There’s a lot of things people won’t tell you about branding, gaining a ton of exposure and winning the web. This post will come off a bit rantish but it has to be said.
Take an idea and exploit the hell out of it (without attribution)
Look, I love Apple and all that they’ve done for the tech-world but let’s get down to it: Apple (like many tech companies) took a great idea and built their business off it. Don’t believe me? Just Google Xerox Parc.
Xerox Parc create the GUI, object-oriented programming and basically everything that you see in computers today. Do they get credit? Rarely and even that that you have to go out of your way to find proper attribution for their impact on modern computing. It’s unfortunate but most companies today have piggybacked off the work of a few great individuals that really didn’t get anything in return.
Seriously, look up Xerox Parc and be amazed at their contributions and tell me that others haven’t exploited their ideas for their gain.
Branding is killing off good bloggers
Here’s another thing I want to bring up: branding. I understand the importance of branding; I talk about it and you should be doing all that you can to create a personal brand but it’s just like an ego, it kills off great bloggers.
How? Just look at the major websites you probably frequent and dig around the content and archives. Does it really feel like it’s unique content? Doesn’t it always seem like it’s published at the height of interest? It happens all the time.
The result of branding goes like this:
A great blogger discovers something and writes about it on their blog – due to little influence online, they are passed over (no retweets, barely any comments and otherwise zero interaction). Weeks (or months) later a large, branded website will cover the same subject in less detail but be hailed as some kind of web-god that came down from the heavens to deliver this spectacular information.
Branding + social media = the death of good bloggers.
Those that make the first discovery gain no benefit when they hit publish and because people aren’t interested in the subject at the time, they are skipped over until a branded website brings it “in the light”.
Don’t believe me? Look at those shitty roundup posts on Mashable (sorry guys) but you can clearly see that when they hit publish on some post that rounds up something like “5 Kool Social Media Toolz” it will be retweeted a thousand times – that’s lame as shit especially when a great blogger put together a very extensive post about each months earlier.
The web is inherently social so wtf is social media?
The web has always been social in some ways; now it’s just a podium for people to shout. Years and years ago there were BBS’s (Google it) where people would socialize with one another – gasp, what? People would talk to one another on the web? Isn’t that social media? Yeah, like 20 years ago.
So now we have a shitload of tools that have become “essential” to be social online, let’s take a look at these “revolutionary” tools and why they, in many ways, are stupid and skew our views of the “social web”.
- Twitter – Hrmm, isn’t this just a chat room?
- Facebook – I remember this, this used to be online profiles!
- Youtube – Leading HD! Oh wait, Stage6 tried this years ago.
- Others – tried before, didn’t work out then, works now.
The point I’m trying to make is that the web cannibalizes old ideas and regurgitates them as something new; we’re hitting a loop – a novelty of some sort. What worked years ago but had little public interest is now “revolutionary” in today’s terms.
Holy balls you can do streaming video online?! This is amazing! It was, back in the 90′s – didn’t work then because 56k and baud modems sucked. Just saying’.
What can we do about it? Nothing.
It may just be that I’m starting to feel a bit burnt out online; I’ve been online since the mid-90′s which is pretty ridiculous seeing that I was born in ’87. I got to see everything evolve and frankly, it’s a lot of the same stuff just rehashed – things that didn’t work out in the past due to technological restrictions are now raking in the money for companies that do it today. Think again about Xerox Parc and how screwed over they got.
I’m not trying to be negative about the web today (don’t take it like that). I believe the net today is a hell of a lot better than what it used to be but we’ve seem to have forgotten the true players that do great things.
So all of this got me thinking and a bit riled up. I’m just another lame blogger out there doing my rounds, trying to make a name for myself and to build a respectable brand (that’s trying not to exploit others). I sent a few “big time” people this email but I got the general run around because hey, how the hell am I?
The idea was this: Let’s take an entire day to share content that’s not on the big media sources (gasp!)
That means we stop retweeting Mashable shit, we stop commenting on A-Listers blogs, we actually dig around the web to find those gems that don’t get the light they truly deserve.
I know no-one is going to do this because it’s just too easy to look at an aggregator like Alltop and share the hell out of the same shit other people are sharing but why not? Why not at least try? What’s it seriously going to do? I don’t know, maybe help promote people that deserve it and give you something to share that others aren’t already? Think about it.
This post will probably only get 5 retweets and a handful of comments. Months later a branded website will talk about it and they’ll get thousands. Ah well, fuck it. I tried.
I feel similar about branding Murray. I understood the power of branding but in many cases it causes folks to sell out, or at least not be their true, authentic selves.
Before branding be a zillion percent sure your brand is being built from a place of absolute authenticity.
Good Stuff Here!
Ryan
Ryan Biddulph´s last [type] ..3 Characteristics Which Make Ted Turner Mega-Successful
One additional thing I’ve seen lately is that many bloggers are now basically stepping back and letting their branding do the world – which makes sense but it’s kind of a let down – I’m talking about those great blogs we all loved and now it only seems like guest posts – where has the blogger gone?!
