Blogging is like…The Blues

“You play blues? That music is so sad.”

Blues legend Buddy Guy recalls the words of a couple who approached him in a hotel lobby while he was on tour. Guy gave the couple tickets to see that night’s show. After the set, the couple approached him again.

“You didn’t play one sad song,” they remarked with a mix of surprise and disappointment.

That’s the blues. The blues were born of the anguish and suffering of slaves and tenant farmers in the Deep South. Yet as a form of storytelling, the blues tell a story of hope and of faith.

Here’s why the best blogs are like the blues:

The best blogs tell a story.
The best bloggers embrace their own vulnerability.
The best blogs drip with emotion.
The best blogs are sincere, genuine, real.
The best bloggers let their instrument be a part of the story.
The best blogs aren’t a solo, but a conversation, like the conversation between a blues singer and his guitar.
The best blogs peel away the layers.
The best blogs touch on something universal.

Liz Strauss asks us, “Can you be brave and vulnerable?”

It’s hard to be brave without being vulnerable, I say. The best posts, like the best blues licks, expose us. They lay us bare — the writer and the reader. They cut through us and touch our pain. They show us that, because of our pain, we are not alone.

How is your blog singing the blues?

Up next: Blogging is like…jazz

http://my-creativeteam.com/blog Harry Hoover

Excellent points and post, Scott. Like the blues, the best blogs remind us that despite our differences the human condition is universal and we have more in common than we sometimes think.
http://riveting.rosie.reilman.com Rosie Reilman

Being brave and vulnerable–that reminds me of a movie quote that says, “It's not brave if you're not scared.”
http://www.convinceandconvert.com/convince-convert-digital-marketing-blog jasonbaer

Super fantastic analogy. One of the reasons corporations often have trouble blogging is that vulnerability isn't part of the corporate DNA.

Good stuff. Thanks for this post.
http://dannybrown.me Danny Brown

Excellent comparisons, Scott – I knew Lisa Hoffmann was kidding when she said she was all the brains at PRStore… ;-)

By showing our frailties, and accepting we're not perfect (is anyone?) we show our human side. And that's a more genuine and powerful connection that any faux emotion just to engage your readers.
http://my-creativeteam.com/blog Harry Hoover

Excellent points and post, Scott. Like the blues, the best blogs remind us that despite our differences the human condition is universal and we have more in common than we sometimes think.
http://riveting.rosie.reilman.com Rosie Reilman

Being brave and vulnerable–that reminds me of a movie quote that says, “It's not brave if you're not scared.”
http://blog.stroutmeister.com Aaron Strout

Good analogy Scott. I hadn't thought about it that way but you're right – blues and blogging are a way of story telling. Maybe that's why I like both so much! – Aaron
http://www.convinceandconvert.com jaybaer

Super fantastic analogy. One of the reasons corporations often have trouble blogging is that vulnerability isn't part of the corporate DNA.

Good stuff. Thanks for this post.
http://www.convinceandconvert.com jaybaer

Super fantastic analogy. One of the reasons corporations often have trouble blogging is that vulnerability isn't part of the corporate DNA.

Good stuff. Thanks for this post.
http://dannybrown.me Danny Brown

Excellent comparisons, Scott – I knew Lisa Hoffmann was kidding when she said she was all the brains at PRStore… ;-)

By showing our frailties, and accepting we're not perfect (is anyone?) we show our human side. And that's a more genuine and powerful connection that any faux emotion just to engage your readers.
http://dannybrown.me Danny Brown

Excellent comparisons, Scott – I knew Lisa Hoffmann was kidding when she said she was all the brains at PRStore… ;-)

By showing our frailties, and accepting we're not perfect (is anyone?) we show our human side. And that's a more genuine and powerful connection that any faux emotion just to engage your readers.
http://blog.stroutmeister.com Aaron Strout

Good analogy Scott. I hadn't thought about it that way but you're right – blues and blogging are a way of story telling. Maybe that's why I like both so much! – Aaron
http://blog.stroutmeister.com Aaron Strout

Good analogy Scott. I hadn't thought about it that way but you're right – blues and blogging are a way of story telling. Maybe that's why I like both so much! – Aaron
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