The presentation by Merlin Man and John Gruber was called 149 Surprising Ways to Turbocharge Your Blog With Credibility. In reality it was a discussion about authenticity and how you blog. It brought into focus what I've been thinking about for the last couple of months and made me realise what I have been trying to deny for a while now. That is that blogging is probably the most difficult thing I have ever done.

I'm used to being successful, but blogging hurts

I've had a blessed life. By blessed I mean we worked like crap to provide a great product, have awesome experiences and try like hell to add value to other people's lives and help them be successful. We've worked hard to make our "good luck", and with my blog I'd like to think I'm doing the same. I'd be the first to admit that I'm not a brilliant writer, but I do share what's deep inside and allow myself to be vulnerable so people know I'm being real in the hope that they might also benefit from my experience. The reward so far has been an analytics graph that makes my heart sink. I swear visiting analytics is like a crack habit. You go from a high of seeing a post get 10k+ page views one day to the low of watching the graph dwindle over the next week because you haven't found time for another post, or because the next story doesn't get as much traction. LOL it's like going from Rooster to Feather Duster.

It scares the shit out of me as I am used to seeing the whites of people's eyes

What I find hardest, is that I can't see how people react. I know from analytics that people do read what I write, but I don't know who those people are and, when they finish, I still haven't made the site focused or sticky enough and most don't come back. Face to face, I can see you laugh or cry, and when you walk away I can call you back, even tackle you to the ground. Online though, that's not an option, and I struggle with the fact that you are anonymous and I haven't got you to subscribe or participate through comments yet.

Being a leader means finding your voice, but what about being humble?

Seth talks about developing a Tribe, being a leader, and the fact that the world needs leaders. I work with a group of people who are leaders. They develop Lovemarks and care passionately about the clients they work for and the treasures they create. But we were taught to be humble, to be soft spoken, even self deprecating. We were taught that it's not our role to toot our own trumpet, but in a world where companies treble their story and consumers halve what they believe, does that work anymore? We think so ... but we will need to lead our tribe, not merely participate in a community. The old rule needs refining. I am their leader, or a least one of our leaders, but have struggled to find my voice. I believe however that what the industry will see over the next few months and the coming year, is that we are finding our voice and are passionate about the industry we work in. We are passionate about working with the best photographers in the world to tell stories together, to document the coming together of families and to help people remember forever.

So, what is my priority ... what do I love?

My realisation is that my passion is human connection, love, community and people interacting with people. Even the technology I love and use is all about enabling connecting. My community is not the 1000 odd families that live with me here in my suburb of Laingholm, but the global village I have been a part of now for over 20 years. I love and admire photographers, their craft and the challenge they face weekly as story tellers as they capture the beauty of each family, individual and wedding. I love the business, both mine and helping them with theirs. I love the brides and grooms who value what we do, those that care enough about their own story to have it captured by an artist like Brett and then have that story told in a Queensberry for 'their future' to enjoy and treasure.

And I love blogging too

Maybe it's the crack high, maybe it's the challenge, maybe it's some narcissistic need to make it work, but I love blogging too. It's really about the connection, it's about talking with people, it's about's getting outside of yourself. I love it ... so much it hurts :-)