Veteran Blogger Shel Israel on Reinvention, Writing, and Moving Across Country at 78

[B]OLD AGE With Debbie Weil

0:00

-32:58

Veteran Blogger Shel Israel on Reinvention, Writing, and Moving Across Country at 78

Debbie Weil

Nov 04, 2022

Today’s episode was a chance for Debbie to reconnect with an old friend, Shel Israel, whom she met about 20 years ago… in the blogosphere. Yes, there really was a blogosphere in the early 2000's. Shel and Debbie and a bunch of others were pioneers and they all knew each other. They'd meet at conferences and promote each other’s blogs AND explain blogging to everyone else.

In early 2006, Shel co-authored perhaps the first serious book about business blogging. And Debbie wrote the second one, published later that same year. Shel's book has a much sexier title, Naked Conversations. Debbie's is The Corporate Blogging Book.

Debbie and Shel talk about his decision to leave California after 50 years and move across country to Florida, just in time for Hurricane Ian. Debbie asks how he fared and how he plans to make friends and become part of his new community in St. Petersburg. He’s got some surprising answers.

As a tech pioneer and an optimist, he considers everyone he meets on social media to be a friend. He’s using Facebook to connect and to create a new network. And he’s even got a spreadsheet with 13 prospects on it… 13 prospective friends, that is.

This is an open and honest conversation which, not coincidentally, is the hallmark of good blogging. They talk about how important writing is to Shel, why he left a lucrative career in PR. and how he approaches tech-business ghostwriting and other projects.

Mentioned in this episode or useful:

Shel Israel on Facebook
Website
Linkedin
Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers by Shel Israel and Robert Scoble (Wiley, 2006)
Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods (Portfolio, 2009)
Lethal Generosity: Contextual Technology and the Competitive Edge by Shel Israel (Patrick Brewster Press, 2015)
Former columnist for Forbes
The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil (Portfolio, 2006)
St. Petersburg, FL

Get the inside skinny on every episode of [B]OLDER:

Subscribe to Debbie’s newsletter for the inside story about every episode. You will also get her 34-page writing guide: https://bitly.com/debbie-free-guide.

Request from Debbie:

If you've been enjoying the podcast, please take a moment to leave a short review on Apple Podcasts. It really makes a difference in attracting new listeners.

Connect with Debbie: