When I joined the AR community last spring it wasn’t my first blog but it was the beginning of taking the idea of blogging seriously. As a result setting aside time to scribble and scratch ideas has become part of my daily routine. My digital camera is always with me to snap pictures of neighborhoods or interesting sites in Northern Virginia to help make my posts more personal.

A number of agents have written about “Google Juice” and how AR can help bring more consumers to our blogs, especially Localism posts. However the other power of the blog also seems to include the attraction of the local press. In the last few months calls have come from three papers, Washington Examiner, Prince William Times and now the Washington Post from reporters looking for more information about communities or properties featured on one of my blog posts.

This wasn’t something I considered when I started regular postings on AR or my “outside” blog but with this latest call it has made me aware that we have no idea who might be finding and reading our blogs. Knowing this hasn’t made a difference in what I blog about but it has made me cock my head sideways a few times and trash a blog and start over, realizing that what came out on paper didn’t “sound” right.

Sometimes it feels as if AR is an insular group but it obviously isn’t and understanding this could make a difference in what you want to post to cyberspace. My posts aren’t perfect and don’t hold a candle to some on AR but I’ve learned to make sure they are my content and are informative about the Northern Virginia area.

So as you are putting together your next post you may want to stop and cock your head and decide whether it is something you want the press or the public to remember you by. Now I hope the guy from the Washington Post has a nice quote with my name attached to it!