When I ask myself this question, my number one theory is memory. If I could some how retain more facts, more figures, more rules, more ideas, I could become a genius. If I could somehow secure these ideas by storing them away, then occasionally I would be able to lift the lid, sift through them and find one that’s promising. I could take this gem and shape it, polish it, and display it properly. And after stepping back and admiring my handy work, I would notice rubies and diamonds I hadn’t realized I had. Soon the bounty would be great enough that other’s would have to stop and take note of the display. This is the crucial step, as what good is this wealth if never shared?

I believe the ideas that generate new ideas are the difference between thinkers and geniuses. These new ideas adorn emptiness creating a new beauty that should seem oh so obvious when observed.

And why must we rely on our brain’s memory to store these items away? We have all the tools necessary from note pads to sketch pads. From computers to the Internet. There is more than enough space to hold these thoughts. Maybe it’s simply a matter of frugality? Saving these jewels takes will-power and practice. It’s all too easy to dismiss the small ones and over protect the large ones. I believe we also need to be aware of the cubic zirconium and glass knockoffs that take up space but add no true value.

The alternative would simply be too painful. If genius is a matter of genetic predisposition, than being born with the silver spoon is the only way to be a great thinker. The ambitious will need to distract ourselves from this desire for greatness? How many jewels can we collect before our biology says our chest is full? Can we continually replace less valuable stones with those of greater value?

Lucky for us that this type of wealth has little to do with monetary riches. Geniuses aren’t guaranteed luxury. Maybe their brains have little left over space to store these desires? If you get to the genius status, let me know.

The term pseudo psychology comes from my step dad, Chuck. Chuck likes to say, “I’m a pseudo intellectual, I watch TV.” I’ve always found this funny, so when it came time to blog about something I only know a little about, this seemed like the proper term to use.

My knowledge and interest in psychology stem from the “A” I received in Psych 101 in college and from being married to a PhD in psychology. Over the years, I’ve discussed many topics with her and her colleagues. I have also programmed four desktop applications and one web-based application used to run psychological experiments on subjects. Along the way, I have learned much of the jargon and terminology and have gained an opinion on the subject matter. This led me to the name of this blog and sometimes the topics – mixing psychology with things like twitter, blogging, and weight loss.

I feel like psychology can be as controversial as politics so if I assert an opinion you don’t agree with, please feel free to leave a comment.

It doesn’t take an expert to know that blogs are created and posted to by bloggers. But that point can’t be overstated. A blogger is a person who follows the same behavior rules that govern the human species. Understanding what is motivating the behavior of the blogger will explain how likely they are to keep blogging. I have listed below what I feel is the first stab at categorizing blogger motivation. These four motivations are listed in order with #1 being the most likely to be sustained and #4 being the least likely. Of course there are exceptions to these, but for the most part you can lump motivation into one of these four.

1. Job – When creating and maintaining a company blog, your are paid your regular pay to perform this task. However, I have seen many company blogs abandoned shortly after starting and this is for one of two reasons. First, the owner or someone high in the organization is the blogger. Their job doesn’t depend on the number of posts or the analytics of those posts. That person should have delegated the posting responsibilities to someone whose job did depend on it. Second, the blog isn’t a company priority. The person who is responsible for blogging is frequently asked to back burner the blog and prioritize lower than other daily tasks.
2. Revenue – If the blogger is receiving income from his blog directly, they are very motivated to keep blogging. For most, this isn’t enough revenue to quit their full time jobs, but it is enough to provide positive reinforcement. When the revenue doesn’t match the expectation, the blog becomes abandoned. This causes many to stop almost as soon as they start. They are under the false expectation that money will start flowing in weeks after they start. The truth is it usually takes more like a year and then it’s more of a trickle.
3. Passion – Enthusiast or hobbyist will often create blogs to showcase their passion. I have one that has been maintained for almost a year and a half now. The sustainability of these are based off two factors. First, is the blogger passionate about their topic that they can weather the initial months of talking to the wall. It can feel like an outsider trying to join a conversation that is already too full. Second, will the blogger receive positive reinforcement with others appreciating the contribution to the topic or will the blogger receive punishment which will then be associated to the hobby itself. For example, if I am a huge Lost fan and blog about my theories, other’s negative comments can have a dramatic effect on my love for Lost. At this point, if I don’t have the required “thick skin,” I have to either give up the blog or face hating Lost.
4. Voice – The blogger has something to say, and they want someone to read it. You can also call this ego blogging. This one is tough to sustain. The more they have to say, the more likely they’ll keep saying. In my opinion, most people overestimate how much they have to say. It can be very tough to put your thoughts to words for others to read. This is made even more difficult if you have friends, family, or co-workers to share your thoughts with. Having those in person contacts makes it a whole lot easier to skip the entire blogging process. Especially after a long tough day at the office.

