Whose Advice Should You Follow?
Every day I visit my favorite blogs via my RSS reader to see what’s going on in the blogosphere. I enjoy reading other blogs with my morning coffee to gain insight and perhaps get a few good tips. Many times as I read blogs by the so-called "experts" in the fields, I come across advice I don’t necessarily agree with. Now, I’m not saying these people don’t know what they’re talking about, just that I don’t always agree.
So what do I do? Do I follow their advice or go with what works for me? Are the experts really experts just because they have popular blogs? Do you take the word of another blogger (Yours Truly included) as Gospel?
I do read the "Gurus" because I don’t believe they got to where they are today for no reason. I’m learning that just because someone has a heavily trafficked blog, it doesn’t make him or her the end all or be all of knowledge in that niche.
Before following anyone’s advice ask yourself:
- Why is this good advice?
- Is this the direction I want to go?
I receive between 50 and 150 emails a day from people asking my advice on getting started or recommendations for pay. I’m really uncomfortable giving advice regarding pay rates and a couple of other areas. I share what works for me, but what if someone takes my advice and it doesn’t work?
Whose advice should you follow? First and foremost, follow your own. Go with your gut and do what feels right. If someone has an idea or solution that might work for you, by all means give it a consideration. It’s ok not to agree with the Gurus. Always use your own judgement.
How much weight do you put on other bloggers’ advice? Do you follow a particular blogger’s tips even if you don’t necessarily agree?
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Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 at 2:31 am under
I really agree that it is difficult to ensure that the advice we receive on blogs is advice we should take. I find that I have the same problem, although I really have received some great information from the blogosphere. I am new to blogging, but I make a conscience effort to make sure what I tell people is accurate and true. Some of the things I tell people in my blog are purely from my own experience and some is from education I have received. Some of what I tell people is also just sage advice, or even stuff they already know but have just forgotten. I truly appreciate those “how-to” blogs and actually find myself seeking them out and comparing them and taking the best away. I love the medium and the opportunity that it gives me to do what I love - write. Have a great day.
February 13th, 2008 at 3:17 am[…] read a great post today on Deb Ng’s Freelance Writing Jobs blog called Whose Advice Should You Follow? I thought her post really speaks to women in business. Deb […]
February 13th, 2008 at 3:34 amI agree. The important thing is that people make informed decisions. Reading what “experts” have to say is just one step towards gathering the information needed to make a decision. That’s the road I take when giving advice and the one I take when accepting it.
Sometimes a portion of what someone says can benefit the situation while other portions may not. It is important for people to sort out what can be applied to their situation and what may or may not work for them.
February 13th, 2008 at 5:22 amBloggers, please don’t take this personally…
While I’ll agree with some opinions of some “experts,” you have to look at the experts’ credentials. Since Blogging is easy to start, anyone can put themselves as an expert. But one has to be able to back that up somehow.
This isn’t only true of bloggers. There are books by “experts” of questionable backgrounds…Ken Trudeau comes to mind…
Additionally, an expert opinion may not be the right advice for everyone. I’ve offered some thoughts in different threads on various topics — based on 30 years as a writer — but know that some here will find any suggestions I offer are not right for their individual situations. Similarly, advice offered by others may not be right for me…but the more opinions, advice, etc., offered, the more likely that one is to find some helpful tidbits.
February 13th, 2008 at 6:00 amGood question. As one of those bloggers putting out authority information on my blog (and probably one of those blogs you don’t always agree with), I find myself thinking hard over how I want to answer.
In the beginning, I took almost everything literally. If a site looked good and read well, it was gospel. It must be so. Certainly, everyone must be saying the same thing.
And as time went on, I became informed. Blogs weren’t saying the same thing. This one pushed, that one pulled. I took training in various fields of online entrepreneurism and learned even more different views. It all conflicted.
And it still does. The A-listers speak and the masses say, “Ooooh…” The B-listers repeat what they A-listers say or they contradict the views completely, and the masses sway. The C-listers…
Well, hell. Once you recognize a C-lister, I wouldn’t recommend hanging around that blog for long. And if you do, have good reason.
But all this took time, experience, observation and learning. Thankfully, that’s paying off, and I can try to give the A-listers a run for their money. (As are you, Deb.)
I don’t follow the masses, though. As Naomi from Itty Biz kindly pointed out, I’m usually the one playing peacemaker when the sh** hits the fan and the one stirring up conflict when everyone’s agreeing like sheep in a meadow. I draw on my own experience and past to decide what is right or wrong and I use that knowledge I hold to push information forth.
I try to educate, yes, but mostly I strive to inspire and help people see there are different ways to do things. And that there is no one right way.
Even mine
February 13th, 2008 at 6:39 am@ Phil - Yes. Look at credentials. However… Often, the Gen Yers have more smarts about the online world than the Baby Boomers. Everyone offers something worthy to the world. It’s important to not look at a long list of credentials and degrees as being valid proof of someone having expert advice to offer. The kid who steeped himself in technology may be the better expert of the two, sometimes.
February 13th, 2008 at 6:43 amI look at bloggers’ insight just as I look at exchanges I may have in a coffee shop or a bookstore. I consider their advice, determine whether it sounds legit, whether it agrees with what my gut tells me, and then I do a little additional research.
If I flat-out disagree, I may or may not post my perspective. It depends on my mood and how much time I have.
