The Experiment

Just over a year ago, I started writing this blog. I started it as an experiment. I've always been interested in technology and especially interested in knowledge management, sharing and innovation. I wanted to find out more about what Web 2.0 was all about.

And so I signed up for a free Blogger account and started writing.

I've learned a few things about the experience.

First, my writing sucks. But I think it's getting better. I'm trying to use 5 words where I used to use 10. I check my spelling. And I've learned that errors jump off the page only after I hit the "Publish" button.

Writing a blog (on an almost daily basis) is a selfish thing to do. It's my alone time. This is my time to reflect on the day's events, what's going on in my life and what's going on all around me. It's time set aside for me to reflect - to assess what I've learned or observed that day. Frankly, it's a habit I've only recently developed. It's for me.

As I write this, I'm the only one awake at our house.

As a product of the TV generation, I've invested a large portion of my life in front of a television. While much of that time was enjoyable, it was time spent emotionally reacting to content, laughing, crying, getting angry - not much time spent thinking or analyzing. Blogging has helped me appreciate the power of reflection and introspection. (I call it Webtrospection.)

Maybe I'm just getting old.

At the same time, blogging is a selfless act. I'm sharing these thoughts with subscribers and anyone else who happens to trip over my blog. I don't have any expectations. I don't expect anything in return.

If someone finds a thought or observation useful, fantastic. If this entry encourages someone to start blogging themselves, that's terrific.

Our grandparents used to relax on the front porch, observe their world and converse with neighbors as they walked by. To some extent, blogging is today's equivalent of sitting on the front porch. You meet some new people, enjoy some old friends, share some stories.

I've also learned that the blogosphere (I hate that word) contains some fascinating characters with radically different lives and disparate points of view - an infinite number of "channels", waiting to be discovered. My number of RSS feeds grows with each passing week.

There are a lot of interesting people out there.

And so the experiment I started a year ago, to better understand blogging and the Web 2.0 experience will continue.

It's been an interesting experience with many unexpected benefits.

Is it time for Webtrospection?

When is the last time you honestly evaluated your website? If you're like most of us, your good intentions of relevant, compelling, frequent content updates vanished minutes after your site launched - like New Years resolutions quickly forgotten.

You posted the new sales brochures, updated the product descriptions and maybe updated some photography. But somehow, only a month or two later, it seems a little stale or worse yet, boring.

Is it time for some Webtrospection?

If so, perhaps you need to ask yourself these questions.

1. Does my site feel "authentic"? Can readers get a sense of who we are and how we operate? Do we seem personable or does the copy read like a boring marketing brochure? Does the site display a personality?

2. How do I stand out? Can a reader differentiate you from the crowd? Do you sell the thickest pizza on the block or the brightest paint colors? What makes your customers drool?

3. Am I bold and brief? Does your site design and content tell a story that sticks in the mind of the reader? Is it brief enough to be read?

4. Am I relevant? Does your story matter to the person who comes across your site? Who is your audience and do they care about your content? Are your keywords, meta tags or site links attracting the right audience?

5. Boutique or Big Box store? Are you trying to be all things to all people or do you do something particularly well? Can your audience tell?

6. Dialog or diatribe? Does your site invite a conversation, question, suggestion? Or are you simply "blah-casting". Does your site involve your customers or prospects?

7. Am I measuring what matters? Unless you define website success metrics and are regularly collecting and analyzing them, you're shooting in the dark. It's not enough to have a website. It has to be put to work.

Now get to work.