Blog watching… a passion?
I’ll be honest, I do read a lot, and I do mean A LOT of blogs…
Not all blogs that I do end up reading are technical ones, some are personal ones where people will talk about things that they do, their emotions and so on. Or some just write about getting a new haircut or something. Freedom of speech, a blog is your voice in the online world. I would hate myself the day I start blogging not because I want to, but rather because of other reasons.
I think blogging should be something you do because it will benefit firstly, yourself, and then secondly others. Why?
Well, if you don’t show you are passionate about what you are blogging about, it would probably turn your readers away anyway, right? I think so.
It is the same with everything else you do in your life, without passion, you can’t do your job well. To do your job well, you must be passionate about what you are doing.
Those who aren’t passionate about what they are doing aren’t going to be very happy doing what they are doing, hence won’t give 110%.
You see a Footballer on the field giving his all. If he doesn’t give his all, he won’t be able to achieve the very best he can.
A footballer is an athlete, first and foremost, there after he is a teamplayer, and as a teamplayer, you expect your team mates to be giving their all, just as you are.
For a team to be successful, all players must be giving their all on the field. Off the field, they also have to be actively passionate for their club whilst being in the spotlight.
Ok, now you’ve probably thought i’ve gone off a tangent, and for my non-football following friends, just substitute football for other sports…
A footballer strives for success and is passionate about getting the best out of themselves. A footballer can be as good as he can be, but without the help of his team mates, he can not share in the ultimate glory of winning the Grand Finals and holding aloft the Premiership Cup.
Now lets apply all that to say your team that you’re working in. Do you want to do the best that you can? do you want to get the ultimate result for your team? Are you going to help your team mates out when they are stuck?
A teamplayer, be it sport, or be it work needs to be passionate about what they are doing.
If you are passionate about something, you try to be the best you can about that something.
I’m passionate about new technologies, I am a passionate blog reader. I am passionate about helping others with what I do know in ways I know how to. I may well have less experience than others, but that
I’ve been asked by some individuals why is it that I actively reply to topics posted on the aus-dotnet mailing list? My answer? Normally, I don’t really go into it too much, just saying that if I know something, I’m more than willing to share with others that knowledge that I keep in store in my mind. I am passionate about many of the topics on the mailing list, I have learnt a lot from just being on it and reading it.
It is a great resource. No, let me rephrase that, it is a great community! I can see that there are many individuals on that list that are very passionate about what they are doing.
I see individuals such as Dr Neil posting away using his tablet, and posting lengthy replies to topics that he is passionate about. It is very clear that he is passionate about gadgets. You can say he is very much a gadgets man. Dr Neil actively shares his thoughts on various topics, which I think is just great.
If you are passionate about something, then do something about it, spread the word, others will pick up on your passion. A passionate individual will not find it difficult to influence others to be just as passionate about the particular topic at hand.
Dr Neil’s passion in regards to XP methodologies was clearly evident in the thread in regards to Bug Tracking software. I attended Dr Neil’s session not too long ago on Mobile devices at the Microsoft Offices in Melbourne.
Bill Gates? I think Bill Gates is passionate. He is passionate about the technologies coming out of Microsoft. He is passionate (from what I’ve read) about the future of technology, as well as helping out those poorer nations, such as the African nations. Do you think he would be able to do what he has been able to do without ideas and passion? Passion is often a driving force towards an ultimate goal.
There are plenty of passionate individuals that come to mind. One such individual is Frank Arrigo, he is very passionate about the community which looks up to him. He is also a very passionate football supporters as evident in his blog posts. I’ve never met Frank in person, but from his blog, his involvement in the aus-dotnet community, responding to many questions that are asked, and speaking with others who know him, you can easily tell that he is a passionate individual, who is trying his very best to get the most out of himself to benefit the Australian Developer Community. There is many others, but to list them and what they are passionate about would make for a very long entry.
The key to being in a great community or team is the passion and willingness by individuals within that community/team to help out other individuals within that community/team.
I strongly urge any reader who doesn’t have a blog setup as of yet, to sign up for one, and share your passion! Share your passion for what you do, share your passion for your favourite team.
I’m sure there are others who are equally as passionate as you are. These others who are also as passionate as you are, are the ones who will read your passionate posts. They will come back because they know that you won’t lead them down the wrong path.
If you go over to channel9.msdn.com and watch some of those videos, you will get to listen to some very passionate individuals talking about topics which are very close to their hearts.
Passion comes from the heart. If it didn’t, then it isn’t genuine passion.
It is like love, when you have love for someone, does it not come from the heart? That is why in the chines character for love (well, in Traditional Chinese Writing anyway, not the simplified version though) contains the Chinese character for heart. (i’ve included the images below…).
