You laughed! I know you did! :)
Yesterday, as I was driving to Via Roma which is my usual Friday night hangout with friends, I was just thinking about the different aspects of blogging, and it really hit me that it's actually a lot like Karaoke. Of course in most cases, this is without the music and a mic, unless you are podcasting or vodcasting.
There's a lot that you have to overcome in karaoke, just as you do in blogging. You have to be able to take the criticism with the applause. You need to realize and know what works and what doesn't (honestly, I really just can't do rap!), and there's likely a few other thousand minute things that can compare blogging with karaoke. So maybe I'm just a little odd, but hey - I like to have fun and I figured it could be fun comparing my two passions - if anything this could give you a little weekend humor.
It Takes Practice... American Idol Doesn't Come To You
It's rare that even with the words on the screen, do you get a song right the first time you sing it. You could hit a certain part of the song off key, hold a note too long or mess up the words. Overnight sensations in Karaoke really don't happen (regardless if Kenny Chesney sings about it or not). American Idol doesn't sit in karaoke bars, so it's ok to be "off" on somethings, until you get it right. The same is with blogging.
It's rare that you have a overnight success in blogging, or that a post hits digg within the first few minutes of posting. Both karaoke and blogging take practice. With karaoke, when you finally know a song well because you've practiced a few times, your confidence builds and your voice can just shine through. The same goes for blogging, when you start getting comments, when people start submitting your posts to stumble upon or reddit or sphinn, you know your practice has helped. It's true you know, practice makes perfect!
Cheer Others On!
There's one rule with my friends Terri & Glen, who run the karaoke where I go, have and that's you cheer others on. Now, that may sound a little forced, but honestly it's not. It also helps a heck of a lot to build up some confidence. There are those who are first time singers, or maybe they are veterans who've just had a bad day and those few rounds of applause can ease the nervousness or pick up their day.
The same is true in blogging. Sending a link to a blogger who you thought had a great post. Leaving a comment because their post touched you in some way. Subscribing to their feed. Sending and email or a tweet and saying "hey what you wrote, really rocked!" are all tiny ways of cheering others on.
These are simple things that can go a long way to encourage others or pick up their day. It can boost the confidence of a new blogger or it can re-ignite the passion of someone who's wondering "why the heck am I doing this?". Cheer someone on, it can also put a smile on your own face.
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