That is exactly the question that I’ve been asking myself the last few days since my friend Ward Pond asked me for a link to my blog—which didn’t exist.  When I searched the net for an answer, one of the first places at which I landed was at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s Center for Marketing Research which, in June 2006, published the report “Behind the Scenes in the Blogosphere”.  In this report, 74 successful bloggers were surveyed regarding their blogging.  I think it would be unfair to this rather extensive report for me to attempt to summarize it here, so I encourage you to click on the link at take a look at it for yourself.

On reading the report, however, it appears clear that, in blogging, I am engaging in a conversation with others (as opposed to, for example, publishing to my readers).  I need to be authentic, provide value to those who engage in conversation with me, and have some level of focus.

It is the latter requirement that poses the most challenge to me.  I think most people who know me would consider me to be a SQL Server/SQL specialist.  However, I wonder how much I can add to the SQL discussion with people such as Ward Pond, Bob Beauchemin, Roger Wolter, The SQL CLR Team, The SQL Server Engine Team, The SQL Programmability and API Development Team, The SQL Query Optimization Team, and Kimberly Tripp, to name a few, blogging.  Hendry Lee, the “Small Business Blogging Scout” brings some encouragement to me by saying that such “too much competition” defeatism is one of the Myths of blogging.