Blogging Ahead

When I was young, I was taught to not count my chickens before they hatch. But to think ahead, to be the early bird that catches the worm, and to get it while it's hot. After this weekend, I have a new cliche word to the wise to add to this list. Despite your desire to be first to market, don't blog ahead.

In talking to "professional bloggers" at work in an attempt to pitch our campaign messaging, I've learned a thing or two about how they blog. And one thing that they all seem to do is blog ahead. They blog when they can, often times on the weekends, stage the content it, and schedule it to be published on certain days when they know they will drive the most traffic to their site. 

Trying to up my status as an amateur, I decided I would plan ahead this weekend. Friday evening, I started outlining, writing and even formatting my entry for Saturday evening. I was all prepped and ready to go, I just needed to add some photos, and voila! I would have this high traffic day because everyone would be searching for news about the Notre Dame game and I would have the scoop, live from South Bend, Indiana.

My blog was going to be called, "How to Cheer for a Losing Team.” The entire premise was based on a Notre Dame loss and the comfort food I would make to ease the spirits of the downtrodden fans. The take-aways were to:

Cheer for yourself. (I ran 22 miles Saturday morning in 3 hours flat! Feeling pumped and ready to run for Team RMHC, I spent the whole 2-hour ride to South Bend, cheering for myself, and making Peter cheer for me too.)

Cheer for your friends. The MBA crew was in town, so I anticipated spending the afternoon cheering for them to be goofy and goofier. 

Skip the inevitable loss and cook. Yes, I've become the ultimate fair weather fan, and decided I don't even need to go into the stadium anymore. I used to go in midway through the first quarter and leave at halftime, but this year, I opted for the couch.

Comfort the losing team's fans with good food. A roast beef and mashed potato dinner was on the menu.

That was my plan. And then, ND started doing well. And winning. And winning by more. And I became the loser - the only person in South Bend hunting for a better bone-in standing rib roast in Martins while Robert Blanton intercepted the ball and nearly ran it back for a touchdown.

It made me kind of sad. I used to be such a good little Notre Dame fan. I grew up watching the Irish every Saturday with my family. I would lie on the living room floor, staring up at the television, dressed from head to toe in ND gear that we had received as souvenirs the year before at the old Notre Dame bookstore on South Quad. I would get anxious with my Dad and brother when the game came down to the wire. And I would get angry when the refs made a bad call or Rocket’s touchdown was called back. I would cheer and applaud, and scream and yell when Chris Zorich and his swaggering defensive line made a heroic goal line stand. And I would eagerly wait for the following weekend, when we would actually be on campus for the game - when I could hoot and holler for the band as they stepped off from the Golden Dome, and proudly follow them into the stadium, ready and raring to do every cheer the way the students did. I was a great fan!

But after a decade or so of Domer disappointment, I started to find new things to do on Saturdays. It became a waste of time to watch the irrelevant Irish. And while my parents, brother and sister, friends and extended family held on to high hopes, I fell off the band wagon.

On Saturday, I totally missed the excitement. I missed the potential turn around from mediocrity. I had to live vicariously through Peter's pictures.

And scrap the blog that I had created. I had no insider perspective, no value-add on Saturday.

But on Sunday, I got a new lead. Perhaps one that won't drive Search traffic to the Early Riser, but one that definitely merits some words. Ellie ate solid food yesterday, and I was there to see it! Talk about a headliner.

Which means that Auntie Lo and Uncle Peter will certainly be Friday night babysitters soon. And that Ellie will soon enough be eating chicken pot pies with us on Sunday evening. 

I don't talk about sampled products, big brand events, or blogger conventions on my blog. I talk about life. And in our life, you most certainly shouldn't blog ahead.  

Here's hoping that the Irish can make a fan out of me again.

Lo.