We all went to these blogs to hear their unique angle and I think that’s one of the reasons why I don’t do guest posts at the moment and may not do any every – or at least keep them to a very minimum.
dude…I love your writing style and I love this post. Agreed 100%. The first item happened to me once in a big way.
I wrote a post that got little bit of attention and then about 3 weeks later I saw it almost reprinted (with words jumbled but the sentiment of the post remained) on a much larger web site by a different (much large) author.
But its cool…she knows where she got it and who’s her daddy lol
Dino Dogan´s last [type] ..Separation Anxiety in Humans- Monkeys and Teds- A Dog’s Perspective
Yeah it’s just like, okay, grind our teeth and just move on but it still burns a bit in the long run because it’s no so much the spotlight they get as it’s the annoyance that people didn’t listen at that time.
This happened to me all the time throughout my life and it’s had major impact on my mindset and persona. I always used to get ridiculed during the 90s and early 2000′s because I would tell people they have to check out “this web thing” – people just laughed and told me to eff off – now it’s like you can’t see anyone without some kind of connection to the web. Hurts? A bit – mainly because they spent such a long time ripping into me for being online.
Ah well, I guess it’s sort of the price we pay as people that try to stay on the edge of things. I think the smaller community always appreciates our work but yeah, just one of those things that burns.
Okay,
You did it. I had to go and write a theme song for you…
Who’s the blogger man
Who has some great posts in the can?
MURRAY!
Ya damn right!
Who is the blogger man that would risk his neck
For his brother bloggerman?
MURRAY!
Can you dig it?
Who’s the cat that won’t cop out
When there’s danger all about?
MURRAY!
Right On!
They say this cat Murray is a bad mother
SHUT YOUR MOUTH!
I’m talkin’ ’bout Murray.
THEN WE CAN DIG IT!
He’s a complicated man
But no one understands him but his woman
Murray Lunn!
-of course I stole that without attribution… but hopefully you all know that one…
________________________________
Unfortunately none of this is new. It happens in blogging and it has been happening throughout history. As the saying goes,
History is written by the winners.
It is not always who can do it best or brightest, but who has the best PR and can get credited with the idea.
Think Columbus found America? Think again. Vikings were here well before him. There is also decent proof some Scottish Normans may have been here after that. And even some possible leads the chinese might have hit the west coast well prior to 1492.
Think of the greatest General in history, Alexander the Great, right? Bullshit! His pops (phillip of macedon) created an army out of nothing, created a well oiled machine and united Greece, just as he was about to go out and rip the world a new asshole, he was killed (likely by old alex)and the rest-as they say- is history.
__________________________
I guess my point is I absolutely agree, but getting worked up over it is like pissing into the wind. All you do is get piss all over yourself and pissed off, to boot
Should it be ignored? Of course not. I am glad you bring these inequities up. I am not convinced that the “big” bloggers -at least for the most part- are doing these things intentionally. Some idea’s do have their time.
I like your idea of trying to find and promote great smaller blogs. It is a good way to go. I am still learning all this and I am still “teaching” myself to tweet more often. (i always seem to forget) but I have always kinda felt the “big boys” get more than enough publicity and money. I have always been more willing to throw my support behind an underdog.
All that being said the best way to make some REAL change is to become a player. IF this blog were one of the big boys you are absolutely right, people would be falling all over themselves and it would be considered the right way in no time…
…at least for the seven minutes of fame we are all accorded… Until some other blog comes up with a theory that is back-asswards and everyone flocks to that.
The public (internet or not) are a fickle lot after all…
ok…so, thats like the funniest comment I’ve read ever anywhere EVER!!!! We need someone to turn this shit into a song
Dino Dogan´s last [type] ..Separation Anxiety in Humans- Monkeys and Teds- A Dog’s Perspective
If I ever get around to a Podcast, definitely going to use that as the intro haha. I’ll hire up someone on Fiverr to cover it
Gene, I think I can retire from blogging in peace now – I have my own theme song hahaha – that’s amazing! Thanks for putting a smile on my face
(Okay, serious face)
There’s a book called The People’s History of the United States right? Where it’s more written from regular people than by text books – that’s one thing that’s always just been so alarming and mind boggling is how skewed our reality is because of popular opinion – such as your example of Alexander and Columbus. And the fact that we’re all understanding this yet they continue to print it in school books makes our heads explode – makes no sense!
And for the other, you’re absolutely right with the pissing in the wind comment (although I like to think of Donnie’s “funeral” in The Big Lebowski haha) it’s not worth getting worked up over – with that being said, however, it did help clear my mind now that I’ve said all these things – it’s been laying dormant for years. Time I can finally move on with it.
