Mixing Business and Personal Blogs

J writes:

Do you ever find that something you wrote in your ranty personal blog has negative impact on your professional career?

This is a tough one and I'd have to say no - so far. The day my dad discovered my blog - ah, good times. I'd been personal-blogging for I think about 2 years and was single then and was of course living it up as any single guy would - granted not of any Paris 'Skank of the Bank' Hilton magnitude, but a bit more rambunctious than my upbringing.

I was also producing plays at the time in Chicago and my dad had Googled my name and Google took him to my personal blog instead of the site for the plays. He was a bit surprised that I was writing about such personal stuff. It was at that time that I also did some archive-scrubbing to remove specific mentions of my employers or co-workers. Most of the folk who have been fired for blogging were being a bit irresponsible in their postings and not considering that in a sea of information, a search engine makes nobody anonymous.

I think as my generation goes into politics there will be scandal after scandal as old personals ads, home-brew erotica and old blog posts surface to remind the uptight they were once a bit loosey-goosey.

My background is as a creative writer/playwright so I have a certain 'license' (licentiousness?) to be a bit nutty on my personal blog - and this spills into my business blog. I'm nuts about politics lately (reading my 6 years of blogging shows my transformation into being more political aware) and know that in a polarized, fundamentalist, rapture ready country like we have now, that might turn folks off. At the same time if someone is completely turned off by that and doesn't want to work with me - they probably aren't going to be any fun as a client anyway. If I wanted to work with assholes, I'd stay in the corporate world.

I link to my personal blog from my professional blog and vice versa. Some folks want the Full Andy Experience others wants Just Business, Please and I'm always suprirsed how I'll get comments from clients on my personal blog.

Also, part of my 'brand' is to be a bit snarky. I find the more edged I am, the more clients enjoy it, the more comments I get, the more emails I get, the more ezine subscribers I get (granted, everyone knows that underneath all the sarcasm is a deep heart and passion for this crazy technology/creativity stuff). Anything that breaks through "Here at Boringboring and Associates, we make widgets and create productized solutioning for blardeeblarblar zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz' wakes people up. Even a little warmth can reach through the screen and make a reader or prospect say: 'cool.'

So if your brand/company is pretty much BO-REEEN then I say blog under a pseudonym - or add a fake guest blogger to your blog to be your outlet, your Chomsky, your Coutler, your Anais Nin. But, if your 'brand' can handle it - try a little tenderness.

p.s. My dad is one of my most frequent commenters now and even gets my business ezine.

Comments

[Verna]

I love this line: " If I wanted to work with assholes, I'd stay in the corporate world." I've worked for one or two really big corporations, and I've found that the bigger the corporation, the bigger the asshole. Thanks for reminding me of another reason I left the Cube.
V

[Kristie Tamsevicius]

Snarky is good. It means that you arent a kiss butt corporate line kind of guy.

It makes me like of John Stuart or The Cobert Report. These are opinionated fun takes on the news. And it's because of their "snarky" attitude that people care what they have to say.

Here's to snarkiness and juicy little blog posts that let us see you are alive!

You rock Andy!

[K]

Good for you for laying it all on the line!

There are too many scared shitless, kiss asses in the world!

[Amy Biddle]

Is there a difference between personal and business?

Yeah, I guess there is other stuph to think about besides my blogging and site topics, but I can't imagine they are nearly as much fun.

My mom recently discovered my writing online (so I don't think about her while I'm writing - makes me relax more!) but I think I (oops) might have upset her applecart a little. Oh well. Welcome to MY world mom!

If I had to blog about something I didn't love, I guess there'd be a line between business and personal blogging. Not so right now.

Those words are true: "Follow your bliss". Do us all a favor and be the best YOU that you can be.

[Kerch McConlogue]

I've been mixing personal and business in my blog since the begining. I couldn't decide how to seperate the thoughts (Yea, well, they ARE all in my head!)

I rationalized that if you didn't like the personal AND professional parts of me, it wouldn't be much of a relationship. And coaching is all about the relationship.

[kammie k.]

Great post Andy!

As a relatively new blogger (started in Feb.), I dig your wisdom on mixing the two. As a life & career coach I felt it necessary to allow my current clients and future clients to “peek behind the curtain” a bit.

Plus it helps them to see that I walk my talk. Yes, I may stumble and fall from time to time, but in general…I look like a Kam, talk like a Kam and I am a Kam. I try to keep my posts a little biz, a little pleasure - mix in some music, art, creativity and spirit just to keep things juicy.

Thanks for validating that BEING authentic, is more attractive to our clients, family and fans!

Keepin’ it real,
Kammie K.

[Gail Sussman Miller]

Andy, your snarkiness is what first attracted me to you and your deep, real compassion and passion for helping people use cool technology to reach more people, hence grow their businesses is what has me stay your buddy!

I have one blog for business and being personal, authentic, warm and yes, darn right loving, is my brand, so I let is show all over the place. It's very liberating to get to do it in a blog, from my own hand vs. writing something that will, by nature get all stuffy if it's written for a web person to enter for me.

Thanks for sharing and asking a great question. Isn't it wonderful when being real matches and SELLS your right work?

[Steve]

In the Age of Authenticity (at least from a buzzword perspective), your post is timely.

I started writing my blog in a mostly "business" oriented fashion. After a few posts I started to feel more comfortable and began writing about how different experiences impacted me--or others. Then I started getting emails saying "That's what you should be doing!" In other words, be real. So I just avoid mentioning the actual names or companies of clients out of respect as well as a shortage of funds for legal fees.

Now our marketing guy is re-doing the website to reflect more of a corporate-but-not-boring approach for those wanting a "sense of the serious." The blog will be stay conversational.

Personal or Business? Yes.

[Mariwan Baker]

Sabat Company is dealing with Worldwide Trading: second hand business. Since its establishment year 1998 in Kurdistan (North of Iraq), it has expanded very fast and has been involved in variety of fields such as; Ceramics, furniture, mobile-phones and international recycling business and used clothes. Most of the products are imported from abroad such as; Turkey, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Iran and Dubai. Sabat Company has been active within other fields, namely commercial Real Estate-business, as well as contractor-business within construction field. With regarding to most sunny Kurdistan during the year, it is in our company's future plan to deal with solar cells, which are environmentally friendly source of energy.
Our Company looking forward to establishing long-term business with foreign firms which are ready for challenges and willing for obtaining benefits in the Iraqi potential in general and safe Kurdistan in particular.

[Sohbet]

One thing you may want to try is a unix based whois client, mainly…the whois command

[sohbet]

thanks

[sohbet odalari]

very good ok ok