One major exception to these motivations is the family blog. I’ve chosen to exclude those because those are updated less consistently than the types above and they have a family/friend motivation that is very different than these.

You are an Attentive Leader.

Your solid grounding in the practicalities of life, along with your self-assuredness and your willingness to appreciate new things make you a LEADER.

You’re in touch with what is going on around you and adept at remaining down-to-earth and logical.

Although you’re detail-oriented, this doesn’t mean that you lose the big picture.

You tend to find beauty in form and efficiency, as opposed to finding it in broad-based, abstract concepts.

Never one to pass on an adventure, you’re consistently seeking and finding new things, even in your immediate surroundings.

Because of this eagerness to pursue new experiences, you’ve learned a lot; your attention to detail means that you gain a great deal from your adventures.

The intellectual curiosity that drives you leads you to seek out causes of and reasons behind things.

Your confidence gives you the potential to take your general awareness and channel it into leadership.

You’re not set on one way of doing things, and you often have the skills and persistence to find innovative ways of facing challenges.

You are well-attuned to your talents, and can deal with most problems that you face.

You’re not afraid to let your emotions guide you, and you’re generally considerate of others’ feelings as well.

You prefer to have time to plan for things, feeling better with a schedule than with keeping plans up in the air until the last minute.

Generally, you believe that you control your life, and that external forces only play a limited role in determining what happens to you.

If you want to be different:
There’s more to life than the practical – take some time to daydream and explore the aesthetic sides of things.

I think the psychology around Twitter is fascinating. Since it does combine elements of blogging, IM, texting, and even email, it’s a hot bed of possible research. Psychologist and sociologist have been studying human interactions for ages, but online human interactions (social networking) are different and will require their own areas of expertise. As humans start to maintain relationships offline, mixed offline and online, and completely online, we will all need to realize that different expectations need to adhered to given the context of the relationship, the medium of the communication, and the public vs. private nature of each message.

I initially heard about Twitter from Dave, but saw no point in exploring it like I do most new technologies. But after hearing a few others bring it up around the office, I didn’t want to be left behind – I can’t deal with others being more informed on a new technology than I am.

My Twitter contact list therefore started out as just Twelve Horses co-workers. My participation was light but consistent. I was usually “nudged” into messaging after receiving a message from someone else’s account. At this point, the reinforcer was the self satisfaction of learning a new technology and knowing I was “in the know.” However, as I started to hear Twitter come up on my regular podcast playlists – TWIT, Buzz Out Loud, etc. – I became motivated to take it more seriously.

I starting following tech gurus like Robert Scoble, Veronica Belmont, and Steve Rubel. The way Twitter works, I would get their messages but they wouldn’t necessarily get mine. However, getting insight into their thoughts and activities, I started to feel more connected and involved. I also learn of cool links and events.

This doesn’t explain why I send updates. I guess it’s the feeling of giving to the machine in order to get back. I think Twitter is the trendy thing to do right now, but since it doesn’t have a real use – or said differently, there isn’t a clear reinforcer to continue the behavior – I think it’s popularity is temporary. I will be amazed if it becomes used outside the geeky class. I fully expect to see mainstream media coverage of it shortly, as a tech phenomenon, but I think all that will do is showcase how geeky us geeks truly are.

Anyway, in the mean time, Twitter on!