Gene, you’re absolutely boss and I always forget that you’ve got age over me (no disrespect) but you come across as an actual person and not some stuck up dude that’s trying to exploit the web – you’re just like us all, trying to make our mark online and learning the ropes as we go – for that, I do *the nod* right on man, keep that up and you’re going to make some serious impact and kick some ass.
Hey Murray,
Awesome post. I agree with your overall message, and like you, I’ve been on the internet since I was probably 8 or 9 (I was born in ’84). 56k baud modems sucked, but do you remember 14.4k? Or even 9600 baud? It’s insane to think about where we’ve been and how far we’ve come, and I can’t wait to tell stories to my kids one day about the early days of the internet.
It’s true that things are constantly “reinvented,” but isn’t that just a part of human nature? You find the same things in other areas of society (like with clothing style, for example). Bell-bottoms were hot in the 70′s and caught fire again in the 90′s.
The weird thing about technology is that you expect it to take a linear (or actually, exponential) growth path, so when you find these apparent “loops,” it’s baffling.
The one thing I’ve learned from people in our parents’ generation is that if you try to fight technology or the trends of technology (on the internet, especially), you will fall way behind and eventually be lost.
Sadly, “going with the flow” here isn’t about being cool – it’s about surviving and evolving. Those who said “e-mail is stupid” or “why do I need a cell phone?” are at a severe disadvantage now when they need it.
I know none of this is exactly on point with what your post is about, but I think that with each “new” technological idea that appears to have copied an old one, there is still some element that makes it somehow improved, even if that element is simply the fact that it was marketed or branded better. Good technology isn’t just about the technology itself – it’s also about the rate at which it’s adopted and the frequency at which it’s used.
If better branding and marketing allows a replica piece of technology to succeed, then I think it deserves to be the product that “wins,” because it found its way into more people’s hands.
Anyway, I don’t mean for this to sound like I’m disagreeing with you. I still wholeheartedly agree, ESPECIALLY when it comes to your point about unknown bloggers not getting the credit they deserve. I’m all for sharing content created by “the little guys” who deserve it.
Damn, this may be the longest comment I’ve ever written.
- Eric
Eric | My 4-Hour Workweek´s last [type] ..Why My Retweet Count Is Gone – Argh!
Hi Eric, thank you for the comment, I’m really glad that this post has received such well thought out responses so far so I’ll try my best to respond as well.
I think I completely understand your comment in relation to adoption of technology because I’m a huge cyberpunk nerd and absolutely love technology – I want space ships and holodecks and neural networks dammit! We’ll have to discuss transhumanism someone as well if you’re down – one of my favorite subjects. I guess that’s just to say that I do agree that in the bigger idea of things – if the technology is adapted even if the creator doesn’t benefit it can be a benefit to us all.
The above does kind of urk me as well because then it sort of goes back to this idea of, you know, morality in some ways. With Apple, I would have loved to see something great happen after their meeting with Xerox Parc like as if they threw kick-backs or one day work together on new technologies. Same thing with Microsoft (not playing sides here) when they bought the code from DOS from the guy; he’s no where pretty much and here is MS with a multi-billion dollar empire. Does it suck for the creators? Absolutely. But it benefited us all in the end. So there’s a part of me that wants to see technology go for in any possible way but then there is the part that says – you have to respect the people that started it. Ya know?
I liked that you also brought up the idea of “going with the flow” because it is rightfully so – if a person hasn’t begun to integrate computers with their lives than they’re in for some serious bumps in the road in the future – it’s just the way our society is moving.
I think the question becomes then – now that we’re older and more experienced – is whether we push to market our ideas on the cutting edge – what if we had the same entrepreneurial mindset when we first got online (I remember that 14.4k haha – had an old IBM PC, learned to type on a MAC and was an asshole to everyone in Oregon Trail haha) – if we could have created sites back then with the knowledge we know now it would have been killer – but hindsight is 20/20 – what we have to do instead is to assess how we want to approach the cutting edge information we know now.
Do we:
A. Try to keep it underground just because you don’t want it to be ruined by mainstream appeal
B. Push it forward to the mainstream and benefit from it.
I guess this is that whole “sell-out” type idea. One perfect example is that although I’ve been told time and time again that I should record the festivals and stuff that I go to – put them online and such – I refuse to because I want to live in that moment right then and there – I don’t want to miss the experience just to be able to reflect on a moment I truly didn’t enjoy.
So maybe this is deeper in some ways. Maybe we’re just so passionate about something that we refuse to let it go but in the business mindset it tells us that we have to act. Deep questions Eric, great discussion. This is sort of a forum idea in itself, I could talk about it for days on end haha.
Thanks again, this post is actually becoming my favorite due to the length of discussion we’re all pulling in here.
I think you’ve really hit the nerve with this post…goes to show…write from your gut and you cant go wrong.
P.S. I love Howard Zinn (the author of the Pople’s History of th US)
Dino Dogan´s last [type] ..Separation Anxiety in Humans- Monkeys and Teds- A Dog’s Perspective
Hi Murray,
Any time I read your blog I’m always surprised the way you write. Ready to say your mind the way you sees it! And going through this post I’ve come to understand that many of us sees these things but don’t just know what to do about them.
