Carry on.

DJ Waldow
Director of Community, Blue Sky Factory
@djwaldow

You said so very articulately what has often been on my mind, but I've been hesitant to say because I didn't have the right words. Thank you for putting it eloquently.

The trick for me is that I WANT to be providing information and substance to people who need to learn, who DO have that knowledge gap. Because part of the role I see myself in is that of teacher and educator, so that's a great thing. In classes in school, I didn't always have something valuable to add to the discussion to move it forward because, well, I was learning. Absorbing. And I needed to process it before I could make it better or build on it.

Then there's the passive consumers of information – like I can be sometimes – that take something away, chew on it, and then go do something with it but we never tell you we did. So your post might spark an idea which leads to another idea which leads to a post of my own, or a new take on a presentation. But you'll never know it.

The part I think you and I are grasping for is how we use the same blog that teaches and helps one audience as a springboard to further, deeper discussion with the people we want to learn FROM. Making content the bridge between those two and doing it well enough to engage the attention of both audiences is a tricky thing indeed. Some of those conversations happen offline, when I meet an intellectual challenger over coffee somewhere later on. But there's value in the ecosystem of quiet and passive consumption, and we that want the intellectual stimulation have to continue to make the commitment to go out and FIND it, and not just hope that it comes to us.

I’ve always struggled with the need to explain to my audiences the importance to me as a content producer of the 2-way conversation, connection, conversation and interaction — without appearing to be needy or demanding.

After giving up on two much-loved blog/podcasts, i realize that I crave, above all else, Connection and genuine transformative interaction. I suppose that’s because its the aspect of blogging/podcasting we cannot control.

Thanks