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Loading ...Guy Kawasaki’s Impossible Burden: After Blog and E-mail, There’s No Time to Write the Book
February 22nd, 2007 | Posted in Blogging, Recommended Podcasts |
Brian Oberkirch has interviewed some really cool people over in Silicon Valley. In this podcast from Oberkirch, Guy Kawasaki reveals some thought-provoking dilemmas about his blog habits. Guy is a big name in tech — former evangelist for Apple, now a venture capitalist. During the first 20 minutes they talk about startups, why some succeed and others fail (basically no one knows), they cover Guy’s previous books (The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, Selling the Dream), and then the subject turns to blogging.
Guy started his blog about a year ago, at the pressure of his friends, and has been diligently posting every since. To date, he says, he has written 281 posts. He spends about 2-3 hours a day writing his posts. To write a serious post, it takes about 5-6 hours.
Guy knows he should be working on his next book, but between e-mail and blogging he can’t find time to write it. If he could eliminate blogging and email from his life, he could surely get it done, he says. But after posting to his blog, answering his e-mail, spending time with his family and playing hockey, it’s 11 p.m. and he’s too tired to write.
He even hired a virtual assistant to help him, but he’s convinced his problem is a lack of discipline.
At this point the interviewer makes a penetrating, insightful suggestion: why don’t you write your book in your blog? Little posts each day, over a long period of time, will form the basis of your book.
Guy absorbs the idea as if it’s a mind-blowing revelation, but eventually dismisses it because while it would take 5-6 hours to write a serious blog post, it would take much more time to write a book chapter. He doesn’t entertain the idea that perhaps a week’s worth of posts can comprise one book chapter.
Guy also says that if he can make hundreds of thousands of dollars from his blog, he would never write a book again. Clearly the published book has financial value beyond the blog. But the blog is just so darn rewarding, he can’t give it up. The blog is essential to marketing your book, and withdrawing from email is unfathomable. Hence the dilemma.
Despite the apparent obvious solution (writing multiple posts that eventually comprise a book chapter), I think that, given more time, Guy might have articulated other reasons for preferring the blog to the book. The rewards of blogging are immediate. You write a post one evening, and by morning you’ve already got several comments. If you’re as cool as Guy, who is in the top 100 Technorati blogs, you receive dozens of comments each day for each post. Guy calculates that at most his blog receives 37,000 visits a day.
In fact, I just just checked, and his daily pages views total surprass 7,000. This does not include the hundreds of people who read his content via feedreaders.
Here’s why I think blogging is so alluring (at least more so than writing for print publications): Blog posts tend to be “tangential,” an adjective the interviewer users. They address a variety of topics, and the form serves our shorter attention spans. In contrast, to write a book is to lock yourself into one topic for months, to write mostly in solace, to spend time researching endlessly in the library (or elsewhere). When you consider the social, collaborative, ever-changing Internet landscape, in which your blog is a portal that connects you to everyone else, it’s not hard to see why one might prefer the blog to the book.
Blogging is opening up a new phenomenon. While it isn’t replacing the library, more people are writing regularly on their blogs. Guy refers to daily blog posting as daily nutrition, or like working out. I may have sneered a little at Guy’s comments, but the podcast interview is fascinating, and indicative of deeper social trends. I find myself enjoying online media more and more over print. I get more enjoyment out of blog posts than journal articles. I like feeling connected. It’s also a bit of a thrill to think that my post might even be read by the interviewer, Brian Oberkirch, or by the interviewee, Guy Kawasaki. Blogging is interactive on a whole new level that print can never be.
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February 24th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Well, the obvious question or thought, is that he doesn’t have to do anything to earn income - he must already have that sorted to spend so much time just writing. I wish! But I do agree, email and blogging can take up a fair bit of time and you do need to be diligent with your time. And a Virtual Assistant is an excellent idea - if you have work you can delegate. Thanks for the post - interesting reading.
February 24th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Kathie, are you the virtual assistant Guy was referring to? If so, I’m interested to hear more about what you do. How do you help people manage their time, virtually?
