Counting chickens

Last post of the year. Time to count chickens...

They say, "Don't count your chickens before they are hatched". Same people claim that once begun - half done. I began regular postings here nine months ago, and now I can proudly say that it has been a most rewarding experience. Nine months is a lot of time on the one hand, and it is nothing at all, on the other. It coincided with my studies at IE Business School, and surely this endeavor was inspired by one of our professors - Enrique Dans. Inspiration wades off, however, and I have seen many examples when my classmates started off quite enthusiastically and got off the track later. This is quite understandable: MBA is a demanding program; at times I don't have time to eat or sleep, so why should I write something that I am not sure anyone is reading?

Now that it is time to count my chickens, I would like to share my own insights of blog writing:

• quality over quantity. People come to my blog because they hope to read something interesting, not just ramblings on a wannabe writer. It took me some time to realize that if I don't have something valubale to share, probably I should not write. October and November were difficult months for me personally, and I just was not able to produce anything worthy of public attention. Thus, I tried to refrain from even logging on here. At the same time, those two months were most prolific in my poetic activity, and here are some examples of my other muse: http://stihi.ru/avtor/luckyru.
• be grateful for feedback. Irrespective of the form, in which the feedback reaches you, it is the most valuable thing you can get from your readers. I am thanking all of you, who sent me e-mail, Facebook messages, left comments or merely talked to me about what I am writing, and in many instances I have changed: the style (a little bit), the topics (a lot), and I started getting more and more hits - so listening to the audience is critical.
• think! Merely reposting funny or insightful articles, images or videos is not enough. The pace of today's life is so fast that people want to get the knowledge in its condenced form. Hence, when you post something, provide your understanding of the issue, supply it with examples and maybe recommendations - that will grab attention. Pick contentious topics and interest is guaranteed. Support your post with an attention-grabbing title, and remember: great novels have great beginnings.

Writing has taught me to be disciplined. Not only in posting something, but also in the way I arrange my thoughts. Normally, when I travel, I write down things that I find interesting into my Moleskin notebook to convert into a post later. And a curious thing: the busier I am, the more rewarding is the blog-writing experience: it clears up the mind and helps me concentrate better, a similar feeling I get when I take a break and play my guitar.

Thank you for being with me this year. I will be on my way to Barcelona and Sevilla soon with no access to Internet, and I am incredible happy about it :)

Season's greetings to all!