Making New Friends

I know that I’m NOT the life of the party.  My fun at a party or in any social setting is more from observation than interaction.  However; it’s time for me to learn how to become more sociable, especially as I grow Alie James LLC.  So I’m willing to make a small compromise.  I’ve decided to make some new friends by blogging.  However, I think it’ll only work if I write about things that mean something to me.  The reason I think this way is because of my two favorite shows:  American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.

One thing I’ve learned from watching IDOL and DANCE is understanding “it”.  One thing “it” isn’t is trying to be everything to everyone just for the votes.  Those who try that are eventually eliminated.  Those that stay on the shows, and eventually win are folks that are:

 Skillful

Likeable

Resonating

Authentic

So how does that apply to my blog???  (Oh but first let me say that the reason I’m trying to compare these shows to my Blog is to prove that the only way to “win votes” is to write about things that matter to me, not by writing about topics just to pull in an audience.)

Skill:  Well, I have the writing skill - I’ve been writing all my life.  In fact, in High School, I used to say I loved writing research papers.  I was a nerd before nerds were identified and named.  Bottom line:  I’m passionate about writing and researching things.

Likeability:  I can’t say that I’d win your votes right up front in the real world because I’m not that outgoing or talkative, but after you got to know me, I’m sure you’d find that I’m a very nice and kind person.  But this is where Authenticity comes in. I like who I am - a lot.  I’m a loyal friend and a great listener.  So, there are definitely a few folks who “like” me (and would vote for me)  - but they’re the ones who don’t care if I talk a lot or not.  But don’t you see?  That’s exactly who wins on Idol - those that stay true to themselves.

Resonance:  This is the key to “market share”.  It’s all mixed in with Likeability & Authenticity, of course, but this is the win or don’t win ingredient.  If you’re delivering a song/ a blog/ a painting /a speech … it has to have a message that relates to people, that’s called resonance.  And if enough folks relate to the message, then you get lots of votes.  Whether I resonate or not in the Web 2.0/Cyberworld/Virtual World is yet to be determined, but I’ll write about the things I like/love about my life or find interesting, and eventually, we’ll find out  if “America Votes me their next Idol” (i.e. reads my blog).     

… Let’s see … here’s some other words for “resonance”.  Electromagnetic vibrations …. frequencies … harmonics ….  that’s a start.  Yeah that’s me - my head’s elsewhere …