I find that I could be doing more profitable activities, but instead I prefer to blog. Actually, hearing Guy say he could probably make 25-30K from his blog inspired me to start integrating Google ads in my posts. If I only made 1/10 of that, I would really enjoy that income stream.
In my summary, I didn’t mention that some of Guy’s motivation to blog stems from his desire to promote the products he invests in. So there is a business purpose, although he admits that despite his diligent blogging, he hasn’t seen any turnaround stories or marketing breakthroughs from his efforts. I did sign up for Spinvox, though (he either mentioned Spinvox or Callwave — can’t remember, but I tried both now).
February 24th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
No, I’m not the VA he mentioned, but I have been operating as one for nearly 13 years. If you go to my blog (linked to my name) you’ll actually see blog post categories, some of which explain how someone can use a VA (Advice For Clients Seeking To Use A VA). We manage almost anything that a PA can do in a corporate office, except we do it virtually. And we’re as close to you as your computer.
I have one client who has been with me nearly 11 years and we are in daily contact with each other, via email. I manage her database, her email responses, her broadcast emails, product sales, convert her teleconference transcripts into ebooks, website maintenance and so much more. Another client, recently retired, I looked after for 10 years - he didn’t own a computer and faxed or phoned through his needs to me on a regular basis. Many other clients have been with me for several years and I manage a team of VAs (over 200) doing exactly what I do in many countries around the world. So, hopefully this gives you a small glimpse of what can be achieved. Thanks for asking.
February 24th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
What a cool job. I didn’t know so much could be done virtually. Thanks for elaborating.
February 24th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
[...] never thought blogging could be very profitable, but after listening to a podcast with Guy Kawasaki, who says he could make 25-30K a year blogging, and after reading John Chow’s blog, which [...]
February 24th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
You’re welcome - one last thing from me - it’s the ideal role for someone who has good office based skills and wants to work at home - a very real, genuine work at home role earning a decent income and using existing skills. I love it and it’s allowed me to be home to watch my 5 daughters grow up into young women.
Thanks for your post above re Guy - it was the reference to virtual assistants that got my attention but also the reference to writing - I spend a lot of my ’spare’ time blogging and writing a book.
February 24th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
[...] came across a blog entry today regarding Guy Kawasaki and the fact he had hired a virtual assistant but struggled with [...]
February 25th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
I’m confused by the comment that Guy hired a VA and is struggling. Why are you struggling? Are your VA’s skills matched up to your needs? Or are you just too busy to give any direction to your VA? To be fair, VAs are more than your “right hand” - they are the lifeblood to your business. VAs specialize in various areas and maybe you should think about working with several VAs so that you are not struggling with anything in your business except your writing. VAs take care of all the details in your business so you can continue doing what you do best - in this case, writing! I specialize in marketing tasks so that my clients can continue to do what they do best - sales and management of their business and their marketing continues seamlessly behind-the-scenes.
February 25th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Excellent point, Carol. There’s a vast difference between secretarial services and Virtual Assistance.
Virtual Assistants work in ongoing collaborative partnership with clients, not only taking on specific administrative roles for the business owner, but also helping to instill strong administrative foundations in the client’s business, whereas secretarial services are involved in task-oriented, project work (like a print shop).
My own website pages explain the concept of Virtual Assistance (true Virtual Assistance) and how it helps independent professionals and experts like Guy in great detail at http://www.TheRelief.com
For business owners who want to connect with qualified Virtual Assistant professionals, my organization, The Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce, offers a wealth of information, tools and resources you can access here: http://www.VirtualAssistantNetworking.com
Danielle Keister
February 25th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Seems Tom really started something with this post, didn’t he? I agree, perhaps Guy was looking upon the VA he engaged more as secretarial support, rather than a business partner who can help him with all administrative aspects of his business. I hope Guy sees these posts too and realise that there are a number of us who could meet his needs and help him.
February 25th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Tom, on the subject of your post, I really identify with your feelings on blogging–I made a commitment this year to amp up my blogging and it’s been very productive and benefited lots of other agendas I have going on.
I agree with the interviewer as well that Guy should be leveraging his blogging to help him write his books. If he takes a second look at that idea, I think he might be more open-minded about it and decide to find a way to make that work.