Many a time I’ve written a really good article, worked really serious to publish it on my blog but what is the result? Of course this draws some comments expressing how wonderful and helpful the post is but none cares to tweet, stumble or bookmark it.
But when I visit some ‘big’ well branded blog and read some of those outright product recommendations and posts which are no way different from what we have written about some months back, I’m surprised with the number of comments, retweets and facebook likes that they carry!
But as many of the commentators have said, life has always been that way. It’s not the best candidates that always win the elections neither is it the most creative artist that becomes the richest of all!
It all comes down to this: “It’s a numbers game!”
And that of course is the purpose of branding. Learn to stand in your own corner and get noticed right there. When that corner becomes too small for you because you’ve grown too big for it, the world will give you more room.
Chadrack@Make Money Blog´s last [type] ..Is Autoblogging Gradually Becoming The Next Phase of Making Money Blogging
Great words Chadrack; it’s great to hear that it doesn’t seem to just happen to me – thought the world was against me haha – but I guess, in some ways, it makes us strive harder to really make a name for ourselves; we figure, if it didn’t take than I’m going to step up the game even more!
It is a numbers game in the end – we just have to build it one person at a time, keep growing our network just like any business or major brand. Thanks for chiming in Chadrack, always good to have additional insight on the matter
Granted the big media sources are definitely going to get more attention than the small bloggers, but we all have to start somewhere. Maybe I haven’t gotten to that burn out phase yet, but I figure just plugging away at it and at some point I’ll have created a brand for myself. I’m not sure there are any entirely original ideas anyways.
Richard´s last [type] ..5 Ways to Earn Passive Income with Your Blog
That’s a whole can of worms right there Richard – derivative culture. Maybe save that for an entire nother conversation haha
You’re right though, we just have to focus on what we’re doing and plow forward; enough with the stats.
One thing that sort of relieved me a bit is that on a lot of those posts that have thousands of retweets they maybe 20 or 30 comments – that’s pretty unbalanced cause you think of your own blog and the comment/share ration, there’s a lot more interaction than brand spread – so which is better? A stronger community? Of course
For what its worth Murray I’m with you.
Glad to see I’m not the only who’s been thinking about this. It strikes me as one of the Internet’s dirty little secrets. You hear the same stuff over and over, just with different “spins.”
Rod Watkins´s last [type] ..Innovate by Slaughtering Sacred Cows Part two in a three-part series
Seems like most everything has been said. I do have one point though…
It is not always a “copying of ideas” sometimes things happen.
Case in point my post today. I do read Moons blog periodically. But I had not seen her current post…which had the EXACT same idea as mine, until After I hit publish.
There is a decent chance I may have seen someone somewhere ask for help with a ebook title before. I can’t imagine it is THAT original of an idea. But it is a good example of the way sometimes ideas just fall at the same time.
I thought i was being fairly original..but someone in the same blogging circle hit with the same exact idea right before me.
Of course in this case both Moon and I are in the rising category and not a “pro-blogger” category…so neither of us can expect a 1000 RT and 90 copycats to follow.
I guess my point is that the popularity of something like mashable is it’s charm and it’s downfall.
It is like Britney Spears. To me… her music is derivative bubblegum crap… but it is great for people who do not know better or know what good music can be.
I could write a whole post on Spears and Christina Aguilera. I am not particularly fond of either, but Aguilera has a decent voice and at least tries to innovate…
I think I am starting to wander off topic. I see a flashing red, “wrap it up” sign
Steve@Lifestyle Design´s last [type] ..How YOU Can Name My Next Product…
Oh man, Steve, you touched on a subject that I’ve always wanted to bring up.
It’s hard to explain it but I’ll try to use examples because it fits the paralleled between the two posts you and Moon had.
Let’s take the example of Punk Rock, right? Here you have a world that’s very up-tight (prior) and then, all of a sudden, punk starts showing up in Salt Lake City, NYC and the UK – at the same time. Now, bands take a while to learn their stuff, develop their songs and they have to run the bars before popping up in the spotlight.
If you think about this deeper, back then people didn’t have much ties to one another (not like now with the net) so there was a global idea of “f the system” in youth which came forth at almost the exact time on other parts of the world. It’s sort of like a global hivemind.
This happened again with Detroit Techno and Chicago House – both basically popped up at the same time even though they’re essentially “worlds apart” – that mentality was there and it manifested at the same time.
I think what we’re seeing here too on a larger level is the same events because we have such wide access on the net.
I was recently working on this HUGE article which was using How To Win Friends and Influence people – I was about 5,000 words into it and then the next day I check my RSS and one of the blogs I wrote for wrote the exact same thing. This has actually happened time and time again to an actual scary degree – sometimes even the same type of post name (as you saw with Moon).
