I’ve been putting off this blog post for far too long.
It’s not going to do anything toward helping me get noticed amongst the good ol’ boy network that is blogging but it’s something I feel compelled to get off my chest.
I’m going to come out and say it: this blogging thing has become one, big circle jerk.
Inflated Ego’s of the Internet Famous
Andy Warhol said that in the future, we’ll all have our 15 minutes of fame. That time is now. That event has been ushered in through the invention of the web. We’re all internet famous but some have taken it too far for their own good.
This perpetual circle jerk caused by inflated blogger egos has put many topics from SEO to Content Creation into a consistent regurgitation of rehashed information, diluted sources and outdated practices.
Worse, new bloggers attempt to build on these ideas yet fall into the trap of idolizing authority bloggers and their “incredible wisdom” because, after all, hundreds of tweets, dozens of likes and high search rankings can’t be wrong – can they?
We’ve hit a novelty in our direction. A downward spiral caused by those that feel authorities in fields that they don’t fully understand. Individuals that know, without question, their idea of the web and its uses to be definitive like the word of gospel. Their followers lap up this information live a covenant facing end times; seeking a voice for hope and guidance.
The Good Ol’ Boy Network
The circle jerk is the result of being in the right place at the right time. Few bloggers can enter this old boy network without some kind of sacrifice of integrity or ethical bearing.
I, for one, have seen this on a first-hand occasion.
Like you, in hopes of achieving some kind of internet notoriety, I searched for guidance and individuals to call mentor without fully grasping the potential hazards to my own integrity.
I found myself more focused on achieving high search ranks than delivering quality information; likewise, my attempt at great information was thwarted by mainstream recognition and exposure. My attempts teetered on a edge of a blade.
I like to think I’ve created a lot of great content here on Murlu but I’ve found myself question it as of late.
At one time, I had been receiving dozens of retweets, Facebook likes, hundreds of comments, natural links and invitations to guest post on relevant blogs. I took a hiatus and suddenly these connections I felt so solid – suddenly disappear – less impact – less comments – less interaction.
I realized that this whole blogging thing, in terms of talking about topics like SEO, Marketing, Business and other related items – really boiled down to appealing to the masses so they could get their information “fix”.
People didn’t really want information to act on – they wanted to leverage your exposure and work for their own benefit. I now wonder how many comments I’ve received over the years to be legitimate vs. a subtle attempt at piggybacking off hours upon hours of my hard work.
In all of these attempts to do incredible work – just as I’ve been told, read and thought to have understood – I really haven’t been “rewarded” for my efforts.
I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve read this idea of “create great content and they will come” from authorities like SEOMoz, Problogger, Chris G and other sources only to find out that if I didn’t have the right connections than few people actually cared.
I noticed this when I too had been networking. In exchange for my “vote” via social media – other bloggers would return the favor. When I stopped doing this – as an experiment – people quickly threw me from the “tribe”.
My Blogging Dogma
I’m actually quite sick of everything I read now when it comes to blogging but it’s not a slight against the individuals – merely the industry at large.
In many ways, blogging about these common topics has pushed people into this same, flaky direction as so many “marketers” before them.
Off the top of my head, these are the things that have begun to wear on me:
- Blogs that focus on a single topic to the point of ad nausea; the attempt to explain the same topic in as many possible ways with the hopes that regular readers don’t notice the same, tripe information being regurgitated as fact.
- Authority blogs which rely heavily on their ‘social proof’ as if it instantly guarantees that their work is perfection despite there being greater information if one has the patience to discover.
- The circular endorsements from bloggers within a similar “tribe” or “network” that is nearly always positive with a clear nod toward one helping the other out because they did so, the same, during a previous product launch.
But maybe it’s not the bloggers – maybe it’s the readers.
You wonder: at what point does a reader actually question what they read vs. being courteous and remaining quite. That nearly instantaneous “thank you” and “helpful information!” response which are clear indications that the reader neither planned to utilize the information nor did they felt compelled enough to speak up when the time was right.
