You probably know right off what your strengths are. This knowledge probably helps you make a lot of decisions. On the other hand, knowing your weaknesses is a little harder to come to terms with.

Every year at work, when my annual evaluation comes around, I’m faced with this. The term for weaknesses is “areas of opportunity”, but let’s call it what it is. Everyone has weaknesses. That’s a fact. It’s not something to be ashamed of. You can’t be great at everything.

Defining what those weaknesses are can be tricky. Some people can quickly name off a few, like public speaking or selling, but it’s easy to get confused between what you don’t like to do, versus where you’re actually the weakest.

Ben at the Instigator Blog, suggest that once you figure out what they are, there are many ways to turn them into strenghs. But figuring out what they are is key.

If you work for someone else, one way to figure out what your professional weaknesses are, is to directly ask your boss. I’ll guarantee you, that he/she already has an opinion on the matter. More than likely he or she will be more than happy to share their thoughts on this with you. If you do this, I’d suggest deciding up front that you aren’t going to get upset, and that you’re going to be objective in the spirit of self-improvement. The whole purpose is to identify them and then try and improve on them.

Identifying both your strengths and weaknesses can help give direction in life, can make you much more effective in setting and reaching goals, and will make you a more well-rounded person.

I’ve seen this question floating around the blog-o-sphere for several months now. It’s what’s called a meme. One blogger writes a post that addresses a certain question or subject, then they pass it on to five others to do the same. Now it’s my turn as Shane over at Zoomstart has tagged me.

So, why do I blog?

This question has come up in my own mind occasionally. I think my reasons are ever-changing actually. Here are a few things that led up to me blogging…..

1. After flipping through Dave Taylor’s, Creating Cool Websites, I decided that I wanted to learn how to build a site from scratch. I immediately built myself a homepage (embarassing), and was instantly hooked on trying to create something on the computer…..that anyone could access. I think I was looking at someones Blogger site and decided that looked interesting, so I checked it out!
2. I set up a blog and linked it to my homepage. After I played with blogger for a while, I learned of WordPress.com, and liked it much better, except for the fact that you couldn’t edit the CSS.
3. After keeping my personal WordPress.com site going for a few months, with posts that no one would find interesting other than myself and maybe my immediate family, I decided to try and install WordPress on my own hosting plan.
4. After having a hard time figuring out what I was doing, I finally realized how all the pieces fit together, and realizing that others had the same problems………after spending some time on the WordPress forum. At this point I decided to write a tutorial, How To Install WordPress with 1 and 1 Hosting. This tutorial brought a lot of traffic to my site, so I guess I was hooked from there.

As far as the question, Why Do I Blog?, I would have to say it’s because I feel like I’m sharing with others while at the same time, benefiting from it myself. I’m using it to:

• be part of a large community
• pass along information that I think might be helpful to someone else
• try and develop better writing skills

Here’s who I’m gonna pass this on to, if they may be so interested:

• ClarkeW.
• Tony Moser
• Joe Baldelli
• Brian Baggett
• John Lampard

I’ve read in several different places recently, how many prospective employers may partially base their decision on hiring you – based on your blog. The blog is the new resume? That could be good or bad.

Apparently, some prospective employers go as far as to “google” your name and see what turns up. I’m sure that would be bad news for a lot of folks. On the other hand, it could be a very positive thing. Just think, your blog could be like an ongoing resume, keeping up with your accomplishments in real time. Adam Darowski says:

Blogging is the perfect way for a candidate to give an employer a more detailed sales pitch—to show they can “talk the talk” (as opposed to just fill a resume with buzzwords). I can’t think of a reason for any serious tech professional to not have a blog. Not only does it serve as an excellent notebook for storing ideas and links, but it can come in handy in a job hunt where what interviewers really want to just know what, professionally (and somewhat personally), engages you on a day to day basis.

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, corporate recruiters have been doing this for quite a while. The article goes on to suggest that recruiters not only focus on industry related content, but they also check the candidates’ blogs about “noncareer-related topics for evidence of writing skills and clues to how rounded they are”.

It makes sense to me……. and it’s only been a matter of time in our high-tech society. If you needed a good reason to take your blog more serious, this could be it. If you were in the market for a job, could your web presence help you in the process, or would it come back and bite you?

It’s time for me to list some of my favorite sites I read on a regular basis. You’ll notice that they aren’t all one particular type of site. I like a variety of topics, and I think it’s time I share a few links.

1. North x East – North x East (pronounced North by East) is a blog focusing on business start-ups. Collis started this site about the same time that I re-started Antbag.com. I found North x East by following a link that led me to several excellent posts, such as 9 Ways To Make Your New Blog Seem More Established. I’ve been amazed at the rate at which this site has grown, as well as the quality of content day after day.
2. Freelance Switch – Collis from North x East started this blog less than two weeks ago, and already has 3000 subscribers! Freelance Switch is a Community & Resource for freelancers of all varieties – designers, writers programmers, illustrators, photographers, etc. He certainly had a great idea with this one.
3. Success from the Nest – This site is run by Tony D. Clark and offers “inspiration, tips, and advice for the home-based entrepreneur and those aspiring to be one”. Tony is also a very talented cartoon artist and makes some great illustrations. Tony and his site are first class all the way.
4. Life Coaches Blog – This site is about “Personal Development for a Greater Life”. I haven’t been reading this one long, but it has a ton of great content!
5. ChrisG.com – Chris Garrett writes about “blogging and new media”. His site grew very fast and covers a lot of interesting topics to those interested in blogging. One thing that really stands out is his free e-book, Killer Flagship Content, that I reviewed right here on Antbag.com not long ago.
6. SmartWealthyRich.com – This site is created by Jonathan C. Phillips, and, as the title suggest, focuses on becoming smarter and more wealthy. Jonathan has linked to this site several times, and has been a regular reader here as well. Thanks for the support! Anyway, he has a cool site that I enjoy visiting several times a week. Check it out!
7. Living Open Source – Living Open Source is a site that is run by Tim, a minister in the UK. He has several of his own themes and plug-ins that he’s created, and he writes a lot about how churches can use WordPress for their church website……….a subject that I find really interesting.
8. Lorelle On WordPress – I haven’t been looking at this one all that long, although it is very popular. This site has a ton of great information about the different things you can do with WordPress.
9. Open Switch – This site offers cool information on topics such as: WordPress, Ubuntu Linux, and Open Source Software, as well as being a personal blog. I like it. *Edit* I also meant to mention that Ben is the one who designed the Unsleepable theme for WordPress. (Just as I wrote this, Ben decided to change his CMS platform from WordPress to Textpattern).
10. Copyblogger – If you need any improvement on your writing skills, Copyblogger is a MUST read. Plenty of tips on content and headline formulas that will make your posts more effective. This is one of the more popular blogs out there.