10 Reasons Why Every Young Professional Should Have a Blog

Thanks for your your reply Rosetta!

I think the decision to jump into blogging openly depends on the culture of your chosen field and that young professionals should be aware of the culture of their profession before they jump into blogging as a career move.

Some professions appreciate blogging – like media, politics, and certain parts of the social justice field. For those interested in communications, social media, and journalism, blogging is very appropriate. But for other fields, like international development, blogging can be viewed negatively.

From the advice I’ve received, blogs do have the potential to brand, but not always positively. This caution against blogging is similar to the apprehension over Facebook that was/is widespread among higher education professionals and career development specialists – the idea being that you have to be careful what you post to your facebook account b/c the wrong person could see it and make a judgement call on you that sticks to you. No one wants that.

This whole blogging conversation is kind of timely actually – several weeks ago, I was all inspired by these fabulous blogs I’ve been reading by women of color and other young professionals to build my professional brand and learn about web design & social media strategy.

Then I ran these aspirations by an international development professional whose blog is pretty well known in the blogosphere and they shared their experience with the sector's reactions to blogging – which kind of dampered my spirits.

I learned that their blog has counted against rather than helped them professionally (they keep it up b/c they really like it), that blogging is viewed as unprofessional in the development sector b/c of it’s "tell-all" nature, and that blogging and branding don't carry much weight in the eyes of people who hire in that sector.

So in other words that field has yet to innovate or "get with it" in regards to social media and decision makers in international development don't necessarily look to the social media space to assess and find talent. My guess is that they probably don’t see the importance of it.

I think I’ve found a compromise though –I've decided I can still learn about social media but maintain the freedom to be myself by separating my professional int'l development aspirations from my personal interests. I am also interested in social media and communications so having a personal blog is appropriate for that field. I’ll blog anonymously on the issues that matter most to me – so I can say whatever I want, without worrying about how it might affect my futre job prospects.

Sad to hear that you let one person dampen your spirits about blogging. I mean, everyone's experience is gonna be different. Three years ago, if I had asked any of my colleagues whether I should start a blog, they might have told me the same thing. So it's not always the best idea to ask anyone's permission or seek anyone's blessing. They may very well be projecting their fears onto you. Me? I just did it and it worked out.

Also, a blog doesn't have to be a "tell-all" type of blog - in fact most of them are not. It sounds to me like you might be missing out on a great opportunity to be somewhat "first" in your field to blaze the blogging trail!

Thanks for the post. I believe that blogging using your real name can have serious security issues. This may sound retro, but the more information you put about yourself out on the internet, the easier it would be for someone to find you. Many cases of kidnappings do exist. In Mexico, for example, where I have lived for years, people have used names, photos, and information about a person's daily routine, found on facebook and blogs, to intercept the person in their home city and hold them for ransom (or worse). They don't even need your address. Just knowing where you work and what you look like is more than enough. This kind of stuff does happen.

I think before we put information about ourselves out there, we should think, is this something I want everyone in the world to know about me? Do I want everyone on the internet to have access to this information? Whether its travel plans, personal life, information about the car you drive, or photos, it's important to think about safety.
It is also the responsibility of any blogger to protect the information of their friends and family and ask permission before putting them on the blog.

I really admire the leadership of bloggers like you who put themselves out there, and I love the messages in your posts. But let's not ignore the potential risks when encouraging people to start blogging. We should not be scared of such a great tool, but rather learn how to use it responsibly. Safety first!!

I think your concerns are valid, but in reality there are very few cases (overall) of people being physically harmed because of what they put out there about themselves on the Internet. I mean, there are over 200 million blogs out there and growing. Facebook has 500 million users. So the safety issue is not something people should really worry about too much at this point. If people want to find you, there are so many other methods of information that's already in the public domain that they can use...even if you don't have a blog.

Like this post - but like the other readers, I have reservations about starting a blog under my own name - I'm thinking of trying to break into int'l development and I've been told by a professional in the IDEV field that blogs are still viewed as scandalous online journals in that sector and that employers don't want employees who blog.

I've decided to blog under an alias b/c I would never want the fact that I overshared about something that happened to me, or I expressed a political opinion on my blog to stand between me and a job. I'm not sure if I'll keep a more pc blog under my real name or not.

