Orphaned

So, as some of you may know, Rodney Ho of the AJC wrote an excellent article on local podcasters recently. What some of you may also know is that Rodney interviewed me for the piece but ultimately decided not to include my infrequent podcast. I completely concur that my meager contributions to the community (both locally and podcast-wise) probably don’t merit mention. Bill’s podcast is easily more focused, better produced and on a regular schedule. Count me both impressed and jealous.

The main reason I blog/podcast/contribute online is to a) spread my special brand of love across the internet AND b) find out more about myself by actively engaging in conversation. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, the truth is that the whole endeavor of blogging/podcasting isn’t always a natural excercise. I’m finding this especially true upon my return from vacation.

I guess it’s the same old story about writers’ block. It’s not so much that I lack good ideas/stories/anectdotes, but I just can’t find the motivation to get started. As my yearly post total indicates, once I’m on a roll I can keep it up, but how to get on that roll?

I’m particularly vexxed by my ongoing contribution to the Atlanta Metroblog. I sometimes feel like the Middle School yearbook photographer amongst actual reporters, which is to say: lost. My posts are all “best of” and “top x list” re-hashes with little actual city-inspired or personal content. Is this all a metro-worker/suburb-dweller has to offer? I hope not.

My blogmates are all more than worthy, but I’m just not feeling it. How do I overcome my posting shyness and self-doubt? What should I be discussing? I don’t want to be the blog orphan. Is this even a problem?

Comments welcome and encouraged. Maybe they’ll inspire me to write, speak, create or, *shudder*, listen.

3 thoughts on “Orphaned

  1. Disjointed Logo Ramblings

    I’m fairly uncomfortable with my standing within the community of Atlanta Metrobloggers but I don’t see that feeling as an impediment to contributing fluffy drivel to the blog. Without further delay, a disjointed, poorly-reasoned, meandering post con…

  2. Thanks for the kind words on the podcasting front. If it helps any, I was also called by Mr. Ho…and also not included in the article. 🙂 I think if either of us had approached the interview from the perspective of a TV industry professional about to delve into the new medium, we would have gotten ink. But I’m sure you were like me and didn’t want to bring work talk to the table and possibly get in trouble from TBS PR. So although I consider both of us savvy internet tech heads, as normal web citizens, neither of us had enough relative “weight” to warrant entry.

    Also, I felt the same way about the Metroblog, but even more so. Your contributions are huge compared to how little I added to the discussion, which is why I chose to drop off. Now, I have similar feelings about my podcasts (i.e. “who would want to hear my ramblings?”), but I keep going in that space because I like to talk to myself anyway, so it’s an even more natural extension for me than blogging. Also, I feel like I have a lot of room for improvement, so I won’t drop it until I’m a little more satisfied with my effort. 🙂

  3. Common problem, easy solution. Check out blogging.la and the crud we post over there. There’s a lot less pressure than you think there is, blogging should be fun so feel free to rant about the guy that cut you off or the great sandwich you had at some place for lunch.

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