My name is Zsolt Balla(*), I’m a Hungarian journalist and editor reporting on my online existence here at ZsoltBalla.com. I don’t do this for a living, although it is much more than a hobby or a personal blog (I have my personal blog in Hungarian here). I’ve been interested in blogging for a long time and learned quite a few things before I launched this blog in late 2008.
So what is this blog about, after all?
This blog was launched to be a diary of my professional online activities, but I had to find out rather soon that, I have plenty of things to share with my readers on subjects like creating (online) content, providing (online) services and having real-life benefits off virtual activities.
Not only do I want to help my readers to be successful online, but I also find it important to investigate the reasons why most of the vast number of bloggers and online entrepreneurs will never make it. I firmly believe that we are better off if we can learn from someone else’s mistakes.
While I have been reading blogs on blogging, online business and self improvement for the last six or seven years, most of the advices you will receive from me are based on my own experiences. While giving tips on how to build a successful online career, I’m building my own, and report real-time on its progress, too.
I have launched this blog under my real name, because I’m convinced that one of the most important prerequisites of a successful business model (be it online or offline) is transparency. I don’t believe in anonymity. While the world of the web has provided us all with the opportunity of remaining anonymous, I think that this prospect is false and leads to failure. I know that I know the real names of all those bloggers and entrepreneurs I’d ever want to follow.
Speaking of which, I can’t help naming Problogger’s Darren Rowse, as one of my key role models and blogger heroes. I know I’m not alone with that, and I think that it’s precisely the way it should be.
You may have guessed it by now, but I’m not a native English speaker, and this blog is not proof-read (mostly because I think it is against the nature of blogging). If you come across mistakes or lousy grammar, try to live with it (I certainly hope that valid and strong content will always offset my poor language skills), or drop me a line, and I’ll correct it.
I hope you enjoy your time on my blog, and I also hope you’ll find it “insanely useful” (the term comes from Copyblogger). If you do so, please subscribe to the blog’s feed, and tell a friend about this blog.
Cheers,
Zsolt Balla
(*)No, it’s not. My name, in reality is Balla Zsolt, because we Hungarians, like the Japanese and the Chinese use family names and surnames the other way around. I use the English version, because I’m trying to avoid confusion, and I’d prefer not to be addressed as Dear Mr. Zsolt, nor Hi Balla.