I’m loving blogging. It helps formalize and hone ideas that can then be used and expanded upon for a book. It’s great writing exercise. And blogging is an exceptional marketing tool because it helps establish rapport and is part of the process of nurturing prospective relationships.
February 26th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Gritty Virtual Assistant and other VAs,
Thanks for your comments. Before I listened to the Guy interview podcast, I had never even heard of virtual assistants. Then within a couple of days I’m hearing from all kinds of virtual assistants. Blogging is certainly a cool collaborative tool.
I should add one more detail about the podcast. Guy said that even though his virtual assistant frees up several more hours of his day, he just spends those extra hours blogging. There is an addiction with blogging (and particularly with WordPress) that takes over the minute you start blogging daily.
I think instead of writing a book through a blog, Guy and other writer-bloggers might explore book forms that more resemble blogs. In other words, go with the flow. WordPress has plugins that allow you to pull together posts into one long string, but I think readers enjoy clicking around. A blog with a well-defined theme is like a book without the linear progression.
Thanks again for all your comments.
February 26th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
[...] Usage, Strunk and White on The Elements of Style, the Chicago Manual of Style. In a Brian Oberkirch interview with Guy Kawasaki, Guy explains he wishes he could write a classic and names the last two (Elements of Style and the [...]
March 29th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
[...] - http://www.stcwestcoast.ca/index.php/site/contractor_profiles_fu…22 - http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2007/02/22/guy-kawasakis-imposs…11 - http://www.blogger.com11 - [...]
May 1st, 2007 at 2:34 pm
There are many ways to speed up the process of moving from idea to written word. Mind mapping is one. But the larger question is about finding one’s true style as a writer.
Improving the process of one’s writing is a lifelong art — developing the basket of techniques that allow one to achieve one’s writing goals. I’m not taking about “discipline,” which is a structure imposed on a messy process from without, but about the ongoing development of the craft of writing.
But the discipline of sitting down to write — yes, that is non-negotiable. Blogging can be avoidance of harder tasks.
Also, sometimes when there is no book coming, there are no ideas deserving of becoming a book! The way to smoke that out is to just sit down and work at it.
May 6th, 2007 at 4:49 am
[...] I’d Rather Be Writing » Guy Kawasaki’s Impossible Burden: After Blog and E-mail, T… Pingback on Feb 22nd, 2007 “[...] Oberkirch has interviewed some really cool people over in [...]
September 5th, 2007 at 4:21 am
I love it and it’s allowed me to be home to watch my 5 daughters grow up into young women.
October 20th, 2007 at 5:20 am
It can be said without anydoubt taht the concept of globalization has changed our lives. It’s greatly affect the way we used to live a life before. Letters have been replaced by e-mail and communication has become steady then it used to be before.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:22 am
[...] sure he’s saying this tongue-in-cheek, because in a previous interview with Brian Oberkirch, he said he wanted to spend his time with only three things: his family, hockey, and his blog. Plus [...]
December 31st, 2007 at 1:46 am
[...] wrote about the topic of blogging and writing a book earlier with this post, Guy Kawasaki’s Impossible Burden: After Blog and E-mail, There’s No Time to Write the Book. For Kawasaki, the blog is a distraction to writing a [...]
January 4th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
[...] with nothing to do." I’m sure he’s saying this tongue-in-cheek, because in a previous interview with Brian Oberkirch, he said he wanted to spend his time with only three things: his family, hockey, and his blog. Plus [...]
January 7th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
s not as if you can just string together the blog posts into a book, unless you’re writing them as mini-essays that magically link together.) I wrote about the topic of blogging and writing a book earlier with this post,Guy Kawasaki’s Impossible Burden: After Blog and E-mail, There’s No Time to Write the Book. For Kawasaki, the blog is a distraction to writing a book. But the blog can be a tool you use any way you please. You can use it to write your book, post by post. You can use it to distract yourself from writing the book. You can use it to gather
May 19th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Assuming either the Left Wing or the Right Wing gained control of the country, it would probably fly around in circles.