I rarely look at credentials (though I will say they sometimes impress me). Just because someone doesn’t have 20 years with a professional title, it doesn’t mean they know less that someone who does.
February 13th, 2008 at 8:50 amMy take on this is along the lines of what I learned in another life (retail).
Look at your competitors (or your role models) and take what works. Steal it. Make it your own.
Look at what *doesn’t* work, and ignore it. Discard it, make it go away.
But then comes the next step - reflection. Just because it worked for someone else there is no guarantee it will work for you. Don’t give up on a new idea too quickly, give it a shot to work. But don’t fall so in love with the idea that you can’t drop it.
In poker, players often “fall in love” with big hands, like pocket aces. The problem is that these hands look great to start, but can be crushed when the wrong cards come up. But they like the look of those hands so much that they hang on to them, even when they know they are likely beaten.
And so it is with much of the advice we get. We need to be able to reevaluate advice we have taken, and see if it still holds up after the fact. If not, we need to try something else.
Most times, it’s not that the advice was bad, it just didn’t work in our situation. Learn why, adapt, and move on.
February 13th, 2008 at 10:14 amI agree you have to follow your gut and do what’s right for you. Phil and James, excellent points about the credentials. As James says, though, you have to go further than the list of degrees, and still determine if what you hear is right for you.
I firmly believe in learning from others, but if we all always took expert advice as gospel, there’d be no new advice to give.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:30 pm“One size fits all” is a myth, especially when it comes to advice. You always need to be your own advocate even when it comes to advice from credentialed experts like doctors, lawyers, financial planners etc. That’s why the second opinion was invented.
I applaud you Deb for not putting yourself out there as an expert, and dispensing advice on subjects just so you can promote your blog.
February 13th, 2008 at 5:37 pmThis reminds me of a book I reviewed a year ago. I had a good giggle while reviewing it. The book was a personable guide to becoming pregnant and the symptoms you will feel. Nice book, but it was written by a man. Now I realize there are many male ob/gyns, I had one during my second pregnancy. My issue with the book was that he would say, “I know this month is hard. I know how you are feeling.” For every month, he’d go through how a woman feels during that month and it led right up to giving birth.
Nothing personal against the men here, but a man has NO idea what childbirth feels like. The day a man becomes pregnant and gives birth, well sign me up for front row seats, and then I’ll trust in his advice.
February 13th, 2008 at 6:35 pm4 kids x no painkillers = DITTO ANN G’s Comment!!
Great example, Ann
February 13th, 2008 at 6:54 pmThis is a good post, Deb. Often times, one of the ways to find the better blogs is to look for people who are modest rather than bragging.
Often, if I come across information that I don’t necessarily agree with, I still try to glean any valuable ideas or methods that might be applicable to my situation. Just because the whole of what someone does is not for me does not mean that parts of the method aren’t useful.
Then, I take those bits and make my own, unique whole out of them.
This has worked well for my fiction writing, but I’ve yet to really break into freelance, so your mileage may vary.
February 13th, 2008 at 7:00 pmAn earlier commenter said it well, basically, ‘take what you like and leave the rest.’ That’s what I do. It has to resonate with me. I love the learning process, and I love hearing other’s ideas and opinions, but when it comes down to it, it has to work for me. Great topic, thanks!
February 13th, 2008 at 7:30 pmI like Deb’s blog because she is intelligent and giving. I think she bends over backwards to help people and I appreciate that. I get a feeling for who someone is and then go from there. Strong women unite! tjwriter, I’m with you. Braggarts turn me off and I’m a gleaner. Ann G, if men could give birth ____? Maybe the world would be a better place.
February 13th, 2008 at 8:17 pmI think when it comes to blogging, you just have to go with what is right for your blog. I love blogging, but I don’t do it freelance, so I don’t need all the “how to make a profit” advice or other advice that will turn my blog into the “go to” blog. I do it for fun. So I follow some basic simple advice that helps make my blog the type of blog I want it to be, not neccessarily what the “experts” think it should be.
February 13th, 2008 at 8:55 pmJames,
I fully agree degrees aren’t everything. My late uncle, who had an MD but worked as a cop, once said to me “BS is *** MS is more of the same and PhD is piled higher and deeper.”
My degree is in radio and TV, but I was always involved in writing at school, too. It was that involvement that got me my first job, and the degree certainly didn’t make me a journalism expert. A degree is only one type of creditial. As a writer who does a lot with business, I’m more impressed with “experience credentials,” like success in running a business…Harvey Mackay, author of How to Swim with the Sharks without Being Eaten Alive and Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty is a good example of someone I consider to be an expert — not because of his degree (I don’t know whether he has one or not) or authorship of books, but because of the success of his company.
February 13th, 2008 at 9:42 pmI tend to read blogs not for the expert advice but to learn of other peoples’ experiences. I agree with Phil. What works for one person may not work for another. But you can always learn something new, and I think it is good to keep your mind open.
February 13th, 2008 at 10:09 pmI listen to what bloggers I admire have to say, then tailor their advice tofit my own style. What works for one person might not work for me.
Like James posted, when Ibegan, boy did I think everyone else was much more informed than me! They probaby are…but I know what works on my end.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:47 amI think the best idea is to think through things in a critical manner and do what you believe is best for your situation. Often there is more than one way to do things correctly.
February 14th, 2008 at 8:14 amA process of trial and error may also be helpful for people to learn what is best for them …
February 14th, 2008 at 8:15 am