The Fearless Blogger

Yesterday I talked about wanting to set expectations for this blog and posted the first part of The Fearless Blogger Service Level Agreement (“SLA”). Rather that dedicate too many more posts, I’ve posted the SLA here (you’ll also now see a link in the footer).

I would like to set this post aside to talk about the second part, Tone, however, as I feel it is at the core and heart of any blog.

The Fearless Blogger Service Level Agreement (“SLA”)

Tone

To quote N*SYNC: “It’s gonna be me.” I guess something else I learned from my numerous jobs (and you’ve probably just learned by my inclusion of an N*SYNC lyric) is I tend to express myself and do things in my own way. Trying to change/temper/contro/mitigate that never lasts long; and at 37 years old, I don’t see it as a good use of energy anyhow.

My writing style is casual, conversational, and I’m a bit wordy (yes, just a bit – enough comments from the peanut gallery out there!). I generally express myself through humor – sometimes self-depracating, often sarcastic. I don’t think casual/conversational and grammatically correct are mutually exclusive, but casual occasionally does trump Strunk & White. Spelling, on the other hand, should not be sacrificed – so please feel free to call me out on any mistakes!

But you’ll find this all out as we go along. More important – make that most important – is that a blog, unlike a newspaper or tv show, is a community. A blog is not me telling you things – it’s my place to share things. Everyone has a voice here. This is not my stage or soapbox. This is my community.

Make that our community.

Yes, it’s yours too.

Let’s make it one that’s comfortable for everyone.

Let’s make it one that ROCKs:

Respectful

We all may not agree or share the same opinion; but we can certainly respect each other’s right to have their own views. I’m an extremely opinionated person. As someone who’s also a bit fickle, I respect that other people may feel differently than I do at the moment – that’s what keeps the world interesting. Please bear that in mind when responding to comments you may not agree with. There’s a person behind that comment. Respect them, and their right to their opinion.

Open

I’d intended to have “Honesty” as an element here, but it took away from the catchy acronym.

Did you see that? What I just did? I was open with you about my intentions. I’ll continue to do that – while toeing the line between candidness/full disclosure and TMI/overshare.

Acronym attractiveness aside, I also feel one can be honest without being open, but not open without being honest. I guess you could be open about lying, but don’t think the lies could be considered examples of being open. What do you think?

Collaborative (also Community and Conversation)

I’m getting into labeling things – so let’s call this the “Three C’s”. These means three things to me:

1. Dialogue. As mentioned above, this blog is a place to share, not to broadcast. That means my expectation of you is that if you have something to say, say it. Commenting is the easiest way to do this, but you can also use the contact form if you’re shy, or contact me at any of the other places you can find me online (you’ll find links in the sidebar). Also, as you may have noticed, I’ve included a polling feature (“what say you?”) in the right sidebar. Please take a moment and weigh in on the latest poll when you get a chance.
2. Invitation to be Fearless. Taking that a step further, I’m inviting anyone who’s interested to be a guest blogger. Whether you have a full time blog and are looking to expand your audience; a developer or designer who wants to take a stab at writing a tutorial, or just another person like me who generally plays the role of reader, you have a standing invitation at The Fearless Blogger to write a guest post. Just contact me if you’re interested. My hope is that this will not only provide readers with diverse viewpoints and information, but will also give a voice to those who may have something to say but may not have or want their own place to say it.
3. Be Generous. The internet’s a big place and there’s room for everyone. Too often people hesitate to share their thoughts or advice because they are afraid of someone stealing their idea, or wonder why they should give their advice for free when many people would pay good money for it. I’m not saying to start spilling trade secrets. But the more we open up the dialogue, the more we feed each others ideas; the more nourishment we add to the global consciousness. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that one of the world’s great geniuses, Albert Einstein, worked at a patent office. I’m by no means suggesting his ideas were unoriginal. What I am saying is they were incredibly inspired. And I believe, in the pre-Information Age, he had access to far more inspirational food, if you will, than the average bear.  So – to add one more metaphor – you don’t always need to keep your cards close to your chest.  Share a little.  You might just inspire the idea that solves world hunger.

Kind

“When given the choice between being right or being kind, always choose kind.”

Dr. Wayne Dyer referenced that quote, and it stuck with me. Here’s the deal – Call me out if my content is weak. Point out spelling errors. Give me design and usability pointers. If it’s coming from the right place, I’ll love you for it. Heck – even if it’s not, I’m not going to hold it against you.

Sometimes when creating an open environment, people say things we don’t like. Sometimes on blogs, people will leave comments just to mix things up (these are often referred to as sock puppets or trolls). I don’t plan to get in the habit of censoring – or even overly moderating – what people say here. But there is no room for hate here.

That’s important to me. So I’ll say it again: There’s no room for hate here.

So before you fire off a response to someone’s comment, at least take a moment to consider your motive. Is it to create a stir? Show off your mad coding skills? Shoot someone’s opinion down? In order to keep the “Three C’s” alive, far be it from me to discourage you. But at least remember we’re all in this together, and kindness can go a long way. In short, mean people suck – let’s all get along!

I’ll be updating the SLA with my commitments regarding Timing & Technique very soon.

In the meantime, let’s get ROCKing – I’m interested in hearing your thoughts. What have you experienced with other blogs or online communities? Or “offline” communities for that matter? What’s most important to you?

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