Hey Eric - interesting question to ask! I think it helps me to totally polarize on the point of value.

It can also be a painful question to ask.

Perhaps the other point to add is that adding value to others is not always the objective of what we do online.

If I stopped doing the things you listed, *I* would miss me.

I would miss the experience, the learning, the pure enjoyment of it. That would be the biggest blow of all. Sure, it's difficult to keep on doing those things when it's obvious nobody is listening. This is why most bloggers and tweeters give up in the early days. If it stops being enjoyable, then that is understandable.

The most important thing is when involving oneself in these pursuits is to always make sure it is fun. That way.... who cares if I am missed?

Hey SImon.

Excellent points....and exactly what I was thinking to myself after not being able to answer 'yes' to the question of 'would I be missed'.

Blogging has done a tremendous amount for me. I've gotten much better at writing and have met a ton of great people (yourself included). I've created an outlet for my thoughts and ideas. This is a wonderful thing.

But the question is still relevant....even though you and I are enjoying ourselves and learning a great deal, do we make a difference? I think we do...but it's a good question to ask yourself occasionally.

I ask myself this question all the time: what value am I bringing to the table? It helps me focus on the important things.

It is, perhaps, the most important question of all. It's also true in any kind of relationship - as an employee, as a spouse, as a friend!

I've got to be honest with myself... I am not sure that I would be missed right now. When I've taken a couple of weeks offline, nobody has asked where I've been!

Hey, that ain't going to put me off - the purpose of the honest answer is that it tells me that I've got to keep going and adding more and more value through my blog and other online activities until it is true.

Simon

Eric,

I love your stuff, at least the blogging. I love it for the flow and sharing ideas. I believe blogging has four major drivers:
1. Refining ideas (actively blogging and commenting)
2. Intellectual growth (passive reading)
3. Directed marketing and meeting people you'd never meet/interact with otherwise
4. Demonstrating expertise in a particular area over time

Tweeting could have value someday, but for the most part, it's not worth the effort to do or follow.

Facebook is a great way to maintain loose connections with friends and also to have interactions with people you don't want anyone else to be able to track.

All of it trades on intellectual value. You give and hopefully in other places you take. Ask about it's value to you and how you allocate your energy and effort.

Thanks for the kind words.

I agree wholeheartedly with your statement on blogging. While I hear many people talk about the death of the blog, I can't really imagine that ever occurring.

Really? Seems to me blogs are becoming more powerful these days. The Baseline Scenario (http://baselinescenario.com) effects US economic policy and for many people, blogs have pretty much replaced newspapers. For me personally it has opened doors to business partnerships and customers. Hell, in one case, I think my blog helped me get laid.

And it lets me take little thought vacations with people like you.

People have been saying blog's are dying for years but I don't agree. While people's attention spans seem to be much shorter these days, I think many people still want to read content longer than 140 characters. I'm all for twitter and other micro-blogging platforms but I think the blog is still the home-base that must be kept alive.