Peter Kim recently shared 5 thoughts on blogging after a break from posting. I found his comments worth dissecting – let’s have a look:
1. Once momentum is lost, it’s a lot easier for the blog to remain at rest.
This is true, and is the unfortunate reality most blogs succumb to. The companies or people behind a majority of blogs never last long enough to see results (consider only .06% of blogs have a Technorati ranking of 50 or higher, as just one KPI).
But those who make it that far find as their content expands, things get easier. Building sufficient momentum can show the opposite of what Peter wrote to be true, too – it’s easier to keep going than stop as the rewards become so great. Done right, each new post adds incremental value to a blog. Once momentum is lost it is tough to keep going. Which is why consistency is a good thing.
2. The blogs I’ve followed since “the early days” of social media post much less frequently today. That contributes to a lack of great content to react to.
I disagree – most of the blogs I’ve been reading for years such as Techdirt and Seth’s blog are still posting great stuff daily. A few bloggers may post less frequently but to say there’s a lack of great content from seasoned pros to react to means you’re not looking in the right places.
There is also a continuous wave of interesting new technology/marketing bloggers joining daily. And thanks to people like Louis Gray continuing to document new tech bloggers and Lee Odden at TopRank (my employer) continuing to document new marketing bloggers as just two examples, there are many fresh perspectives to explore. The filtering of the wheat from the chaff is already being done for us by both people and aggregators.
3. Audiences and attention have fragmented wildly. The growth of other platforms (e.g. social networks, Twitter, Tumblr, Posterous) has clearly cut into the time and attention paid to blogs.
I don’t necessarily see the fragmentation of audiences as a bad thing. As noted in my post on reasons you should blog, the splintering of networks is an opportunity. There are just so many more places to fish for readers. Besides, all of those external networks end up functioning as filters to find content. And the worthwhile, thought provoking ideas still live in the open web, not locked up in walled gardens. Those who are truly skilled at making content – for the most part – understand the benefit of building out that content on a property they own. Throw away your blog for a limited platform that someone else controls? You have to be kidding.
Your blog is now the end destination and a reason for users to leave the stream. If your content rocks.
4. Even ego traps don’t work well anymore.
They work – it’s just a matter of who you target. If I tag someone like Guy Kawasaki, Robert Scoble or Darren Rowse in a piece of content, it better be ridiculously creative or nothing is going to happen. They get mentioned far too often for them to pay attention to most things. However, you can definitely still get away with ego traps with those who don’t yet have such a large name for themselves. I don’t think it’s such a terrible play even targeting A-listers, if there are the right hooks behind it.
5. Not posting on a blog reminds me of that Geico commercial – it’s just sitting there watching at you, waiting for you to post again.
Great analogy. But don’t think of it as some chore or something you have to do. The second that happens, you’re going to neglect it. Think of it as something you get to do and are privileged to have the time to work on.
Additionally, writing is one of the better creative outlets you can have as a professional in any industry. The fact that it’s so easy for all of us to converse and we also see personal benefits from it as a byproduct make it even better.
(Final note: Peter is one of the better voices out there in the marketing/technology industry, definitely subscribe to his blog if you don’t already. I’m sure we’ll hear more from him in the coming years.)
Related posts on blogging from The Future Buzz
Blogging Is Like Going To The Gym…For Your Brain
Be The Starting Point Of Conversations
How To Make (And Keep) Your Blog In Demand
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The Future Buzz is a blog run by communications professional Adam Singer. Adam has experience as both a digital PR strategist and online marketing manager for some of the top-rated brands globally
Stuart Foster (7 comments)30 December 09
Dead on in points 3 and 4.
I’ve dropped off to 2-3 posts a week since starting off at 5 earlier this year. So not totally off the radar but definitely a small drop in consistency. I’d argue it’s made the strength of the posts I do put out much stronger though.
Ego traps absolutely work…just not on those so bombarded that they can’t notice if someone talks about them.
Louis Gray (6 comments)30 December 09
The growth of additional places to create content, in smaller chunks, has moved what used to be link-based posts to other sites. What that leaves for blogs are more in-depth, thoughtful articles. (Or at least, that’s what I try to do) I recognize many of the original A-list is posting less often, but there are some tremendous authors outside of the tech beltway, and they continue to do a great job. Whenever I see a post on The Future Buzz in my Google Reader, I stop reading fast and make sure I see exactly what’s going on. Even the ego guys don’t always make me do that.
Adam Singer (269 comments)30 December 09
Thanks Louis, appreciate the kudos!
Ryan Hanley (4 comments)31 December 09
Adam, I think it’s very important what you said about your blog not being a chore. Its very obvious in the energy and quality of content when a Blog Author is not into it anymore.
Have a Huge 2010 Adam!
Ryan H.
Mitch (3 comments)1 January 10
Great stuff. I see so many dead blogs sitting out there and I always figure it’s because the people writing them ran out of things to say, and probably shouldn’t have started in the first place. I love blogging, but I figure that there could come a day where I just can’t keep up with 3 blogs on a consistent basis. But I hope I will always blog in some form.