David Peralty Talks Blogging And Community

An Interview by jeff

Those who have been in the blogging scene within the past three years should recognize the name David Peralty. David has plenty of experience under his belt including working for SplashPress Media, acting as Community Manager for Picapp and now a days, using his experience and knowledge to consult through BrandingDavid.com. Within this interview, David and I chat about blogging and community.

How did you get involved with blogging?

I was writing about my personal life for quite some time, using blogging as more of a diary.

At the time, I am not sure it was even really called blogging, though my lack of knowledge regarding the industry at that time, sometimes comes across as sounding like that it wasn’t really blogging until I started doing it.

I started learning about all things blogging when I found out about WordPress from Michael Heilemann of BinaryBonsai. I then started watching the industry closely, and secured an interview with Jacob Gower who was buying a variety of well known blogs. At the same time, I was able to secure a temporary gig as the guest blogger on Darren Rowse’s Laptop blog, where I did well. Various things came into play, and Jacob Gower hired me full time.

Your career path has lead you to write for some interesting sites. Care to share a list of the sites you have written for?

That would be a fairly long list. Suffice to say, I’ve written on over thirty sites by now.

Some of the better known would be BloggingPro.com, ForeverGeek.com, CSSVault.com, BlogHerald.com, Performancing.com, LifeSpy.com, AppleGazette.com, and Devlounge.net.

Of course then there are blogs that are no longer active that I’ve worked on, and my own blogs and sites. It has been a crazy career with many topics and niches I needed to get familiar with. I had even written a bit on a few celebrity sites, but really didn’t enjoy it.

You’ve worked for many blogs and blog networks. What advice can you give someone if they are thinking about the question of whether to blog for themselves or to be part of a network?

The question about blog networks is a simple one, do I need to get paid today, or can I wait a year? Blog Networks will pay you for your work as you complete it, where blogging for yourself can mean little to no income for a year, or sacrificing any income to help develop the blog and grow it larger. Either way, most of the decision comes down to money and your personal needs.

You appear to be going from being the jack of all trades to a more focused approach with BrandingDavid.com. What is it you hope to accomplish with your new home?

Well, BrandingDavid.com is all about figuring out what I want to be when I grow up. I have been working in the blogging world for three years now, and I really want to build up my career in consulting, speaking and helping others reach their goals and dreams with regards to blogging. From helping corporations understand the wild west that is blogging and social media to helping a single blogger understand what path he or she needs to take to get to their goal.

It seems as though everyone is developing a personal brand. Are you one of them?

I have to admit, I am getting sick of hearing of “personal brand“, but it is the new currency of the web. I think I have developed my personal brand over the last four years without even trying. I think most bloggers develop their brand without ever putting any effort into it. I think placing emphasis on building a personal branding is a little silly since the brand is “you”. Focus on doing the best you can, and putting out as much content as possible, and your brand will shine through.

The business of personal branding is about being able to focus that brand though, as you might think you are putting out one message, and instead be putting out a completely different one that you aren’t happy with. I’d love to help people fine-tune their personal brand, and yes, I am still focusing in on mine.

You have been co-host on a number of different podcasts. What has podcasting done to help you build your brand?

Podcasting is just fun for me. I would love to take it more seriously, but I haven’t really had the time. If it were up to me, I would be co-hosting a podcast each week day. My brand has long since been about text, and adding audio into the mix gives people a new way to connect to me and understand me, as text can sometimes be interpreted in different ways, where the inflections in my voice can make how I feel much more clear. Podcasting is a great medium that I hope to utilize more going forward.

At one point, you became a community manager for PicApp, an online service. What exactly does a community manager do?

A community manager is supposed to be the gateway between the company and their corporate ideals, and the community of people that they hope to serve. They are passionate people that are able to connect with potential customers or users in a way that normal marketing people cannot.

Every community needs some spark or catalyst to get it running and once running keep it organized and effective, and that is the job of the Community Manager.

Do you think it is better to be a jack of all trades or a master of a specific skill?

I have always marketed myself as a jack of all trades, and have started to realize that there is a ceiling related to branding and building yourself up as one. Say there are ten levels in the game of business, generalists can only get to level seven, while specialists can get to level ten. I know it is a bad analogy, but it is something I truly believe.

The funny thing in my mind though is how difficult it is to remain a jack of all trades over choosing a specialty. You would think it would be the other way around, but as companies grow, they want specialists and smaller companies can’t always afford higher wages, and so they hire generalists at a rate far below what some specialists would normally receive. I would love if people would correct me here if I am wrong.

What have been the highlights of your career thus far? Do you see yourself continuing down this path or will you eventually get an office job?

The highlights of my career have been speaking at conferences like Blog World Expo and WordCamp Toronto. Those experiences were absolutely amazing, and makes me want to speak at more conferences. Other highlights are really just in participating in this space, and interacting with people like you, Deb Ng, Jeremy Wright, Chris Garrett, Ryan Caldwell, and many, many others. I could list names all day. There are just so many amazing people that I’ve been able to talk to, meet and have relationships with.

As for getting an office job. I can definitely see that in my future if my other goals don’t work out. I am one of those people that consider all possibilities. The idea of sitting in an office has its draw, but I have also become accustomed to the life I lead, and so I am inspired to keep working hard so that I don’t “have” to work in an office.

What sort of career opportunities are available for bloggers these days?

I have become a pessimist regarding blogging jobs as of late. I think there is going to be a squeeze coming where we will see the number of full time blogging jobs quickly being reduced or downgraded in pay in a steep way.

On the flip side though, I still believe that anyone that wants to make blogging their full time job can do it through hard work and perseverance and that no niche is so saturated that it can’t be conquered by a newcomer with bright ideas and passion.

Last but not least, please tell me what you think the future of blogging will be.

I am not sure. Any guess would be pulling at straws. I see it continuing to take over more attention from mainstream media, enough so that those businesses continue to dump more money into the space to drag people back to their brands, but other than that, it really depends on the advancement of technology, and the sociological issues and changes.

You can still catch David’s work at Xfep.com as well as CollegeCrunch.org and BrandingDavid.com. David also co-hosts a podcast called Perfcast that airs live on Talkshoe.com every Thursday night at 7 P.M. EST.

This Interview was published on November 12, 2008 at 7:09 am • Did you like it? Subscribe!
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