Seth Godin on Why He Keeps Blogging and Creating Books

Seth Godin appeared on the Design Matters podcast and got a little more personal than usual about his work and life before he became THE Seth Godin. I recommend listening to the whole thing, but I transcribed a few gems for my own notes:

On why he still blogs daily (and has since at least 2002):

"By frequently and generously showing up, in front of people who wanted to hear from me, I would earn their trust. And, if I earned their trust, it would be easier for me to solve their problems.

Some people go online and measure their return on equity or their return on effort. I’m trying to maximize trust. I think we have a trust shortage. If I have more trust, I am going to be able to make more of a difference.

I’m not looking to be better known. I don’t promote stuff. I don’t show up on Facebook. I don’t work to have any followers on Twitter, because I don’t tweet. This isn’t about that. This is about: among the people who want to find me, can I show up in a way that’s trustworthy and can I do it in a way that will help other people get the joke? Because I’d rather live in a world where more people trust more people."

On why he still makes books from his blog posts:

"Here’s a collectible that turns the insubstantial into substantial. That turns the temporary into the permanent. It gives you something you can point other people to, which furthers my mission of trust and change, which creates more impact. And, it’s really fun."