I went from writing a blog to writing for Wired magazine in the space of three years with no real expertise in my field. The trick was finding an emerging technology with no real "experts," and making myself one.
In my case it was 3-D printing. I started writing in 2008 when the technology was really just for industrial designers and mechanical engineers. I was a user, but had no real knowledge about the industry. So I started reading annual reports from the big manufacturers, reading research papers from labs that were doing interesting work, and reaching out to companies that were using the printers in interesting ways.
Over time I found an audience. RepRap, the homebrew printer, was the hot fad at the time. Then came MakerBot, the space exploded, and all of a sudden I had some expertise was in demand. It's certainly not a short path to success, but I can't really see a downside to blogging for most people.
In my case it was 3-D printing. I started writing in 2008 when the technology was really just for industrial designers and mechanical engineers. I was a user, but had no real knowledge about the industry. So I started reading annual reports from the big manufacturers, reading research papers from labs that were doing interesting work, and reaching out to companies that were using the printers in interesting ways.
Over time I found an audience. RepRap, the homebrew printer, was the hot fad at the time. Then came MakerBot, the space exploded, and all of a sudden I had some expertise was in demand. It's certainly not a short path to success, but I can't really see a downside to blogging for most people.