It?s funny how our mindsets change with the onset of age. Or experience. Or a mixture of both.
Take social media. When it first started gaining traction with the masses around 2009, it was seen as ?the great connector? ? a way for everyone to share, learn, support, and more.
[Read more…] about The Personalization of Social (Or Why We Need to be Architects)
Recently, I was chatting with some friends about blogging, and how it’s changed over the years.
From social media to richer forms of content creation like videos, podcasts, story-driven blogging, etc, it could be forgiven to think that blogging as we know it (writing a post, publishing, hoping others read it either on the page or vie email/RSS) is about to disappear.
One of the reasons that came up was the fact there was so much mediocre blogging on the web. And, to a point, this is true.
With so much emphasis placed on eyeballs and clicks, quality can often be forgotten or eschewed for some other metric.
It led to a nice discussion on what was really important when it came to blogging.
One of my friends mentioned that the most important part of a blog post was the headline. I countered that?the headline didn?t matter if the content sucked, while my second friend’s take was a killer headline can help guide the post.
This then led to the question of the post itself.
I mentioned that it?s not always possible to post killer content every single post, as much as we try to as bloggers looking after our readers. My second friend asked?if the reader learns, then isn?t that killer?
I responded yes, which means that in that respect even mediocre can be killer.
This turned into a great follow-up discussion about whether you should post at all if your writing is just mediocre, with my second friend suggesting that instead of regular posts, only publish when and if you?re going to knock it out the park every time.
I don?t disagree with him that mediocre posts shouldn?t be published (it?s why I used to have about 25 posts always in draft mode, waiting on some tinkering with content).
Where I do differ is that it?s down to interpretation.
As a blogger, I go out of my way to try and make sure that whatever I publish has both relevance and information that will help my readers. I?m pretty sure every single blogger out there is the same.
Yet the relevance and ?brilliance?, if you like, is down to the reader.
Say I write what I think is a killer post about social media monitoring tools.
To some readers, it could be the greatest thing since sliced bread. To others, it could be, ?Meh, I know this, this post has no value to me. Next.?
To that person, the post is mediocre because of the information (or lack of) inside the post. Yet to the reader who never knew this information, the post may be killer because it?s opened their eyes to something they never knew.
As I mentioned to both friends, no-one sets out to deliberately write a mediocre post ? but sometimes some posts will always be better than others, that?s just natural.
The point is to be happy that what you wrote doesn?t short-change you or? your readers. Unless you have that confidence, don?t publish.
Thoughts?
As bloggers, we all have different goals. Some may be to monetize your blog; some may be to get a book deal; some may be to become recognized as an expert in your field; others may be to share company news and updates.
Some may even just be to have a personal outlet where you can let your creativity go and see what works, and what doesn?t.
[Read more…] about The Three Core Tenets Every Successful Blogger Needs to Have
While social media is a fantastic medium for working smarter for businesses, it?s also softened us a little as people.
There?s almost a kumbaya feeling of not being able to speak your mind, because when you question a ?name? out in social media, or disagree with them, you?re labeled a hater.
Never mind the fact you have a valid opinion ? you must be a hater because your opinion isn?t the same as The Chosen One(s).
This leads to blog posts being praised to the rooftops, despite being rehashed content from two months previously (sometimes even less ? I?m looking at you, certain A-lister).
Comments rain in ? ?Great post!?, ?So true and only you could say that!? and so on.
Now, I?m the first to really praise a blog and share it on my networks when there?s great content, as well as comment and show my appreciation.
Yet more and more I?m feeling less inclined to comment, because I land on a post with the same safe viewpoint, or a circle of self-adoring comments.
And this is a shame, because blogs (and their community of commenters) can really offer fresh takes on tired subjects.
Instead, we see the warm fuzziness of adoration ? and there?s no real need for that.
We?re all individuals. We all have opinions ? sometimes right, sometimes wrong. We all have unique personalities and thought processes.
This is what makes us such an interesting animal. So why are we softening this up?
[clickToTweet tweet=”People aren’t commenting on blogs because it’s the same safe viewpoints on display #pureblogging” quote=”People aren’t commenting on blogs because it’s the same safe viewpoints on display #pureblogging”]
If something isn?t right and you feel it isn?t, say so.
If you land on a post of the biggest blogger on the planet and it?s dire, tell him or her.
Show why it?s wrong, and challenge them to live up to their reputation.
And if you?re the blogger yourself, don?t go with the flow just because it?s easier than swimming against it. Instead, have the proverbial balls to speak out.
Simply put, show your readers respect and why they put their faith in you in the first place.
After all, it?s the very least they deserve, no?
Many people view blogging and writing as both the same thing. After all, isn’t blogging just an extension to writing, and/or vice versa?
Instead of offering my view on this, I thought it’d be fun and interesting to open up and let you be the authors of this post.
So, writing versus blogging – is there a difference?
Over to you.
