Reading around the web to get a flavor of the ideas being discussed, I found this post on Copyblogger. James Chartrand tells bloggers to get off their computers.
Of course, it’s more complicated than that and he doesn’t mean to stop blogging. His point is that the qualities that contribute to a blogger’s success are not learned by blogging. They develop from real life experiences and reflect personal style, good writing skills and a sense of humor. These qualities were part of the bloggers personalities before he started blogging.
What he is suggesting is that if you have not found success as a blogger, don’t automatically assume that is is just a SEO problem and that you can fix it with better keywords. It just may be that you are not an interesting person- or at least that you fail to communicate that you are an interesting person in your blog posts.
Another way to say this is “Get a Life”. If you expert to become a successful blogger then you must do things away from your computer that contribute to making you an interesting person with a unique style and an ability to relate to people. If you haven’t learned to appreciate and relate to people in real life, your chances of becoming a relatable blogger are remote.
It may not be as simple as getting away from the computer. After all not everybody is a great writer or posses an engaging sense of humor. And even though you can learn to write better with effort, it isn’t so easy to develop a sense of humor or an engaging personality. But your chance are far better when you participate in the real world where the lessons are immediate and clear. It’s easy to know how people respond to you when you are face to face with them. When you never see them, it’s hard to learn anything.
The significance of this post is not that everyone can get off their computer, participate in real life and become a better blogger as a result. It is that unless you get off the computer, you will never find success as a blogger.