Meet the Bloggers Revisited: Can You Identify Who Said What?

Short Link: http://j.mp/buB6Xj

At this spring’s HIMSS conference in Atlanta I went to the Meet the Bloggers sessions March 1-3 (see below for their blogs and Twitter handles). The panelists were informative, funny, and sometimes profound (in a change-the-world sort of way). I recently reviewed my notes and circled the most interesting (to me) comments.

I’ve not attributed individual comments to specific bloggers. These are my scribbled paraphrases, not direct quotes, and I don’t wish to misquote or misattribute. However, taken as a whole they display an intriguing variety of motivations, observations, and insight.

For example, after listening to the Meet the Bloggers panelists, I gained insight into not just why they blog (and tweet), but also why I do. After reviewing this list, perhaps you will too.

From the HIMSS 2010 Meet the Bloggers panelists:

1. My blog is the oldest! 🙂
2. I initially posted to force myself to research the HIT industry; now I post to connect.
3. I started my blog 4 1/2 years ago, my posting became less frequent, then Obama implemented a stimulus bill for my blog.
4. I wanted to have my voice heard. I’m a contrarian and I think others are interested in contrarian viewpoints.
5. My blog used to drive my twitter traffic. Now my tweets drive my blog traffic.
6. Twitter is a powerful tool if you follow the right people.
7. How has your blog evolved? I’m busier so I write shorter posts.
8. I find myself frequently referring back to something I said on my blog years ago.
9. We publish each new post at 6PM on a Wednesday.
10. I’m running out of things to say!
11. Thoughtful posts take a lot of time!
12. The best writers are the best readers. I get my ideas from reading and I’m not worried about running out.
13. A post is a result. If you haven’t done the work, you don’t have something to say.
14. What about experimentation? I think a lot about being edgy
15. Tell a story!
16. I engage in what I call blog sparring, I write a disagreeing post and link it to the original.
17. I’m grouchy and opinionated in public on order to advertize my side business.
18. Print is dead.
19. Initially my blog generated date money.
20. I used to email a long answer to a complex question to one person and I realized that was very inefficient.
21. I have to moderate comments because, believe it or not, there are humans who go around posting comments about Levitra.
22. The intersection of technology, medicine, and the future can generate a lot of material for blog posts plus the opportunity to meet the most interesting people.
23. Bloggers have a mission.
24. Do bloggers need to be controversial? My most popular post was not controversial at all. It addressed a common problem.
25. Is blogging (and tweeting) a creative, artistic act? Blogging helps me develop the other side (the right side)  of my brain; I outline, add color and connections.
26. It’s a creative conversation; ideas coalesce; things fit together.
27. Content plus editing plus personality fills out a blog, builds trust.
28. When do you include personal details about yourself? When I can aid rational discussion with personal experience.
29. You can change things through what you write in your blog.
30. My blog is my personal brand.
31. My Twitter account is a memory device.
32. My blog is about getting different communities that should connect to do so.
33. Backlinks from blogs are becoming more powerful than from other sources.
34. Aggregating content is a creative process: what is most urgent this week?
35. I leave stuff out of my blog on purpose so my posts don’t turn into tomes and so others can post fill in the gaps through comments.
36. It takes at least 1000 visitors to get one comment.

I adapted the following list from here  (added a missing panelist and some Twitter accounts).[TABLE=8]

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