Bovine Comedy – Pride
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If you have not heard of Dante’s Bovine Comedy before, you’re in the nick of time. We are just starting with the first of seven acts. Please have a seat and turn off your phones.
A long long time ago (1300s), there was an offline pro blogger called Dante Alighieri. In 1308 there was no TV, no radio and no Internet. Dante was famous for one of his blogs, The Divine Comedy, in which he covers a lot of stuff that inspire us bloggers today, especially his series on the 7 terraces of Purgatory. To make it a bit easier for the younger readers amongst us, you’ve probably seen the hit movie se7en with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Spacey. The 7 sins were the main theme of the film.
Act1. Pride.
Dante had the proud souls on the first terrace of Purgatory carry heavy stones on their backs, making it impossible for them to stand up straight. This way they were forced to look down and learn from that which was underneath them.
It’s ok to be proud of your achievements but be careful not to turn this into arrogance. Don’t ever forget that the only reason you’ve got a blog to be proud of, is because your readers. Without them you’re lost. Respect them. Don’t stray yourself by ignoring their questions that might sound silly to you or small favors they’re looking for. It’s only fair you give back what you have received. Then you can become proud of the fact that you’ve helped others on your path.
Don’t forget to give credit where credit is due. You’re not more important than the other guy’s blog. You might have more readers but that doesn’t make you more important. You’ve probably just been around longer and you’re talking about a subject that interests more people. Try to think back when you started blogging. You did not have all the answers and if you’re a good blogger, you’re still full of questions.
Never be too proud to ask for something! If you can’t find the answer to a problem you’re facing, don’t hesitate to either leave a comment in a certain blog post or even email the author. Just make sure you’ve researched your questions before you ask so you won’t get a “Check the first link on this Google result” reply. You waste someone’s time and lower your chances of ever getting another answer from him or her.
Don’t be afraid of failure. Pride can stand in your way when it comes to writing creative and good content;”What if they don’t like my article? What if they start criticizing it?”. Accept the fact that readers have a mind of their own and they will not always agree with you. Appreciate the fact that they give you the opportunity to learn and grow your blog from their comments. Just make sure you don’t start write only what your audience wants to read. You can’t become something you’re not. In the end you’ll get caught out and lose all credibility.
Pride has many different aspects. There’s nothing wrong for being proud of something for the right reasons. Look down from that high ranked blog of yours once in a while and try to notice what keeps it all together. It’s not your pride.
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A man is not an island. We all need each other in the great scheme of things, and sometimes you have to step outside of yourself to get a clearer picture, or to humble yourself. And because the web changes all the time, you will always have questions, you won’t ever know it all. Great article.
I love it when my readers email me, infact I wish they emailed me even more. I answer every email I get.
I love and respect my readers. And they love and respect me even more.
Joking aside, I really enjoyed this post! It has something serious about it and I really like that.
[...] Efron Link to Article brad pitt Bovine Comedy – Pride » Posted at Make Moooney Online with John Cow [...]
Great post, who knew cows were so clever
And the eighth deadly sin is…………PIZZA!
But seriously, the fun in blogging is interacting with your readers.
Now answer my e-mail darn it.
What eMail?
yeah i can be considering, to be one of those google question askers, but i think i am getting the hang of it now Thank JC
Looks like being a top common tater on this blog is getting tuff.
Wow, you blew past me on your Technorati ranking. You are doing something right.
It’s a wrap for this month Digital. August is looking good for you though! Personally, I can’t wait for August myself in terms of that list. I’m on your heels too as far as Technorati is concerned, but hey, you have hundreds of ‘fans’ so you’re doing something right yourself! How long have you been blogging? You plan on sticking with blogspot forever or will you get your own domain one day?
cooliojones, is the man lets be honest we may be head to head on comments but, his blog is quite ahead of mine!
Yeah, sorry about that DigitalNomad
[...] little while back we started with part one of seven articles related to Dante’s Divine Comedy and the seven terraces of Purgatory. (Holy Cow! What were we smoking!) Envy comes after Pride and [...]
And the eighth deadly sin is…………PIZZA!
But seriously, the fun in blogging is interacting with your readers.
Now answer my e-mail darn it.