(Don’t worry, tying all this in)
So in some ways we are thinking a lot alike and it just so happens that since we have the net we end up finding these other posts – for the average person they might not be digging around a lot so the first one they see it seems like that’s the definitive article – this usually happens with sites like Mashable because it’s so frequented (it’s the Spears analogy).
Looking back at music it’s like, yeah, there are thousands upon thousands of better bands that are out there in comparison to the average Top 100 but those satisfy the mainstream and the underground satisfies the underground. It applies to blog content, videos and every other form of knowledge and entertainment really – strange days, wrap your head around that
Hahaha, yeah they say that if apple had trademarked their multi window gui on their original computers then they would have dominated the whole computing market.
As for exploitation, don’t miss it, just like apple did with their gui.
Peter J´s last [type] ..If there was a parallel world- I wouldn’t want to be a part of it
Hey Murlu, great article!
I just wonder how do we find those super cool content writer by amateur/professional but don’t get any exposure? I mean, if they are not promoted is pretty darn hard to find them.
I am all about branding, I said this on an other website that one of the best way in business is “Building a brand, then the brand will sell for you!” (which is actually what some millionaire said in an interview in the top 500 Forbes).
The world is full of people who work their buts of only to have their work stolen or not getting the credit for what they really did. If I think about this, is like the answer to everything is marketing.. strange.
Alex@Jocuri´s last [type] ..Gatit Prajituri
It’s a hard decision we have to make Alex and I love that you brought up the branding issue with the Forbes 500.
It’s sort of like we have the choice to do our best work ever or try to build a brand. Yeah, being able to get the spotlight and build an amazing brand would be amazing but does that also mean you have to not apply yourself as much to your work?
Maybe that’s the trick of it all really, it’s less overall information. If you think about it – with a blog we’re touching on a lot of subjects all the time and then you see some “guru” write a small ebook (about the same things we talk about) and build their entire brand off of it – why? Sure, marketing is a biggie but I think it’s focus overall. We may write every day on our blogs while they release 1 thing every couple months.
So maybe we really need to assess what we’re trying to do in the bigger picture. Do we want to use our blog to really push content after content or just nail that one thing and then use our time to market and build a brand around it – sounds a lot like the idea of the pillar post.
Very interesting thoughts; thanks for bringing it up
Hi Murray
Have just trawled through all the comments. You really have started a good discussion here….isn’t that what it’s about??!! Building community and I believe with all the interaction and the buzz this post is causing the message will get out there. You truly do have a unique style of writing. Being true to yourself as far as I am concerned is so important. Not to sell out but you can still be successful. I gave up visiting the “big hitters” awhile back and I haven’t been blogging very long. Lots of reasons but mainly now I want to support a community I can be part of and where people do care about each other and encourage one another along the journey.
Patricia Perth Australia
Patricia@lavenderuses´s last [type] ..A Dental visit with a difference…where’s the lavender
Hey Patricia, thanks for swinging by – I think you brought up another great discussion here as well. The whole idea of actively shying away from the mainstream to find DEEPER connections.
When you think about it, really, there may be a community at large on the big sites but there’s just so many people there that you really can’t make a connection. Think of it like on Facebook – there’s 500 million people and yet the only network that truly matters is your close friends.
This really applies for any type of community and I think we’re going to see shifts in the future toward smaller, niche communities more than they are now. What’s really going to spur it is that people will realize that these “big” sites have a somewhat vapid community – they will, instead, seek out smaller sites where they can talk to people and make real connections – like whats going on here.
Next time you’re on a big blog or website, look at the comments. You’ll see a lot more people only talking about the post and never really with each other – it’s sort of a following more than a community.
I’m with ya man! Even though I’m a different generation, I think the A-Lister’s is a bunch of ego-maniacs, with a gazillion “follower’s (cult-like) who bow down to them. There is a ton of great info via blogs, but they are looked over as they are not “popular”. It’s too bad…but if you play the game, unfortunately you will get your exposure, and grow you brand and business.
I’ve been making my living 100% online for the past 10 years, so I’ve seen a lot of BS out there. Let’s not get started on Internet Marketeers. That’s right “marketeers” not marketers…LOL.
There is so much self-promotion (spam); sales pitches; puking on people; and other crap that it’s become incestuous.
Now I’m feeling your vibe and need to stop it! No seriously though. We can make it better if we can ban together. Doesn’t matter the generational gaps if people are on the same page with similar beliefs.
Just my “2 cents”.
Cheers,
Mike
Mike Pedersen´s last [type] ..What’s Your Brand Say About Your Business
Hey Mike, you’re on point
It’s all so much hype marketing that really does flat out scam people into buying these systems and blueprints that you can tell the people haven’t even put into practice. How many times do we have to see a product launch that made someone $300k and then the price only cost $47 – really? If you’re banging out over a quarter mil, I’m pretty sure $47 is pennies. Just the psychology of going after people’s hopes and dreams – fish in a barrel unfortunately.
