Blogging and Streaking: Godin, Wilson, and Kanigan

Blogging, happiness, humor, lessons learned, reading, writing 2 Minutes

Seth Godin notes that today is the 11th year in a row of daily posts to his blog. He estimates that this amounts to nearly 5,000,000 words since his first post twenty years ago, and he hasn’t missed a day since 2008. He writes: “Streaks require commitment at first, but then the commitment turns into a practice, and the practice into a habit. Habits are much easier to maintain than commitments. …Once a commitment is made to a streak, the question shifts from, ‘should I blog tomorrow,’ to, ‘what will tomorrow’s blog say?'”

Venture capitalist Fred Wilson commented on Seth’s post on his site, noting that he has his own 16-year blogging streak at AVC. Wilson also highlights two of his firm’s portfolio companies that take advantage of the power of streaks: Duolingo leverages streaks to encourage people to stick with language learning and Foursquare’s Swarm uses streaks to reward people for continuing to play that game.

A third person with an impressive blogging streak is David Kanigan, at Live & Learn. David has been blogging since 2011 and hasn’t missed a day in years. David has been a good role model and has provided useful tips to me over the past few years.

I wrote about these three bloggers last year, and it’s no surprise that their streaks have continued since that post (and no, the image above is not of Godin, Wilson, and Kanigan streaking during their younger years).

A few weeks ago I wrote about my blogging streak, which started on January 1, 2015, and is currently at 1,681 days.

So what have I learned from all that blogging?

I agree completely with Seth; when I first started I was always worried about coming up with something to write about. Now it is at the point where I know I will come up with something to write about (although some days that “something” takes a little bit longer to come to me).

I also agree with Fred that there is power in streaks; once you start one, you don’t want to stop.

The biggest problem with streaks is getting started on one.

But as the Chinese proverb reminds us, a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.

Or in this case, 1,000 days of blogging begins with a single word.

*image from lolwot

 

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Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

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21 thoughts on “Blogging and Streaking: Godin, Wilson, and Kanigan”

  1. A blogging habit is not a bad habit to make!

    True, it is easier to maintain a streak when it is already a habit… Though I can’t quite say if the same would apply if one is already in the habit of running naked… Hahaha… Probably it could?

    I agree, once the habit of blogging daily is set in, it becomes a question of what, instead of a question of when.

    Have a nice day, and keep up the good work!

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      1. Not at all! It’s a great example of discipline and making time for positive habits. Plus, blogging is becoming more respectable anymore, so your timing is awesome!

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  4. 🙂 I would like to state for the record, that Seth Godin is a genius.

    However, if you have ever visited his website, you would have noticed that his blog posts are ridiculously short.

    Seth Godin’s blog posts are not even as long as yours.

    I, on the other hand, publish long-form content on my blog (A person would become burnt out if they published long-form content on a daily basis).

    As always, thank you for another wonderful blog post.

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  6. “The biggest problem with streaks is getting started on one.” You can say that again. Or, 1,681 more times. I posted a couple times a week for about two years, and then stopped completely for 7. Years! I’m now easing back into it.Thanks for the inspiration and a photo that will now haunt my nightmares.

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  7. I love this, just when I thought I was blogging to much. I am still trying to find my flow in the blogging world. Some people post everyday others once a week. I’m still trying to find my groove. I appreciate the motivation This post has motivated me to keep going. Thanks Jim 🙂

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  8. The word streak reminds me of momentum – and I have not been to Godin’s site in a while – but I seem to recall that he does not engage with reader comments? I cannot recall but I think anyone who considers a daily posting streak should also consider engagement time and then visiting other blogs and sites. Or as other commenters noted, really long posts are different from a little quip – even if a wise gem or nugget an be found – there are so many different kind of posts. Of course you know all this – but just wanted to share a bit. thx

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      1. yes, and as I have talen breaks and eased back in a few times, I realized that my approach has changed a bit and also realized breaks are what I needed to keep me in it for the long haul. I have forced myself to take breaks and those were the best ones (do not necessarily wait until needed)
        anyhow, after I left your blog I looked up seth’s sites and had a nice rabbit trail –
        and it was so enriching – I wanted to thank you again for that – but also I thank DJ Clive a bit too – because your comment on his interview post led me to your blog again – I had visited many years ago – but coming back was just what I needed (and still exploring the “shipping” idea)

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