The answer of whether network blogging is good or bad is not one that I can really give you. I would say that being a network blogger has some good points and some bad points and in order to make sure its right for you will depend on how you feel about those points. For me the good outweighs the bad, but at the same time the bad is something I try to keep fresh in my mind.

Some bad

First and perhaps most important, you lose some ability of control because it does not always matter how good you are, but how good the overall team is. Meaning that you can be writing great and drawing in the readers, but if the rest of the writers are poor then the site will suffer overall. And once the site begins to suffer, everyone both good and bad can see the effects.

Another downfall is that you have no (or little) control over how the blog operates and could be left hanging if the blog owner flakes out or even if they decide to sell out. This means that you could fire up your web browser to find the site has gone down to never return, or open your email to a bit of bad news and find that you have gotten a pay cut or worse, a new owner has come in and your services are no longer needed.

Some good

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I am not sure if its the excitement that I am still feeling from BlogOrlando, but I am thinking I may want to speak at the upcoming Tampa Bay BarCamp.

Of course that is easier said than done. You see, there are two things that are holding me back on giving a 100% go ahead on speaking.

• 1. I am not sure what I would or could speak about that would benefit others…anyone have any ideas?
• 2. Perhaps this point is holding me back a little more, but I will let you in on a not so well kept secret. I have a huge fear of public speaking and suffer from social anxiety. It bothers me just to speak with people I do not know, much less getting up in front of a group.

But the bottom line is that I am passionate about blogging and furthering myself in this industry. I know that speaking could always help me out in that respect, or more important (assuming I could get over the fear and come up with a good topic) my talk may be good enough that someone else could get something to take away from it and possibly help them move forward.

I am a professional blogger and blog for other networks, so maybe I could speak on something along that line. Maybe my experience in general and how I got into the blogging world. From finding my first job and moving on from there.

The thing is that I have never attended a BarCamp and I am not sure what kind of crowd to expect and what level they will be at. Meaning I am not sure if my knowledge will be able to help anyone at this type of event. I do have stuff to share, good points and things that I have made mistakes with.

With BarCamp coming up fast, I have plenty of thinking left to do…