Thanks for commenting on this. I think what you have to figure out for yourself is whether you want to sacrifice the enormous value that your voice could have on the international development field versus the perceived fear of talking yourself out of a job. Another thing to consider is that if you're gonna blog under an alias, it doesn't really benefit you professionally at all since no one knows who you are.

I know you've addressed this in the past, but writing something down, especially when it involves opinions, emotions and conjecture can be very risky, and frankly, can get in the way of a lot of the things you posted about above. When I blog, it's usually with a pseudonym so that I can say what I need to without worrying about it getting back to my employers, future employers, or donors. It's not that what I say is offensive, just that sometimes it's hard to know where that line is between a strong opinion (which I express in person) and just being offensive. That, and via Bob Sutton, I try and hold strong opinions weakly, learning to speak as if I was right and listen as if I were wrong. Totally possible to do on a blog--but if someone important reads only what I say, never posts, or doesn't read other posts where it's clear I held that view weakly well ...
That's probably where I have the biggest problem with the concept of a "personal brand:" where is the line between self censuring and being honest (but not always popular)? I don't want my personal brand to be of an arrogant, informed and opinionated jerk, but my writing style often comes off that way, even when I'm not trying to do that. So, to create a brand that highlights the positives, means that I probably won't touch certain subjects (fine) or won't express the full extent of my questions and thoughts. Which means a reader won't get the best of me or a fully engaged experience. Would love to hear your thoughts, again, Rosetta!

That's actually a concern that I hear from a lot of people. I think the reason why people love reading blogs so much is because you get to hear from real people who have real voices and real flaws just like their readers. Blogs are not supposed to be objective news sources, and that gives us a lot of freedom to what we can say! In my opinion, if you're censoring yourself than you're not being true to yourself or your readers about how you feel about a certain topic.

To your point about how you might come off though, I would be upfront with that concern with my readers. If I think my words/tone might be misconstrued, I state my position at the beginning just for clarification. That said, your version of the truth is not always going to be popular, and I'm not sure you'd always want it to be. A personal brand is NOT about hiding the "negatives" but about putting yourself out there for other people to connect with...or not. What I've found is that of course there are some people who will never be able to connect with me because of things that I've said or views that I hold. But - there are hundreds of others who will. I write for the latter, and not the former.

P.S. I never trust anonymous bloggers. I feel like people lack accountability when they don't sign their name to stuff. This is why we have so many mean trolls in the blogosphere. Wonder what other people think about blogging under a pseudonym, though?

"A personal brand is NOT about hiding the "negatives" but about putting yourself out there for other people to connect with...or not."

My fear on writing openly about issues and events I care about: some topics are simply volatile and open discourse is not always accepted. While the following case (a CNN editor being fired over a tweet: http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/07/cnn-fires-veteran-middle-east-editor-over-tweet/?intcid=postnav ) involved someone with a very public profile and form of employment, I fear that an post on a controversial issue will haunt me in the future. As someone who cares deeply about social justice and human rights in economic development, my views are not held by the mainstream architects of planning and development, and while I want to work in that field, I don't want to hurt my chances preemptively. I'm still trying to figure out a way to create a personally branded blog that wont be used against me, or that wont group me into a certain political camp in the future.

Otherwise, thanks for this post--the reasons to blog are truly insightful!

Though the CNN situation is a rare occurrence, I agree that writing about controversial issues can be a risk for anyone in the social justice space...but only if you view it that way. I view blogging as an opportunity for me to use my voice to provide a different view of the way the "mainstream" thinks about leadership. This is a role that I play deliberately and see as a part of my personal mission statement. One way to look at your perceived "risk" with blogging is that it could actually connect you with those in the development field that feel the same way you do, therefore your views wouldn't be "held against you" but instead be an asset for future employment with those who "get it."

Also, there are diplomatic ways of expressing yourself so that even if you do hold a particular political view that some may not agree with, at least they will respect you for standing up for what you believe in. And you know what I believe? I believe that what the world needs now are the kind of people who will stand up.

Great post...These are all very good reasons to blog!