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| Photo from here! |
A recent event has led me to sit down and write this post. I've been apart of the blogging community for a year and a half now, and although that's not as long as some others have been doing it, I consider what I've done thus far to be a significant achievement in my life. I don't think people regard bloggers with as much praise and respect as we deserve. Blogging, in the past year, has honestly taught me more than school has. Being a blogger and having this experience is priceless, and I'm here today to bring some exciting and revolutionary news.
What does blogging teach/help with?
- Social skills- Talking to other bloggers, your readers, authors and publishers is one very important and vital step in the blogging community. You learn how to talk to public figures, such as authors, writers, publishing companies, and etc. Communicating with other bloggers is a must for a successful site and it's a great way to get some new friends along the way.
- Coding or graphic/web design- The thing about creating your blog and website in the first place is the fact that you need a brand or logo to promote. This logo can represent what you love to talk about and what you want your site to represent in the long run. I'm The Book's Buzz, so my logo is obviously the bee. Doing this forces you to learn how to design your own header and even add some spiffy details to your site.
- Commitment- If you start a blog, you have to be willing to commit. You must be willing to spend 50% on life and 50% on your blog. That's the way it works. If you don't commit, your readers can see right that and they will sense your disinterest.
- A whole lot of other things but this isn't my main point so I'm going to stop listing them!
Being a blogger gives you advantages, that others don't have.
In recent events, I applied to this program that would put together a campaign to fight microbeads that get polluted into the ocean. They are the Wildlife Conservation Society group, working with Blue York, and they were looking for teen representatives to put together this project for other teens! In my application it said to tell them a little bit about myself, so I wrote that I am a blogger and am always in contact with fellow bloggers, readers, and authors.
I received a phonecall a few days later for a phone interview, and as I was talking to the lady she said something that immediately grabbed my attention. She mentioned how she read on my application that I was a blogger and that was really cool because I would understand what kind of social media outreach and information teens were looking for. We talked about that for a while and it was so nice just sharing what I loved most about this community.
I was then called for a group interview where I was tasked to work with a group to create a tiny campaign using a specific audience and our social media outlet of choice. Let me just say, that I had one of the best days of my life working with strangers, forging something from my own ideas, and just working together and collaborating with other people close to my age. That's the kind of thing I want to be doing my entire life-- working with others in creating new and innovative ideas. Without blogger and Youtube, I don't think I would've done a good job at this interview. I would've been the same shy girl that was in her nutshell a year and a half ago, who was always afraid to make that move to get further in life. Blogging has changed me in ways I can never explain thoroughly, and I am blessed to be apart of such an amazing community.
I say this all the time- that I love you guys- but I MEAN IT! Blogging gets you a long way and all the hard work you put in will get you far! You have something different that makes you you, somethingsthat others don't have. You can walk on the street and say, "Hey I own a blog!" and not many would be able to say "Hey, me too!". It's that feeling of satisfactory that you can own and think of when you're feeling not so great. Always remind yourself that YOU HAVE A BLOG/YOU ARE A BLOGGER and that's what makes you special. If you're looking to start a blog and are terribly shy with crappy ideas, do it anyway! Who knows what will end up happening a year later. And as far as the ideas go, you can choose to learn from other bloggers and even use some of their ideas (with credit of course).
I'm not saying that non-bloggers are special and awesome. This post is directly geared to all my blogger friends and people I've happen to meet along in my blogging career. And to those that want to desperately embark on this journey, but don't have the guts to.
