Karim’s posterous

Many people are familiar with the statistic that puts public speaking at the top of the list of things adults fear the most. Addressing a large group of people is something we've all probably had to do at some stage and even for the most confident of orators, it can be challenging.

When I first started blogging and generally participating online I felt some of the same pangs of nervousenss that I'd previously felt speaking in public. What if people think my blog is stupid? What if people on Twitter ignore me? What if the comments I leave on the blogs I read are lame? These were all thoughts that went through my head. I mean, if we can be nervous about expressing our opinions in public in the real world, why is it so unreasonable for us to fear expressing our views online? What if we're naturally shy and introverted? Does this mean the riches of social media and the new web are forever out of our reach?

I don't think so, here are a couple of ideas for getting over the fears of participating in the online conversation.

1. Write for yourself
A great way to start off blogging is to focus on writing your blog for yourself, or perhaps someone you know and trust. Don't act like you have to please everyone on the internet. After all people's blogs should represent their perspective and their voice. If you are lucky enough to get a huge number of people reading your work then adapting to your audiences needs is a welcome problem to deal with!

2. Be nice
You're not the only person who's out there blogging and participating and probably not the only person who's sensitive about their ideas and opinions going public online. If you want people to respect your views, don't go around trashing other people. This is just good karmic sense.

3. Parrots are irritating
So I'm sure you've got a few blogging hero's online, right? They always seem to know what to say and get applauded for their views by tons of enthusiastic online fans. Sure you could mirror their views, re-purpose or summarise their blogs in an effort to create acceptable content, but we probably enjoyed what was said better the first time round. It also makes you sound kinda phoney just to echo what someone else said. Remember, it's about your perspective and your view

4. Have fun
Why so sad? Why not relax, put on some of your favourite music and just have fun with it. Nobody said you had to write a perfect piece of literary work or break the latest greats news stories. Just enjoy it, enjoy expressing yourself, enjoy working your writing and creative muscles.

5. Just dive in
If you've been thinking about joining in the online conversation, just do it, it's never been easier to start a blog or pick up a conversation with someone online. Try it out, if you don't enjoy it or don't feel it's for you, then you can just log off. Better to have tried it though.

So those are a few words of advice, some tactics that helped me join the online conversation, and it's something I'm very glad I did.