There’s a certain arrogance that comes with blogging. The very nature of publishing a blog to the entire world carries with it the implied belief that anyone actually cares what you have to say. But at the same time – as a blogger, I often find myself questioning certain topics. I have this nagging doubt that I don’t know enough to share what I do know.
For example – with folks out there like Scott Kelby and iffles, why would I ever dare to share what I know about Photoshop or image editing? There are tons of other bloggers who are FAR more expert on those topics. And why attempt to create content about SharePoint when we have Joel Oleson? It’s fear of inadequacy that has prevented me from posting anything on those topics in this blog.
However, when you look at it that way, nobody should be blogging. There’s always someone else who knows more than you do. There’s always someone else who is more of an expert. There’s no one person who knows it all on any given subject.
I’m entitled to my knowledge. Somewhere, there’s a reader who can learn from me on any topic that I have experience with. As bloggers, we have to remind ourselves that it’s not about having ALL the answers – it’s about having some of the answers.
How do you walk the fine line between fear of subject inadequacy and arrogance? When you are creating blog posts, how do you determine if a subject area is one in which you feel comfortable sharing your knowledge? How do you know when you are expert enough to teach it to someone else?
To quote Doniree, from the Gchat that was the catalyst for this post, “As long as i convey that I’m open to learn more, then I think I’m ok because then it sounds like ‘Yes, I DO know something, but not everything… so let’s just all get on board with that’.”
I’m honestly curious to hear what you, my readers, have to say on this subject. Please let me know in the comments either a) how you’ve addressed this as a blogger, or b) as a blog reader, what is your expectation of the blogs that you read?