The point of blogging - Part 2

No copy. The title I chose for this blog should have given away my subconscious intentions with it. Time to write down my true confessions, professional (or personal, why not) opinions and deeply rooted doubts. No advertising copy this time. Been there, done that. Still doing that, sometimes. But not now, not here. Also: no copy. Not trying to copy what others have already done before. And probably a lot better than I ever could. "Oh, trying to be unique, huh?" Well, if that's how you want to put it. But not in the sense that I am trying to claim my own space on the net. Find my own niche, create content to suit a public. I know some experts say that's what you should do. Maybe they're right. But that sounds too much like marketing to me. Mind you, I am all for a bit of marketing every now and then. For companies. For brands. But not for people. Not for thoughts. So: no format. I have had it with formats. I'm fed up with them. Radio formats, tv formats. Here, anything goes. Yes, I want it all. Even though I know for a fact that is totally impossible. Still: I want to blog without being a blogger. I want to enjoy sports without giving up the enjoyment of a cigarette every now and then. No pigeonholes. I like to think I am not simply defined by what I do. Yep: we're back at the psychotherapy thing I talked about earlier. Could I have been right all along?

Comments

[Andrea Weckerle]

Thanks for your refreshing honesty. Many of the blogs I read these days are merely marketing tools that lack a personal touch. How ironic that I so thoroughly enjoy the writings of someone who left the profession I fought to join after years' worth of detours.

[Sam Smith]

I like the way you've entered the ring with a Pater-like attitude and a desire to want to experience it all without being tied down or categorised as a consequence.

"Not the fruit of experience, but experience itself, is the end . . . To burn always with this hard, gem-like flame, to maintain this ecstasy is success in life."

Of course, Pater was villified for this but now we recognise his true genius

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Pater)

[Sam Smith]

A little experiment. By just registering www.529content.co.uk in Google's free registration option and then using some meta data but by linking through comments on blogs (see how I sneaked that shameless one in above) and other kind folk such as yourself linking I've managed to hit the number one spot. Try searching google for either '529 content' or 'Sam Smith copywriting' and see what you get.

This blogging lark really works

[Serge Cornelus]

Hi Sam, were you just trying to tell me I'm a genius too? In that case: thanks, but no thanks - you've totally misread me ;-). In the other case: I totally agree with Pater. Or like an old Chinese proverb says: the pleasure is in the journey, not in the destination. Something I also try to instill in my students, especially in the creative writing class. Enjoy the act of writing, even if it's just drivel (at least at the beginning). After all, "… there is no such thing as writer's block for writers whose standards are low enough"(some American writer is supposed to have said that, but I don't remember who - suggestions welcome; sounds like something Mark Twain could have said, but it could just as well be someone else). Also, wasn't Pater the chap whose own personality always remained somewhat of an enigma (yes, I have been looking some stuff up)? Apparently, closer examination of the characters he wrote about seem to suggest that they comprise his ideal self. I quote Victorian Web: "They are vibrant masks behind which he crouches, most aptly defined in his own words as 'the illusive, inscrutable, mistakable self'." Now how is that for a definition of the blogging part of our personality? Btw: I'll have a look at your experiment in the days to come and I'll get back to you.

[Serge Cornelus]

Andrea, thank yóu for your kind words. And yes, I do like to get away from the somewhat pre-formatted type of text which advertising copy is, however creative it may be. Mind you: that doesn't mean I do not enjoy it anymore from time to time, or that I look down on copywriters or advertising people like some seem to do. Jacques Séguéla's words often still remain true: "Don't tell my mom I'm in advertising; she thinks I'm a pianist in a brothel." Anyway, I hope you have found your destination in what you do. I think I have found mine in lecturing and helping young people to find their way in their future professional lives. And if it's any comfort: it took me quite a number of detours to get here as well. So thanks again and welcome back any time. Mind you: I do not make any promises with regards to what you may be reading here ;-). In the meantime, I'll check out your blog as well every now and then. And talking of your blog: I do not think reading mine should be considered dangerous... :-D

[Philip Young]

Why blog? A few weeks ago you were just a former copywriter, now you are officially (http://www.natterjackpr.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/75) the world's favourite Belgian!

(Unless, of course, Tintin, starts blogging).