack of writing finesse, just make your blog private. You’ll lose some of the social benefits, but you’ll still get the mental ones.
How can I stay dedicated to my blog?
Last I heard from Jay and Sterling over at Internet Business Mastery, 70% of bloggers stop blogging within the first 3 months. This is a problem we all have to face when trying to build new habits. Hopefully some of these tips will keep you committed to your blog:
- Write about a problem or passion that truly interests you.
- Make small goals like “I’ll write one post a week.”
- Build a community around your blog to hold you accountable.
Check out my list of 50 Ways To Stay Committed for more tips.
I think blogging is just not my thing.
Sure, then don’t do it. I’m definitely not saying that blogging is a cure for everyone’s problem. I just think there is potential worth looking into. If you have to force yourself to blog every month, and it feels like a chore, I would definitely recommend finding another hobby or brainstorming in ways you find more natural. Maybe you prefer working in a group setting or brainstorming during your morning jog? We all have different preferences to help get the mental and creative juices flowing.
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Image by d3 Dan on Flickr.com
If you are any kind of blogger than you have probably heard of Google Adsense, the pay-per-click advertisement program. It’s a service us bloggers all dream of making millions with after hearing success stories by blogger elites like Steve Pavlina and Darren Rowse.
I know when I first started blogging I spent hours upon hours experimenting with different ad placements to find what looked best. Adsense was what blogging was all about. Just keep writing bullshit and keep your fingers crossed that someone will click your ad and you will make another 25 cents. Stay persistent and then in a couple of months you’ll be making a living online! Right?!
Of course, as any long-time blogger will tell you, this isn’t exactly how things work. Successful blogging is not about jamming ads down your readers throats. In fact, Adsense overload is often a fantastic way to scare off potential readers and make sure they never ever visit your site again.
It’s a sad but true fact that a lot of so-called “online entrepreneurs” think that ad spam and shoddy writing can be a sustainable business model. It’s not. In most cases it’s a business model that won’t even get you off the ground.
If you have a good keyword and you rank high on some Google searches, then you may rack in a hundred or so dollars a month. But you probably won’t make enough to live off of it.
Anyway, you probably already know this stuff. You already know that real business is about building real relationships and creating real value. And I want you to know that I haven’t forgotten this – even though I’ve recently added a Google Ad to my sidebar.
I don’t want this site to ever be littered with pop-up ads and spam. I will never sell my readers out like that. However, a Google Ad or two can still have integrity, right?
Over the past few months I had eliminated all ads on this site. I wanted to focus on quality content instead, with the hopes that I will soon create a product to sell. However, even though I am desperate for money, I don’t want to rush my product. That wouldn’t be fair to people who actually enjoy my writing.
So, I am taking a step back. I’m not ready to create a product yet, I still need to focus on making this site the best it can be. I need to focus on content and relationships. Not rushing some half-assed e-book so that I can sell it 50 times at $10. I need to think more long-term than that.
That doesn’t change the fact that I also need money. That means picking up any chunk change that I can get.
Thus, I am resurrecting Google Ads on some of my blogs. Don’t hate me for it. I will try to keep it as minimal as possible.
Since late June, when I first announced that I wanted to become a professional writer/columnist, I have been brainstorming ways to become the very best writer and thinker I can be. To me, a big part of this meant diversifying my sources so that I get the most varied and balanced mix of news and opinion.
In that original post I put together a rough list of mainstream media outlets, libertarian resources and blogs (my main interest), as well as “alternative” sources of news and opinion. Since then I have expanded on this effort by putting together a public Libertarian Minds Feed (which you can also follow on Twitter) and a News Roundup Feed, for more general news on society, politics, economics, health, business, technology, and environment. Both feeds follow over 50+ sources each (you can see a complete list of the libertarian links here. I have yet to make one for News Roundup). Both feeds are constantly being updated as I discover new outlets.
So far these feeds have fulfilled their purpose beautifully. Every morning around 10AM I brew a pot of coffee, open up my FriendFeed, and begin opening tabs to new articles, videos, and podcasts. I then spend the next 2-3 hours going through each one. Periodically throughout the day I will again open up both feeds and consume any new topics of interest that may have developed since.
I want to keep this post short, but let me just end by saying: social media tools like Twitter, FriendFeed, Facebook, and Reddit are all great ways to organize your favorite links so you can follow updates on a day-to-day, moment-by-moment basis. I recommend this technique to anyone who wants to develop a deeper understanding of any topic, whether science, psychology, politics, music, art, blogging, etc. I know I will be creating more feeds in the future as my interests divert to different subjects.
Although I certainly haven’t forgotten about my personal blog here, lately a lot of my energy has been going into my political blog, which I currently share with 8 contributors (and hopefully 10 by the end of the summer!). Over the past couple of months I’ve noticed some advantages and disadvantages to having a multi-authored blog. I thought I would touch on some of these points today.
+ More content.
Naturally, two workers can produce more than one, and three can produce more than two, and so on. This is especially true if each product being produced is particular to the efforts of one mind (aka, not in an “assembly line”-like fashion, where if one person dozes, the whole structure of production is ruined). Instead, I can spend a whole month not writing anything, but, instead, two other authors may write a couple articles each month – and the blog still appears to be “active” (a sign loyal readers are going to want to see).
- Less quality control.
Unless you are very stringent about what content gets published, or you are a part of a very homogenized group of writers, there are going to be areas of disagreement between you and other contributors. This can be a bit frustrating when an idea you typically don’t endorse gets published on a blog you would rather more represent you.
+ Diversity and dialogue.
Looking on the bright side of the last point, varying opinions can also lead to diversity and a healthy dialogue. Diversity is, in many ways, the defining attribute of evolution, and it is no different for competing species as it is for competing viewpoints. The other blog I write for, Libertarian Minds, is filled with different kinds of thinkers (Constitutionalists, Objectivists, Anarchists, Atheists, Deists, Theists), and in my opinion these differences add new dimensions to our discussions on politics, society, culture, and morality. They make us all smarter and more well-rounded – and more tolerant.
- Sharing of benefits/revenue
For some blogs this may just mean competing for page views, while for others this may mean distributing revenue among writers. This means the more contributors you have, the less money you will each get paid.
+ More heads marketing
Despite the last point, having more writers may also mean having more traffic streams. Writers A and B may be active users on Reddit, while Writers C and D spend more time advertising on Facebook. Everyone will also have different groups of friends, family, and coworkers to show the site too. This means more opportunities for eyeballs on your blog.
- Greater potential for conflict
On one side of the coin, humans are often good at cooperating and working together. On the other side, they can also get caught up in pissing contests and foul-mouthed exchanges. Fortunately at Libertarian Minds all the writers seem to get along and interact respectfully (knock on wood), but there is often a greater potential for conflict as you add more passionate thinkers to the equation. Some conflicts, of course, can be good, and lead to further cohesion – other conflicts, however, can cause permanent divides (especially if one person feels they are being ostracized from the rest).
+ Sense of community.
As with any group project, a sense of community is beneficial. It means individuals feel they have a responsibility to others – to provide good content and make the blog into as good of a blog as possible. We always see professional athletes talk about their team as if it is a “family,” the same can be true for teams of bloggers. Relationships build and build over time.
CONCLUSION
Really this was just a brief brainstorm on the pluses and minuses of writing for a multi-authored blog, and I think I did a pretty comprehensive job. I am very pleased with my experience so far, and I think the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages (which is a big reason why Libertarian Minds has so far received a good amount of traffic, considering its young age). I am really excited to see where it takes all of us in the near future.