Seven Lessons in Seven months

This post inspired by MarketingProfs Ann Handley Seven Lessons post. Lewis Green calls her "the Muse" at MP.

Its seven months in the world of blogging for me - to the day - exactly...20 posts...43 comments...a move in Technorati rank 24, 368 with one reader making me a favorite. Note to self - one reader at a time is absolutely OK. I got into this to join in the conversation and - as CK's collage points out to learn. Anything else is frosting.

Lessons I've Learned that have been reinforced since June12, 2006 -

• You get when you give - its not necessarily about posting but about commenting. I had left a few comments on a few blogs prior to o6.12.2006 and had received a response. It felt like sound in a soundproof room. And no padded walls - yikes! I set about to compose a blog. Suddenly on day 2 of my journey, I left a comment and linked to Mack Collier at the Viral Garden - he said thanks for linking and the fun began.
  
• Bloggers care about other bloggers - when I hadn't posted for a while Gavin, THE Servant of Chaos, sent me an email and asked where I'd been? He's got plenty to do. Taking time to ask me was beyond the expected. That email got me back to posting and commenting.
  
• Ripples in the water continue to grow - influence in this huge pool comes from many sources. David Armano at Logic and Emotion is one of the very best at dropping the pebbles. The magic is there it only depends on how much you want to make of it.
• The technology has made it simple - But not easy. Me create a blog? Use XML? Understand a tag? Link to another spot on the web? Yep, simple. Whats not easy is keeping up with all of it. Plus you can do it on the cheap - all it costs is time and we've all got 24 hours.
  
• Its easy to get distracted - there are a ton of places to get lost. See Google search :) - adopting some sort of discipline and becoming more selective is a worthy goal. And it all becomes part of the journey.
  
• Bloggers are good writers and critical thinkers - just a statement based on observation.
  
• We are, as a blogger culture, only now just beginning. Its a culture within a range of cultures. The activity of communicating great distances over topics of common interest can only add to our humanity. Its huge, its vast, and yet only a drop of the potential is evident. We can effect the common good and make the world a better place. Yes, we can change the world.

There's my lessons! There will be many more along this path.