Freedom is Blogging in Your Underwear

I saw the title of Hugh MacLeod‘s latest book and knew I had to buy it immediately. If you’re not familiar with his work, Hugh MacLeod is a cartoonist whose work can be found at gapingvoid.com.

The 128-page book is a manifesto for bloggers, not a “how-to” guide. It also features a generous amount of Hugh’s artwork. According to the author:

This is a book about freedom. Specifically the personal freedom I discovered from the wonderful world of blogging, the freedom I hope everybody will eventually discover for themselves. The freedom that, I believe, will permanently and irrevocably change the world for the better.

Without blogging, without the internet, Hugh MacLeod would most likely be sitting on a bar stool in New York City drawing cartoons on the back of business cards after a long day at a traditional job. But blogging gave him a voice, one that couldn’t be silenced by the gatekeepers of traditional media. And for Hugh, it has led to a non-traditional yet successful career.

I started blogging using free Google Blogger on October 27, 2007. My initial goals were modest. I started a blog after reading article suggesting it was a great resume/CV booster. Over time, I learned that I could use my blog as a public Evernote – a space where I could record bits of information that I would want to read again on the next consulting project. I figured if the content was useful for me, it might be useful for others.

On January 28, 2008, after just three months of blogging, I received my first comment – the first visible indication that I had readers. Then just two days later, Josh Fletcher posted a comment – from Australia. I knew that Google was indexing my blog but didn’t know that somebody half way around the world would find it.

Times have changed in the nearly five years since I started blogging. I now pay a web hosting company to host WordPress, not Google Blogger. Looking at Google Analytics is a thrilling but very humbling experience. And Hugh MacLeod is right. Blogging is freedom. And as a traveling consultant, it frequently happens in a hotel room in my underwear. (If it makes you feel better, I’m typing this in a Marriott Courtyard bar fully clothed).

Over time I discovered my own voice. And the need to write, to express myself, even when Google Analytics told me that nobody read what I thought was a brilliant masterpiece.

So for me, this book was mostly confirmation of what I already knew. But for you, it could be an epiphany.

Resources

• Follow Hugh MacLeod on Twitter
• Purchase Freedom is Blogging in Your Underwear (hardcover) on Amazon.com
• Purchase Freedom is Blogging in Your Underwear (Kindle edition) on Amazon.com

Disclosure of Material Connection: I purchased this book with my own funds. It was not a free review copy. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”