Götz - Runner at the Start

Here I want to follow up with a few comments that clarify what exceptional contribution might mean. The first two quotes are from the e-mail distributed to the UPworld community at large:

“Collier has been a consistent contributor with not only a monthly blog, but often contributing additional articles for the UPworld readership.”

“Another distinction that sets Collier apart is that he routinely leaves comments and feedback for other bloggers, interacting with and encouraging fellow writers, which is an important aspect of the UPworld blogging community.”

These last two quotes are comments from other professionals (who are bloggers and promoters in their own right):

“Congratulations Collier! Thanks for all your perspectives and for championing NetGiving!”  D.G.

“You’ve done a lot of good for the profession… There’s a reason you’ve been so passionate and dedicated…” D.B.

Exceptional contribution within the blogging community involves such things as consistency, passion, and championing a cause – but in a special context. We’ve said before that meaningful blogging is much like a marathon – but in this light its more of a team run; a long-distance relay or a cross-country race. We run the race well when we assist each other. I believe that “exceptional contribution” in professional blogging comes in the form of “interacting with and encouraging fellow writers”.

Image via Wikipedia

What do you think? Please share your own examples – or those of others you’ve encountered – who run the race well.

In all honesty, there’s more to the story. In my post April 4th post, “What’s Going On?” I hinted at having lost my blogging momentum. I admitted that for all my good intentions, I wasn’t converting my long-held aspirations into meaningful blog content. Successful blogging, it seems is a marathon, not a sprint.

When I completed my March blog post for UPworld and submitted it, I notified Rebekah, the content coordinator, that it would be my final post. I was tired. I was running out of new ideas (the twenty-something post series on NetGiving wasn’t breaking any new ground).  There was seemingly no return on my blogging investment. I was finished!

So, here is Rebekah’s e-mailed reply:

“I guess this is a good time to tell you that I had chosen you as the 1st Quarter Exceptional Contributor to be announced in just days!”

Wow. That was the cool splash of water I needed. It was my second wind. I could indeed continue the race!

Fellow bloggers, how is your marathon going? Are you staggering, faltering? Let’s talk about the race and see what we can do together to keep on going!

Engaging Architects is a direct response to Bob Borson’s post, “Wanted: Advice from Other Architects” on his blog site, “Life of an Architect”, in which he asked his fellow architects to help field three specific questions from his readers. Mr. Borson is a prolific blogger and could have continued to answer his readers privately, but instead he opened the conversation to the rest of us.

Engaging Architects is an expansion of that simple notion – an open forum where architects respond to readers’ questions.

While there are several “Ask the Architect” sites existing, each with its own scope and audience, and while there are other question-and-answer venues online, Engaging Architects will be different; it will be an open forum, an idea clearinghouse for architecturally inquisitive readers across the Internet.

clearinghouse; noun – an informal channel for distributing information or assistance – merriam-webster.com

I see Engaging Architects becoming the helpful public face of the architectural blogging community.

(By the way, Engaging Architects can be found at http://www.engagingarchitects.com )

Now, for this proposal to be successful it will require input from a range of architects; but I believe those of us who are blogging and using social media are the very ones who will respond to readers’ questions. We are already “engaging” each other and each others readers, this new site will merely serve as a central place to do so.

Please, fellow architects, check the site from time to time, respond to inquires that you are able to address, and promote Engaging Architects in your own blog. And please, contribute your thoughts below.

As a Building Content regular you are probably part of the growing architectural blogging community. I want to put resources in front of you that will enhance your blog development efforts. I’m pleased to bring you an opportunity to win tickets for the upcoming Blogging Success Summit.

LOOK HERE FOR DETAILS!

Blogging Success Summit 2011 is a month-long online conference dedicated to help businesses master blogging. More than 500 marketers have already signed up, including  Home Depot, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Simple Green – plus hundreds of smaller businesses and firms like yours. More than 20 of the world’s most respected blogging experts will share their strategies and it’s all online so there are no travel hassles or expenses.  What sets the Blogging Success Summit apart from so many blogging classes and courses?

At the last summit, 95% of attendees said they’d recommend the event to a friend and attend again.

How can you win access to this event? There are three free tickets being offered, valued at $597 each, and two ways to enter the drawing; via Twitter or by written entry:

#1: Twitter Entry: Simply tweet what you see below for a chance to win one ticket:

I want to win a ticket to Blogging Success Summit http://bit.ly/winBSS11 (via: @SBoSM ) #winBSS11

You can tweet up to two times per day. Each tweet is an entry to win. We’ll randomly draw the winner of a free ticket. All tweets must have the #winBSS11 hashtag included

#2: Written Entry: The winner gets two tickets PLUS a mention in SmartBrief on Social Media and the Social Media Examiner Newsletter (130,000+ subscribers total)!

Simply write about your biggest blogging challenge and link back to (the Summit page).

The judges, Mike Stelzner and Rob Birgfeld, will select the best-written entry. Their decisions are subjective and final.

The deadline for the free tickets is Friday, January 21st.  Early bird tickets are available at 50% off until Thursday, January 20th. For all the details, deals and deadlines, please follow this link.

I hope this offering interests you. Please let me know what you think.

One of the first business books I read was Guy Kawasaki‘s pioneering work, The Macintosh Way. Published in the eighties, it tells (as I recall it now) the amazing story of Apple Computer’s “software  evangelists” who charasmatically promoted a computer opperating system that had not yet lauched.

For four years I evangelized Macintosh to software and hardware developers and led the charge against world-wide domination by IBM.   – Guy Kawasaki

Image via Wikipedia

In today’s open source, app-rich invironment it’s hard to imagine a PC-only world. Kawasaki’s team convinced the established home computer market to produce parallel products for the new Macintosh computer. The “Macintosh Way” was about more than just extrodinary salesmanship, it was about a corporate culture and a visionary and mindset that still inspires today.

Guy Kawasaki’s book inspired me then – and I can’t wait to read The MachintoshWay again. As an architect who writes of “the next golden age of our profession” it will do me well to reread this story of vision and influence. I believe it will be a benefit to you too.

Guy recently re-acquired the rights for the book and is offering it as a free download. Not that I’m starting a Building Content Book Club, but why not - let’s read and discuss The Macintosh Way as it relates to our architectural blogging.