End of Year Thought Leadership Amnesty (Or, Am I Doing This Right?)
As we approach the end of the year the urge to write always seems to become greater. With the out of office on, there is more time for it, too. A creeping sense has come over me during the last couple of weeks. A sense that maybe i’m ‘not doing this right’, where my writing is concerned. Stuck between the habit of the ‘week notes’ format and my desire to write longer, more developed posts in a style closer to an essay, the net result has been a wholesale collapse in my output (though along with Matt, I’ve managed to be relatively productive).
I recently populated my Readwise feed reader with a load of new blogs and RSS feeds (courtesy of Harsh Browns). Its been refreshing to read stuff from a wide range of authors, authors who have a wide range of interests which don’t necessarily reflect my own. I can’t profess to have loved all of the feeds I’ve subscribed to (and have been slowly pruning back to the things I’ve enjoyed the most) but there has been something joyous about how unalgorithmic it all is. Bluesky, now a slightly more vibrant place than when I first signed up - like Twitter-on-sea - the nice bits of that platform seem to have reorganised themselves back together. But it still feels a bit echo-y at times. It also suffers from a lower volume of usage - and prolific posters seem to dominate my feed in a way which makes it a little unusable at times. Consuming stuff direct via RSS feeds feels a lot more quaint. Like living in a small village and hoping the postman might make it out to see you today.
The other benefit of this new selection of RSS feeds has been a reminder that there are no rules when it comes to blogging. I’ve been enjoying the exposure to different styles of writing. Some of it is dense and technical (i’m constantly reminded that whilst Ad Planners ditched blogging, many other folk in different industries certainly did not), some of light and list-like. Some obsessed with a single topic. Some like a broad, far reaching approach.
Where my own writing is concerned, I enjoyed this recent article (and a bluesky post) from Simon Willison. It was a shot in the arm. A reminder that there is intrinsic value in the act of blogging that is seperate and distinct from the content of blogging. Simon says…
You should start a blog. Having your own little corner of the internet is good for the soul!
The point of that article was to emphasize that blogging doesn’t have to be about unique insights. The value is in writing frequently and having something to show for it over time—worthwhile even if you don’t attract much of an audience (or any audience at all).
This year has been a year of drafts. I have so many half baked, half finished posts and thoughts that are sat waiting for the perfect finish. Some posts have wallowed in development hell because the thinking hasn’t been sharp enough. Some because I’ve lacked the courage to finish them, worried by the information they may disclose about my opinions. I’ve been too concerned with what people might think. Which is a curious concern to have, when you think about it.
Other writing projects have never made it off the pages of the notebook. They’ve been too big and the very idea of committing time and effort to them feels too big an undertaking. The next, great British novel will have to wait.
I need to get back into the habit and the routine of putting pen to paper and words to the page. Of pressing publish. Of concerning myself more with frequency and less about the end product. Trusting that one will follow the other, eventually.
Of being less self conscious and saying what I’m thinking at a given time or place. Committing to the exercise of ‘thinking out loud’.
I feel like i’ve said this too many times before in the past - and so there are no guarentees that this is the time I’ll crack it, but there you go - what else is the end of the year good for, if not making bold claims and promises to ones self?