The worst is the use of fake accounts to prop up praise to the marketeer (ahhh
) so it comes across as legitimate feedback but digging deeper you can see through the BS.
There’s two sort of paths I see that we can take at dispelling these myths: go after the IM’s directly or educate people how to avoid the scam. The fun part is that by blowing the lid off their launch to reveal what a scam it is, you’re doing both
Thanks for swinging by Mike, always fun to keep this post’s discussion going.
Murray,
Really enjoying the discussion here.
Great insight on branding and how it is killing good bloggers. As I look around the blogosphere, this is cent percent true. It is happening however, there are some exceptions.
I see you have unique views on having a blog packed with guest posts. I agree this diminishes the value uniqueness relayed once by the blog creator. Isn’t this enevitable though? It does add value to the brand doesn’t it?
Adam Paudyal´s last [type] ..Sunday Synopsis 4- A Round-Up Of The Best Of The Web This Week
It can certainly add a lot of value to the overall brand Adam but I think it really depends on where you’re at in terms of branding in general. Let’s say for example if you or I suddenly switched over to about 90% guest posts, well, sure our regular readers knew our brand but people that jump on afterward really never get to see the true side of it – they see the brand through guest authors.
I guess a perfect example would be Smashing Magazine. The overall brand is huge; one of the largest in design blogs on the web but where I have the experience of knowing the brand now (through quest posts), I really don’t know what it’s all about behind the scenes because the owners rarely post.
I think there’s a certain balance overall to where you can still keep it “your blog” but use guest posts that will benefit the author and to build your blog. You can’t take any guest post in general because one sloppy post can really tarnish the brand image. After enough time (when people really “get you”) I think then you can start scaling up the guest posts overall.
Think of it a lot like a business in some ways: do you alienate your “core” audience just so your brand can grow?
It’s usually the businesses that always keep their core audience in mind that become these really edgy, fun businesses – the ones that realize the support they got from their first customers; alienating them creates this vapid brand that sure, the mainstream may “get” but everyone knows that they’re just kind of mediocre now because of leaving behind their core.
If that makes any sense heh.
Thanks for keeping the discussion going Adam, I’d like to hear your own thoughts again about the idea of the “core” audience and branding
I’m digging this dialogue! I am torn with a blog that has guest bloggers. To me it loses it’s voice a bit. Don’t know if that’s a bad thing or not, but when I go to a personally branded blog, and see all these posts written by someone else, I tend to not want to stick around. Just how I feel. Maybe it will change.
Cheers,
Mike
Mike Pedersen´s last [type] ..What’s Your Brand Say About Your Business
Those are my thoughts exactly Mike – you know, it feels a lot like when your favorite band replaces the main singer in a lot of ways. The spirit may still be there but it just doesn’t feel the same even if they can sing exactly how the original did. You long for the post by the actual blogger and not just another round of guest posts all the time.
Just my two cents at least.
I started drafting a post about the incestuous nature of blogging the same day your post was published, but I held off on reading it until I was done. We have similar thoughts about how certain blogs are not as engaging as they used to be, but I also find it to be a problem with some of the mid-major blogs out there. The post will be live Tuesday morning and you can read my rant there in its entirety.
But, culture as a whole is always looking at the past, snipping it apart, and making something new. Artists will even do that with current art works (mainly in music, a la remixes and mashups), and now writers are really getting into the act. For example, you have popular books like Wicked (story about the witches in Wizard of Oz), or Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (adding zombies to the classic Jane Austen story). Having this happen with blogs and technology should not be a complete surprise to us. Something fails to capture the mainstream interest, but an entrepreneur comes along and sees that technology differently. A few tweaks, and voila! Success. Facebook exploded in popularity while other networks had existed or did exist but something was wrong with them (MySpace profiles being messy and spammy, Facebook is clean), or LiveJournal has essentially disappeared as a blogging platform whereas WordPress has come on the scene and thrived.
But, I don’t think we should give up hope. Just as bloggers focus on niche subjects, bloggers need to focus on the small audience/readership and have engaging conversations with them. That’s what you have going on with your blog which is quite the accomplishment. Contrast this conversation to some of the others I read at other blogs (with comments along the lines of “I agree, thank you for sharing this awesome post”) or the non-comments at my blog. I’d much rather have a readership of twenty who regularly comments than a readership of 10,000 and receive crappy comments.
Yikes, I should have just written a blog post about this. Wait, I did, and I still wrote all this. Feel free to delete it.
James M´s last [type] ..Pause-Erase- Discovering Your Zone
Wonderful input James and I hear you completely on it; really love the example of mashups and current websites that really built off the older ones because of the problems with the past.
Thinking about this all in through (with such wonderful comments in this thread) it seems like it really had to be said just to get it out there; I’m feeling way more relieved to get it off my chest – I think there’s a side of me that does want to hold on to older stuff that’s cynical and wants nothing to do with newer technology since a lot of it feels just repackaged old but the other side is like YES! finally, it’s coming into the limelight.
