Connecting…

One great benefit to writing this blog as well as doing my weekly podcast has been connections with people. Not only have I had old friends, former colleagues and acquaintances discover me, but they’ve reached out and we’ve ended up connecting again.

The most delightful series of connections has come about when people in different parts of the world have emailed me or commented on my blog. I’ve had nice dialogues with people in Bali, Okinawa, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and in almost every state in the U.S. In addition, I’ve had people want to introduce me to others and — as a way of introduction — have pointed them to my blog first and then had them connect with me by phone or email.

I’ve also had people say to me upon meeting them, “Hey! I’ve read your blog.” which is a nice conversation starter since we can commiserate about various topics I’ve posted about and/or they have. At the Web 2.0 conference I handed out my day job business card and said, “This is what I do” and handed a second, personal Connecting the Dots card (with my blog address and podcasting page URL) and said, “This is who I am.”  Personally communicating with these mediums clearly does allow more of my thoughts, essence and passions to be brought forth…which helps make those connections.

So if you blog (or are thinking of doing so) and the talk turns to monetizing your blog or podcast, just remember that there are other intrinsic values in personal communications.