Which nation was the richest and most powerful in Europe in the early 17th century? About 20 years ago a college professor asked our class a similar question. I knew the answer was Holland, but not because I had the first clue about the political climate at the time, but rather because most of the artists of the time who’s names I knew were dutch.

The more varied your knowledge, the more sources from which you can draw, the more connections you can make to solve problems and generate new ideas.
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If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster.
–Isaac Asimov

The most important skill a blogger can have is an ability to write. Sounds obvious I know, but the best way you can improve your blog is to improve your writing. If you think about your favorite blogs they are likely written well and have a unique voice guiding them. Here’s a simple exercise you can use to improve your own writing and help take your blog to the next level.
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One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.
–Andre Gide

What are you thinking during that moment when you’re about to click the publish button on your blog? Are there times when you ask yourself if you should take out the paragraph that might offend someone? Are there times when you wonder who are you to be giving out advice? Are there times when you think you’ll look foolish because you’re going against common wisdom? What do you do in those moments? Do you publish anyway or do you play it safe?
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It’s a difficult question to answer. Difficult, because for the majority of us there’s little if anything remarkable about our blogs. That’s not meant to imply your blog isn’t good. It’s not meant to imply that you won’t find something here worth reading. But when we take a long and hard look at our blogs do we find something that’s truly remarkable?
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Not being a magazine reader, Matt felt bad that he wasn’t able to participate in the last blog meme on reading magazines. He decided instead to start a new meme offering 3 tips for bloggers And lo and behold I get to be the first person tagged. I like Matt’s idea of making the meme helpful so without further ado here are my 3 blogging tips.
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