Memes and Gotta Get Goals!
May 5, 2007 by Lillie
Matt at The Article Writer has declared Death To The Meme Movement! and Liz at Successful Blog asks What Do You Call a Meme that Isn’t a Meme?
I see a lot of blog memes – where one blogger tags others to answer questions or take some other action and tag other bloggers … and so on and so on and so on. The first few times I was tagged, I responded to every one. I even started one on Life Balance and got a lot of great perspectives from other posts I read.
Lately, I have participated in some and avoided others. I decide whether to participate or not based on whether the meme helps to meet my goals for this blog.
Listing my 15 favorite stars or checking off the titles of books I’ve read, while fun and interesting, doesn’t meet my blogging goals.
And that leads to the meme Mig at eWritings tagged me for several days ago – the Gotta Get Goals meme started by Alex Shalman – which does fit the goals of this blog.
I’ll begin with my goals for my blog:
- Introduce my readers to books and authors, especially my clients and their books.
- Give practical writing advice and help to “non-writers” who have to write for their jobs and daily lives – whether this means directing them to resources that can improve their writing, sharing tips I’ve found helpful, or guiding them in finding professional help.
- Inspire, motivate, and educate other writers through my experiences as a freelance writer and editor.
- Provide information about publishing, especially self-publishing, small press, and electronic publishing.
- Distribute information and resources that I find interesting, inspiring, and useful.
- Share my faith, values, and causes important to me.
- Bring a little joy, sunshine, and happiness into my readers’ lives, at least once in a while.
Goals in My Freelance Writing Business:
- Provide such outstanding quality and service that my clients won’t even think about hiring another writer or editor.
- Help my clients produce work (books, business documents, whatever) that sounds like them – only better.
- Be selective about the projects I accept so I can focus on every one – and still have time to sleep and eat!
- Earn an income that allows me to live comfortably without financial stress.
Personal and Other Goals:
- Take frequent breaks and get out of the office to spend time with my husband throughout the day.
- Get enough rest. I’m compulsive and so focused that I find it hard to quit working, and when I get over-tired, I have neurological problems.
- Spend Sunday as a day of rest, for both physical and spiritual reasons.
- Post all the great articles ready to be uploaded at Your Information Center and promote the site to earn money for the writers and editors as well as the company through affiliate links and advertising.
- Continue to do volunteer work for my church and for the EPIC New Voices writing competition.
- Publish Dream or Destiny, a romantic mystery I wrote several years ago.
My Overarching Goal Above All Other Goals:
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22: 37-39, NIV)
Since I don’t know whether a specific meme will meet the goals of specific bloggers, I’m not going to tag individuals. But I’d love to learn about the goals of anyone willing to participate. Consider yourself tagged!
[tags]Gotta Get Goals, meme, goals[/tags]
Ah, my favorite kind of meme: voluntary and productive!
I agree, if something doesn’t coincide with my blogging, then I don’t pay it much attention. God gives us a certain measure of time and I want to use that time wisely — it certainly slips through our fingers like sand.
You’re so right about time slipping through our fingers like sand. It’s easy to get bogged down in things that don’t really matter.
Great addition to the content on the web! Thank you for finding a way to do that in the context of the meme format.
I read your article twice because I so enjoyed it — both the reading and the learning. Please keep doing what you’re doing.
I like the goals listed. I think there is a huge need for training in successful writing. No matter what industry you’re in, you can’t get away from it. I am in the financial service industry but still find myself writing every other day. Now that I have my own blog I’m doing it even more. Any tips you would have for me would be great! Thanks.
Lillie, I am so glad you answered the tag! You are wonderful! And your answers so wise.
About the memes…. I kind of like them. And like you, I also don’t participate in those I don’t agree with. But they are really fun and some do make you think. Like this meme, like your balance meme (I love that one!) like “the last blog” meme if you still remember it…
I hope Matt will not kill them.
He he!
Liz,
Thank you for commenting and for your kind words. I’m a fan of yours, so hearing this from you means a lot.
Lowell,
Thanks! If there are specific kinds of writing tips you would like or questions you have, please let me know. I want to focus on what is most helpful to my readers.
Mig, I agree that memes shouldn’t be killed.:-)
Some, like this one, make me think and give me great insights from others who participate. The life balance meme, thanks to your suggestion to make it a meme, has generated many great posts and introduced me to new blogs.
I don’t have anything against the fun ones – like you, I enjoy them – but if they don’t fit my goals, I can’t spend the time on them.
i have found that posting goals on the site has actually helped generate a little more traffic, people are expecting from you so they will come back. if you have any other good tips to generate more traffic let me know.
Cameron,
That’s interesting to hear that posting goals helps traffic.
I’m certainly not an expert on traffic, but I have noticed that I get traffic from MyBlogLog and from commenting on other blogs. But I only comment when I have something to say, not to get traffic.
Lillie,
Those are some wonderful goals – writing, professional, and personal! I especially love your “goals above all others.” We should all strive for those!
Mig also tagged me for this one, but I’ve had so much going on in my personal life this week that I haven’t attempted it yet. Hopefully I will get to it some time this week.
Anyway, great job!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Lisa
Lisa,
Thanks. I look forward to reading your goals when you respond.
After reading about the bomb scare at your kids’ school, I certainly understand that you haven’t posted! Glad everything turned out OK.
Lillie – I was tagged for this by Mihaela as well. Like you, I posted on this one as it fitted with my blogging goals.
I really enjoy being tagged, as memes make me stop and reflect, but I agree there is a danger that too many, or off topic memes, can make a blog go wildly off target.
You’ve listed some great well thought out goals here. Great stuff!
All the best
Yvonne
It’s flattering to be tagged, and one does like to oblige where possible… but oh, when I find myself up until 3:00 a.m. on a workday, just to try to get a meme response done!!
This line of yours — “I decide whether to participate or not based on whether the meme helps to meet my goals for this blog.” — I’m going to have to get that tattooed on my forehead!
Yvonne,
I enjoyed reading your goals. Congratulations on making PR3!
Jen,
It’s hard to say no, not just to memes but to many other things. I have to ask myself constantly if what I’m doing – or agreeing to do – is a wise use of my time and a fit with my goals. Too often … the answer is no.
Good luck with all your goals. I’m almost proud to say that I haven’t participated in a single Meme yet. I like your approach to them though, it’s a sensible one. I hope people wont get too much against the whole Meme movement because it’s fun to have dialoges between blogs and bloggers.
Church of Integrity,
I agree that memes are enjoyable and a great way to get conversations going. Even the ones I don’t participate in are fun – but if I took part in every one, I’d never get any work done. But I never want to offend anyone or hurt their feelings by not participating.
That’s quite a few goals you have there. From what I know about setting goals you can’t just state what you want. You have to put a time element on it. Otherwise how will you know if you reached your goal? Looking at your goals, they are very large goals. May I suggest that you think about reducing them to smaller goals with a deadline? Nice blog, thanks for your efforts.
Thanks for the advice.
You make an excellent point about time. I have a post at the end of last year about SMART goals that emphasizes time frames on goals.
However, for this meme, I understood the purpose was to list our most important goals, not necessarily the details of how and when we intended to reach them.
I appreciate your comment.
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