I think a lot of it in terms of music; I’ve wrote a similar post on my music blog that talked about how electronic music is finally making a larger presence in the mainstream but what you hear on the radio is so watered down that I personally wouldn’t even call it that. To the average person it is pure electronic; I think show them a deeper underground and they’re put off by it. It’s almost like the mainstream doesn’t want to look past the surface – so in many ways it becomes this coin flip where you either want to stay on top or dig underground to stay on the edge.
It’s a tough decision, ya know?
I’m thinking about writing a post about Mobile Marketing but in many ways I think it’ll just be passed off as usual until it picks up a few months down the line. I guess I should just go forward with it because at least, in my mind, I can feel that it’s out there – someone may appreciate it for what it’s worth. Everyone? Probably not. This really applies to every blog post and I think many of us bloggers feel the same.
The one thing that does hold it all together, as you said, is the tight community that’s there with you. It’s not just the “great post” and then move onto the next post – it’s actually sticking around, really discussing it (like this post) and fleshing out the major details.
Anyway, one question that comes to my mind is: do we strive to educate the masses up-front or push our content into the underground to be later resurfaced with a new image. Tough call.
I had lunch today with my friend and we talked about blogging. In fact the conversation went on for a good couple of hours. His conclusion was that the people who make they most money online are the ones who tell people how to make money online. Isn’t that akin to selling spades in a gold rush or put another way, is this legalised pyramid selling?
Don’t most of the ‘A’ listers talk about making money online?
hmmm!
Matthew Needham´s last [type] ..Tell us your story
I couldn’t agree with you more Matthew! I’ve been online for 10 years with my retail, niche sites, and I’ve seen the whole gambit. I am now to the point that I can’t stand all the wannabe’s out there saying they can show you how to “Make Money Online” and they haven’t made enough to buy a damn pizza!
The so-called guru’s are all shlepping products on “How To Make Money Online” and that is how they make their money. Go figure.
Lets ban together and blow them off the Internet LOL!
Mike Pedersen´s last [type] ..Stop Procrastination To Succeed In Business
Mike, I think you’d really like the blog SaltyDroid.info – SD does an amazing job at exposing the “guru’s” and their lame products. A few years ago, yeah, I was buying into the hype but I always kept my BS meter up and it became aparent that everyone was just making money by promoting each others stuff – one big circle that didn’t really go anywhere.
You see it time and time again; a new product comes out to help with X but most of the people have never taken the first step to even benefit from it – the fake “time limit” on the product rushes people into buying shit they don’t need.
That’s why I think, in general, the underground type bloggers that are doing the hard work to find new things, cover it deeply and expose other areas are doing the biggest service. It just sucks that people are buying into the major blogs and the stuff they push as something fresh – they’re ready to buy into it without doing the research. Oh well, I guess.
I listened to Crush It! again after writing this post and it really hit me. Gary said one thing that stuck hard “keep your head down, keep working” it’s so true – when we pick our heads up to start examining others and complain and rant (a bit like this post – no matter how active the discussion has got), we’re still taking time away from doing our own thing.
It was good to get all of this out so now it’s back to the trenches to kick some ass – that’s the plan at least; I’m sure I’ll pop my head up to the mainstream from time to time but as you said, it’s time to put the work in now rather than be wrapped up in the next hype.
Thanks for the resource Murray. Being an info-junkie, I’ll head over there right now and have a peak
I too, am listening to Gary’s audiobook. I keep saying lets ban together (us bloggers) and support each other. I don’t see you heading over to my blog
Had to get that in bro! LOL!
Cheers,
Mike
Mike Pedersen´s last [type] ..Stop Procrastination To Succeed In Business
That’s one of my big focuses now Mike – trying to build a really tight network of fellow bloggers – just think, it doesn’t take many people to really make an impact – even if you had just 30 or so really close blogging friends you could instantly pop up all over the web because of the internal sharing on Twitter, Facebook, Digg and more.
Well great minds think alike
Why don’t we do just that? Get a group of sharp bloggers who want to participate in the conversation with each others blogs with insightful, and valuable comments? I’m game.
Mike
Mike Pedersen´s last [type] ..Stop Procrastination To Succeed In Business
Yeah, that often feels the case Matthew – it’s just like one big circle…you know what. I can’t blame them though; if you were a business owner and wanted to pump up the sales, you’d go after whatever opportunity you can take – the only problem is that there are so many people that are scamming that it really tarnishes a true occupation.
I think what we’re going to see now is a more fundamental shift away from just making money and more lifestyle – we’re not going to worry about how much we make as long as we’re happy. Hell, if I had enough to just pay the bills and give me enough money to do one or two small trips a month I’d be happy; as long as I’m where I want to be and doing what I want to do. It’s not about the millions now, ya know?