Maybe it’s a bit of both? Maybe the bloggers are simply too great at their craft that they create loyal followers that don’t question their motives and direction all-the-while readers feeling the sense of entitlement and privilege to “be graced by such wisdom” by their mentor.
I’m kind of over it in this point in the game – but I’m not throwing in the towel.
I feel, what I must do, is to reject everything I believe I’ve “learned” from participating in this whole blogging thing and set off on my own direction as I had so previously planned.
I’m sure I’ll hit a point where I may contradict myself or shift directions as things pick up with my projects but I think this is worthwhile to get off my chest to plant the seed rather than remaining quiet like so many others.
I could have done a lot more damage with this post but perhaps to be saved for another time; maybe I’m not ready to destroy what little “tribe” I have left yet I wonder if what’s yet to be said will truly let things finally get underway and bring Murlu to what I hoped it to be.
I once wrote a 5,000+ word blog post – its first comment was someone attacking my grammar. It was at that moment that I discovered that people don’t care about what’s being said.
Amen, brother.
I think you and I are very much of one mind when it comes to this. I essentially stopped all interaction I had with other bloggers because 1) I realized what I was doing was fake and self-serving, 2) I hated their content, and 3) it took up crap tons of time.
When I stopped caring about number of comments or retweets, that’s when I was really able to start making money (and my traffic is still high and my blogs take up much less of my time now). Funny how that works…
I went through this for a couple years, and went broke doing it! Once I dumped all but my personal blog (which I rarely write on anymore either) and concentrated on creating business instead, then I started realizing the fruits of my labor.
While I still have a presence on Twitter, FB, and Plus… it is mainly for networking, not traffic. Personally, I have way too much going on that actually pays me to consume all that information that is drip fed into my RSS reader.
You guys are totally on point Keith and Tristan.
I wonder how many people simply quit blogging because they can’t keep up with it vs. what we’re doing and just pushing back the areas that don’t matter so we can focus on the things that do.
The social presence is where it’s at Keith; use it just to get in touch with people but also have this divide for our blog/business/chatter.
We blur the line between all of them and that becomes a problem; glad we all noticed this earlier on than burning out.
I can certainly say that I am now one of those people; has been a while Murray – how are ya?
Man, that’s kind of depressing. I agree, though, that it seems tough to break into “the circle” of minor web-celebrities out there, and they do all promote each other relentlessly. But I can’t fault most of them. People like Pat Flynn, for example, actually add a lot of value to my life. Famous or not, I’ll read his stuff.
Certainly Brock,
There’s a lot of good out there and people that are 100% what they say but there’s also an equal amount that are just pushing things in a circle which isn’t really progressing the platform as a whole.
Perhaps it’s just cynicism on my part because I’ve been feeling the “sting” from being an outsider in all of this but now I’m starting to become more realistic. I’m not aiming to be that “top blogger” that I wanted to be when I first started and now just want to make small waves of impact.
Murray – love this post. I wholeheartedly agree. That’s why I’ve basically stopped doing all of the typical internet marketing networking strategies (retweeting, pointless comments, etc.) and just blog about what I’m currently doing. I no longer care if my blog is popular or not, or what people think…I just like to have a place to document my projects and thoughts on various topics.
Sure, there are affiliate links, and I will occasionally regurgitate a lot of the same internet marketing content that’s been written time and time again, but it’s only because they are things I’m currently recognizing. I’m not trying to “teach” anyone. If you learn something from my blog, great, but if not, that’s fine too.
Maybe it’s a selfish view, but whether people are willing to admit to it or not, all blogging within the internet marketing niche (or maybe any niche) is selfish in some way.
I’m rambling now, but just wanted to comment and let you know that I really enjoyed this post.
Right on Eric,
I’ve noticed that on your blog lately and frankly – I like that you’re putting your opinions behind your stuff than just creating content to be consumed.
It’s not what everyone wants but then again, why does it matter? You’re gaining a lot more from your projects off the site than what you’re putting in onto the blog.
If people don’t recognize the value in having a unique perspective when you’re sharing content than they’re being ignorant; they’re just going to go off and consume the regurgitated information instead of real-world work that you’re putting into the projects.