I don’t know about you but I can’t stomach reading another 209,328,982 posts about how to make sure your resolutions come true, how you spent New Year’s Eve or 329,832 ways to supercharge your blog for 2013.
That is low hanging fruit that anyone can write and I am not interested in being just anyone, but we’ll save that discussion for later.
Casablanca Made Me A Blogger Part One
Casablanca made me a blogger but probably not in the sense you are thinking it did. I didn’t watch the movie and then become inspired to sit down and blog about what I saw or felt.
Nor did it make me want to become a movie or entertainment blogger, but that has more to do with when I saw the movie than anything else.
That is because the first time I remember watching it was around 1987 or so. If you ask my daughter about the ’80s she’ll tell you that we used hieroglyphics and smoke signals to communicate.
She’ll also tell you that we dressed funny and that she never would have worn funny clothes because she has a “passion for fashion,” but I digress.
Early Blogging Experiences
When I first started blogging a million years ago it wasn’t viewed as a way to earn money, book deals or a job. It was just a place to write and that is all I cared about. I wasn’t interested in comments or trying to build relationships with other people.
I was shocked when I found out that people were reading my posts, let alone leaving comments. Part of me was flattered and part of me was irritated because I didn’t want to take time away from writing to respond to what they wrote.
One day I noticed that some of the bloggers who I would visit were consistently receiving tons of comments on their posts and I began to wonder about how they were doing it.
I was even more surprised to realize that my ego was bruised because I wasn’t receiving the same sort of response to my work. It was only made worse because some of the bloggers who were “more popular” were hacks in my opinion who could barely string a sentence together.
It wasn’t enough to push me into looking at what they were doing or to change my approach. I was still too busy writing to worry about what others were doing.
How Casablanca Changed My Perspective
The change came about because of a conversation I had with several people about our favorite movies. When I said Casablanca is my favorite movie someone rolled their eyes and asked me to explain how a “stupid, old black and white” film could possibly be interesting or entertaining.
I told them about how Casablanca had great writing and was about people. I told them it was the kind of story that was timeless and that you could watch it 100 years from now and people would still relate to it.
This discussion also happened to take place during a time when I was trying to decide if I was interested in trying to build a blog that would be more than a place to just write and that is when it happened.
That is when something clicked inside and I realized that Casablanca is about people and that blogging is about people too.
It is not the most profound of insightful thing to say, but social media is about people and if you want to grow your blog or any social media platform you have to take people into account.
People Power Social Media
People power social media. We are the engine that moves the machine and the reason it exists. The most basic question we need to ask is are using our social media platforms in a way that people can relate to.
That is it.
Can people relate to what you are saying/sharing?
The net result is that if they can’t they won’t stick around and you won’t see any growth or movement. Of course this leads into a dozen other conversations about whether your content provides value, what you need to do to see that it does, how to share it etc.
Got to tell you that I am really glad Twitter wasn’t around when they made Casablanca. It would have wrecked the whole movie if they had Rick tweeting about letters of transit or Instagram photos of Rick and Ilsa together.
I would estimate I’ve watched it around 75 times. I kept track until I passed 50, but then stopped counting. That being said, I don’t think I watched it once in 2012. Hmmm…I need to get on that.
Hi Brian,
Do you have a favorite scene?
I.love.Casablanca. And I love your comparison to how it’s about people (it always has, and always will be), and how you can watch it 100 times and never be bored by it. I strive to write things that people will want to come back for more, and not be bored. It’s tempting sometimes to create a post based on the “209,328,982” concept…we know what draws people in, as you call it the low-hanging fruit. Far braver, more challenging but rewarding to strive for the higher ground. Cheers! Kaarina P.S. Your final lines made me LOL
Hi Kaarina,
I often wonder how many people have a created a plan or road map for their blog. There is some utility in mixing in some of the low hanging fruit posts because they can be useful tools for driving traffic.
The thing is that once you grab those eyeballs you need to find a way to retain and convince them to act.
I suspect many bloggers don’t know how to do any of this which is part of why we have so many of these posts.
That higher ground is far more challenging. I enjoy trying to climb up that mountain, even though sometimes I find myself falling down ass over elbow. 😉
Hi Josh
I haven’t seen that movie, won’t be able to comment on that part. I am not that experienced as well. But I know very well what your posts meant to me and I get inspired by that.
I can surely ask you one question how did you derive those magical figures in your 1st and 3rd line, though this is out of context?
~Sapna
Hi Sapna,
It is a wonderful movie and I highly recommend seeing it. As for the numbers, well those are intentional exaggerations that I used to make a point.