The biggest challenge I faced as a tech blogger was a simple one: motivation. By that, I don’t mean that it was hard to write — it never was. But towards the end, it was getting hard to get excited to write on a daily basis. I needed to be driven. That’s when I’m at my best.
Tech blogging is a game. Most of those still doing it probably won’t admit it, but it is. That’s the only way you can think about it if you aim to be the best. Competition pushes everyone. With blogging, as with all things, you have to be in it to win it.
Now, there are several ways to play this game. And there are different standards of winning. At first, when I was a no-name blogger writing on my own, my goal was simply to get recognized. When I achieved that, my goal had to switch. So it became writing the best headlines. Then it became being more prolific than anyone else. Then it was getting to the top of Google News. Then it was owning certain areas of coverage (location, etc). Then it was writing long “thought” pieces while retaining readership.
There you have it folks, technology blogging is nothing more than a bullshit game that only bloggers play. Readers? They’re like the chips that everyone throws into the pot before showing their cards.
What’s my game? Make it to the end of the month. Every month that’s my goal, just reach the fucking end of that month. The money comes, the game resets, time goes on.
As Loren Feldman says: “It doesn’t matter!”
