Refleditorial: a combination of reflection & editorial.

It’s 20:47 over here, it’s been a long day, and I’m in an introspective mood. A few months ago, after I concluded my last blog and “renewed” my commitment to this one, it actually happened in parallel with the conclusion of another long-lasting activity: my thesis. Academic work is, in my opinion, largely an exercise in breaking out of theory, easier for some than others. It’s easy to read about theories, write about them, and test their validity—it’s much harder to make it relevant to day-to-day life. That’s not the life for me, I don’t think, so I was happy to see it go.

So when I began blogging back here again, I started with asking more practice-orientated questions: how are companies set up, how do hire a person, etc., etc. I got some amazing comments on those, which I very much appreciate. But comments aren’t the same as blog-posts, not every one of you goes beyond the rss-feed, and in retrospect, I should’ve focussed more on reblogging the great comments. I’ll go back to some and will do so in the future.

Less questions, more answers… I guess it’s somewhat of a balancing-act. Bloggers get smarter through interacting with their readers, and sometimes the best way to get that input is to just ask. At the same time, readers get smarter through great blog-posts, and the best way to create that output in the form of qualitative articles. The best way to ensure that the balance works is, I find, a certain continuity. By continuing to write, you vocalise themes that single blog-posts cannot encapsulate, qualities that are associated with you, no matter what you write. It’s an ongoing process for me and other bloggers, and I’ll try my best to not disappoint.

Lastly, reasons (not) to blog… I think we’ve all gone through it: the more we focus on other things, the less space is left for blogging. It’s the reason why I don’t entirely believe in blogging in a corporate context, though there are certainly examples that prove me wrong. It’s probably a life-cycle thing: as you build something, you dedicate your time fully to it. As your creation matures, you can focus more on marketing and reflect about innovating. When you look at Signal Vs. Noise, everyone of their staff blogs and does it well. It’s even in their manifesto. But 37Signals is a built company. It definitely innovates, but it’s main activity is to make small changes, think about new products & services, market, and collect the monthly checks. The same applies to people, btw.: You build your career, sooner or later you reach a certain point where you can reflect on your life.

Tangible reasons I could think of for blogging in a corporate “building” context, would be to keep Google happy. By creating a continuous “lifestream” for your company, you alert Google to new content, so it keeps linking you up. At the same time, if you build great products that people like, other blogs can link you up too and will probably have a much greater effect. Innovation isn’t everything, neither is marketing, but it’s a combination of both.

That’s it. Reflection-time is over. As always, I love reading other perspectives, so by all means, tell me: Should companies blog during their building process? Should individuals blog in a corporate context? What value does it contribute to their and your lives?

Vincent

P.S. the picture is nonsensical, I just liked the imagery.