![Photo courtesy of Foxtongue [Flickr]](http://www.thepracticalnerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/24720422_1453032576.jpg "Photo courtesy of Foxtongue [Flickr]")
Boy, do I hear this stuff a lot.
I’ve got friends and family who will ask about The Practical Nerd, and then they’ll spout off some reason why they don’t follow it and apologize to me. First, it’s not like I get offended for every person that doesn’t read what I have to say. My words aren’t for everybody (though, in most cases, they should be reading this stuff!). But as a blogger, you tend to thicken your skin towards that stuff. But the Cooler People of the world have an excuse for not reading a few blogs, and they think they need an excuse for everything. Just think of some of the long, drawn-out explanations you might hear for the following topics:
- Why I Don’t Have Money
- Why I’m Fat
- Why I’m Grumpy
- Why We Broke Up
- Why I Bought That
And the list goes on. Today, however, I want to go with the three reasons I hear most often for people who tell me they don’t follow The Practical Nerd, or blogs in general. Consider it my rebuttal to the Cooler People of the world.
“Blogs are just written by a bunch of losers who live in their parents’ basements.”
Hey, back off! It’s only for nine months!
Yes, I have recently moved back in with my parents to save some dough before I get married and be a grown-up forever. But I want to list just a few types of people who have very successful blogs: brilliant marketers, people who have successfully morphed their lives into dream lives, sports commentators and pundits, best-selling authors, people who lost weight without having high-priced personal trainers scream in their ears while millions of people watch, and personal finance experts. These are not people who live in their parents’ basements. These are people who have changed lives and are darn good at what they do. They have valuable life experience and they share it with you. This leads to…
“Blogs are just a bunch of useless information. I don’t want to spend my time reading some loser’s rant about [insert topic here].”
Bloggers do rant, there’s no doubt about that. But here are a few blogs I follow that have some ridiculously useful information:
- Christian Personal Finance – A blog by Bob, who is a proud Christian and a smart money man. He has useful tips and motivational advice for people of all faiths looking to improve their wallets.
- Budgets Are Sexy – Another great personal finance blog, J shares his personal stories on his quest for financial improvement. There’s a lot of great community interaction here as well!
- Lifehacker – It’s nerdy, but it rocks. Lifehacker is chock-full of tips on productivity, software, computer tricks, and everything in between, like building cool stuff for your home in a weekend and saving money on liquor. If you can wade through the nerdy stuff that you’re not interested in, I guarantee you will still find useful information several times a week.
- Location Independent Professionals – If you’re looking to take control of your life, LIP has stories and advice from people who have done it and can work wherever they choose. These are not “get-rich-quick” scams. These are people building businesses apart from their full-time office jobs. I also happen to be a writer there, too!
- The Art of Manliness – Easily one of my favorite blogs, AoM celebrates true manliness, which involves living with honor and respect, and not about how many chicks you can bang and how much cool stuff you own (it’s the opposite plot of Jersey Shore).
- The Art of Non-Conformity – Chris Guillebeau is my inspiration for starting The Practical Nerd. His blog deals with work, life, and travel, and great practical tips to get more out of all of them.
That’s just the tiniest footprint of all the blogs out there. Sure, some are full of idiots who just want to complain about [insert topic here]. Some are celebrity rumor blogs like that piece of crap Perez Hilton. But some are honest, interesting people who are trying to teach and help. Those are the people I follow.
In addition, there are plenty that give you a good laugh after a long day, like 11 Points, Awkward Family Photos, Calvin and Hobbes (the best comic strip of all-time, every day).
“I don’t have time to follow a bunch of blogs. I have a life.”
This one is easily the most common one I get, and usually the word “life” is emphasized as a way to make me feel like some kind of loser.
Do you ever read a magazine? How about the newspaper? Ever watch anything on TV? Then you have time. It’s that simple.
What is the best use for your time? Is it watching another crappy fake “reality” show? These are shows with people who add nothing to society other than generally wanting a bunch of attention so that they can justify their giant contracts and sponsorships by playing to your emotions with overproduced crap. Why not experience the true reality of people’s lives and actually learn from and enjoy their experiences without corporate involvement? That’s what a blog does. The blog is the ultimate reality show. There are podcasts, video podcasts, and plain ol’ blogs that all exist for people to bare their lives. There are some captivating stories out there that would put the “I’m a single father with three kids and instead of getting a job I traveled all the way here to sing for you” stories to absolute shame. Put down the remote and belly-up to the monitor for a few minutes.
Newspapers and magazines are going by way of the dodo. Think you’re going to miss much? Most magazines have their articles on their websites, and most can be subscribed to. Same with newspapers. You can get your daily dose of news just about anywhere, and you can tailor it to just be news you’re interested in.
Then use an RSS subscriber like Google Reader to pull them in. Instead of searching through each individual website, it will highlight all the new content, pull it to the front, and you can move through it, skipping articles you don’t want to read and highlighting the ones you do. The other reason I use Google Reader is because it’s web-based, so I can access it on my work breaks or on my phone’s web browser, which is great for waiting rooms and other times where you just need to kill a little time. Plus you don’t have to carry around anything extra – you already have your phone! And finding that article from the past you were just thinking about is as easy and entering a few terms into the search box. All your sites are saved and past content can be searched in seconds.
The truth is, many blogs are written by respected, well-rounded people with inspirational and practical advice for you that can be read any time. You have the time. Start following a few blogs and see how your life will change for the better as a result. Or not. Then you can go back to sitting on the couch and watching Jersey Shore instead. I’m not here to judge.
Tom is an entrepreneur and freelance writer, working out of his apartment full-time, or wherever he feels like taking his laptop. He doesn't take long European vacations or blogs on the beach. He's an Average Joe that took control of his life. He wants you to do the same.
