Blogging: Most Definitive Medium For Demonstrating Expertise On The Web
Do you think for a living? Do you rely on your education and experience to problem-solve? Do you face issues requiring “convergent, divergent and creative thinking?”
Is your capital your knowledge, ideas and access to information?
Are you a lawyer, engineer, architect, doctor, scientist, financial analyst, software engineer, teacher or technical writer?
If so, then you’ll appreciate Dorie Clark’s “rich and thoughtful” perspective in her HBR blog post entitled, If You’re Serious about Ideas, Get Serious About Blogging.
Dorie believes, like I do, that “…for organizations and individuals that want to be known for their ideas, the clearest — yet most underrated — path is through blogging.”
Indeed, if you want to shape public opinion, you need to be the one creating the narrative. –Dorie Clark
Why would a busy professional ever consider blogging?
Awareness and visibility.
Blogging is one of the best ways to demonstrate expertise and become a trusted authority. Building expert status online helps drive your business development especially among your weaker social ties. This is all about proving that you’re worth knowing.
According to Dorie:
- A small number of top-notch bloggers sets the “conversational tenor” in the blogging niches (just like with Twitter). That’s opportunity for those with staying power.
- Blog posts are syndicated worldwide and live “forever on the web.” That’s ongoing content leverage. Think ROI.
- Today, the ability of a blogger “to impact mainstream discourse has never been greater.” Authoring “high-quality content” lets bloggers be “measured by the quality of information” — not a brand name.
Writing is still the clearest and most definitive medium for demonstrating expertise on the web. –Dorie Clark
Do you think that there’s too much blogging noise to get noticed? Don’t fret. Dorie believes “…that serious competition in the blogging world is likely to wane in the future.” If Dorie’s prediction holds true then a blogger’s power to influence will only rise. Dorie’s rationale:
- “In an information-hungry world, there will always be a need for expert content.” Compelling, thoughtful content enables a blogger to build up a strong reputation.
- The decline of paid news media means fewer professional reporters are “providing good content.” Knowledge bloggers will continue to fill that void.
- “High-quality, idea-focused” blogging is hard work. That’s why blogging is retreating among teens and young adults. Tweeting is easier. Sharing a picture is fast.
Being the creator of high quality content positions you to make the strongest online impact. Readers and “retweeters” will always outnumber committed bloggers. That’s exactly what you want. Like Dorie says, “You might as well be the one setting the agenda by blogging your ideas.”
I’m absolutely setting the agenda by sharing Dorie’s views. My business is simple: empower professionals to network through the Internet. Dorie’s HBR post underscores the importance of LexBlog’s vision and the value we endeavor to provide to professionals.
Do you agree that a blog is the most definitive medium for demonstrating expertise on the web?
Breaking, unrelated news: the Seahawks beat the Redskins 24-14 on the road and snap a 29-year losing streak. Talk about making an impact. Congratulations, Seattle! Watch out, Falcons. Here come the brash blue and green upstarts. How about that for a humble-brag? I didn’t watch the game because I wanted to write this post. I’m thanking my lucky stars for those highlights.