I visited my friend Don's crib the other day, because I was seeming to have writer's block for my blog. I needed a kick in the ass to get my creative juices flowing again, so I grabbed a beer from the fridge and we began to talk about my blog. Don begins to be frustrated with me and screams, "Didn't we talk about this six months ago!"
I obviously don't remember every detail of that conversation six months ago. However, I do remember that he told me to start blogging about things that interested me and content that was sticky enough for an audience to be engaged to read about. He grabbed some blank paper and pen and told me take notes, since he was frustrated that I forgot about our prior conversation.
As I was struggling to find who my target audience, Don told me to forget who my target audience is for now and just focus on writing what I feel, my experiences and what I have learned about myself. For me the transition is not that easy, since I still have that corporate mentality where it is all about the bottom line, and I need to take WD40 to remove rust off of my creative self.
As I began taking notes on paper, Don told me that he wished he was in my position because I have the golden opportunity to blog about the experiences that a lot of people don't have the opportunity to explore. He reminded me that I have the inside track on the underground Hip Hop/DJ community since I am friends with Mike Relm. That can go a long way because people are interested in the behind-the-scenes and thought process in his work and other artists like Relm.
I have a rare opportunity to go on tour with Mike Relm and Del tha Funkee Homosapien for two months around the country. I can be like Anthony Bourdain in his show No Reservations and create a video blog about the trends, people and culture of each city we visit. I can interview fans, performers and employees of each venue we visit to get a geniune insight of each city.
This will create an interesting timeline of events and experiences as I transition myself from the high pressure corporate world to doing things I can truly be creative. This reminds me of the movie Jerry Maguire when Tom Cruise wrote his personal mission statement and got fired for it. Well I am taking the goldfish with me on this trip, anybody else wants to join me?
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I'm glad I got name dropped more in a blog with Mike and Del; that's right beeetch! hahaha
ReplyDeleteMy comment regarding this post would be:
* please please stop mentioning this blog. Blogs have replaced personal journals and diaries. I still think you're trying to sell. Your ideas and self-reflection is what might ultimately sell this blog. What I and other's would find "sticky" is your raw feelings of that conversation. What was your friend Don's tone? Condescending? Hypocritical? How did I feel when he was yelling and/or telling me he was disappointed? "Dude shut up!" "I was thinking of how BudLite Lime is actually really good." We're interested in your journey: from getting canned, being asked to go on tour, your struggle defining part of your identity, and who you want to be and how it differs or similar to who you wanted to be 5 years ago.
* Dude, your golden opportunity is in your next career; not this blog! Repeat. You missed the entire point. Me getting heated was because you were more focused on making this blog profitable at 1/10000 per hit than the opportunity to remake yourself in a new career, new way of life, and new lifestyle. This blog should should only be used as a mechanism for your internal mechanism.
* If you really want to make money writing (not blogging) why don't you write articles on your upcoming experience? Sell and post those articles, THEN you can write a blog about the response you've received writing those articles.
* please please stop trying to sell this blog
**** (Four asterisk means it's really important ;-))
You are not a tech writer. Tech writers get paid for their articles. Bloggers blog/twitter about experiences. The successful bloggers have a unique voice that conveys their excitement, confusion, and sometimes despair. They have a personality. Your personality is, "OMG! OMG! Don/Mike/Ed this is sick! I feel like I'm at the rave party on the 3rd Matrix. This is Cebu Don! Cebu!!!!" Basically your voice is of a pre-teen with a art and business background.
Nobody reads manuals, manuals don't make money. Don't write instruction manuals.
My response is longer than your article. HAHAHAHAHA
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