I think this is also a wake-up call for us bloggers to stop trying to rehash the same “make money blogging” (although I’m guilty on some levels, I admit) and focus on those really specific things. What about a blog that’s just about relationship building through blog comments – I’m talking about micro niche. It’s all around us. No more general “make money online” as it’s, here’s how you make money by doing X and talking with Y and then following up with Z on and on and on. Stepping up the game. More real-world experiences brought to the blog.
Should be interesting to see how it evolves over time; I think the big blogs will still remain out there but people in the mainstream are really going to start attaching themselves to niches once the web becomes almost “too big” to handle.
Well you sure did have a load to let out. But you know me Murray, the cheery optimist, if I’m not thinking about the positives, you know something’s wrong because well, either fear got me, I’m paralyzed with something uncertain, and …
Well, point is you’ve missed something – timing. While I understand your point about the true players, their timing was not right. We don’t know when timing is right. In fact, it happens.
That’s how I met you. On the dawn of connecting with other bloggers, I felt the need to build relationships with other expressionists as I shall now call us, and as you said, the blog is only our platform.
Topics regurgitated left and right, niches, blogging, marketing, sales, blah, blah, blah.
But back to what I was saying, with timing there’s also luck. It’s just some of us who don’t have that shiny, glimmery, sparkle and others that do that it blinds us. I get sick when that happens but when you start saying, ‘Oh, so pretty!’
That’s when I think you have to reconsider what is beauty. And I mentioned this in my latest post about the ‘Pink Panther’ diamond. What is value?
This goes back to my timing concept and luck. Both played integral parts to the success of a mass. That’s why I think they rise together and feed on one another. Because we have to. Sadly, unless you want to be a hermit, that’s how it has been rolling.
And I know you already know that.
But you know what else is happening?
I foresee that happening to us too but in our unique way with the Mastermind group. We’re not really reinventing the wheel, but trying to make ourselves heard. The louder, the better and that’s what I’ve come to see as the point of blogging.
Signal vs Noise
And only a few of us are fortunate, I say that because I believe in luck and making our own fate, and also our ability to inspire and act on it truly.
Sounds cheesy I know, but that’s what I get from you. Adam. Jennifer. Steve. James. …
That’s what keeps me coming back here. Because I’m illuminated and society is that way when they can find something that breaks open their head.
Just my two cents!
By golly, I’ve talked too much already.
K, Later!
Thu
Thu Nguyen´s last [type] ..What is the Pink Panther of Blogging
It’s always a pleasure to hear from you Thu
I think luck and timing does have a pretty pivotal role overall but it’s certainly one of those hindsights that makes it so apparent. You look into any of the major accomplishments and there may have been a few that have done it before but the timing just wasn’t right for society to take notice. Others, it seemed like luck hit it on the head – it’s a lot like any of our ideas in business, blogging, life and more. We just have to keep swinging until we land it; sometimes it may be luck, sometimes it may be all us – either way, I guess the point is to never stop swinging in general
LOL, in that case, you’re definitely right, keep on truckin!
Thu Nguyen´s last [type] ..Ebooks- Themes- Tools and Scripts – Your Products LEAKED!
Hi Murray, I sometimes get frustrated when I see a crappy post at a popular blog get a lot of attention when the subject has been done better elsewhere. Then I realize it’s like anything popular, it may or may not be any good!
Even though a popular blog has momentum, letting the quality slip will hurt the brand in the long run. Too many guest posts will do that, especially if the writing is much worse than the blog’s owner.
Another thing that will hurt your brand is a short post that was clearly written in 5 minutes. I read a post on an “A list” blog today that had 101 words. Most of it was a rehash of a news story with a couple questions added to the end. If I already knew about this tech update, the post added 0 value to me. The author hadn’t even tried out the new tech! I am much less likely to visit this blog again, as it was a waste of my time. The post has over 100 tweets though.
Jennifer Barry´s last [type] ..6 Reasons Not to Work So Hard
Actually, I know exactly what you mean Jennifer – not going to name any names but there’s been a few A-list blogs that haven really gone down hill over the last few months to the point that they’re touching on topics that were brought up time and time again – written in a rush just to push out content – and now it’s hurting them because no-one is commenting or interacting in any way.
Not going to lie – a lot of my posts are created in 20 minutes but those are usually the passionate posts (such as this one) that seems to pour out.
The calculated posts where bloggers actually consciously sit down and throw out a mediocre post in 5 minutes – yeah, that’s definitely hurting the brand.
I did a roundup last week of blogs with lower Alexa ranking than mine. The big blogs don’t need it, but it would be nice if they mentioned ME.
Sandy @ yesiamcheap´s last [type] ..November 1 Check In
I sometimes wish I could churn out a post in 5 minutes Murray, but it’s bound to be crap in that time frame. 20 minutes of passion is possible, and often they are the best posts; you can almost smell the enthusiasm.
You’ve got a lively debate going here Murray, sorry I’m so late but I’m working through your posts going backwards. It makes a change to read posts from someone who has a lot of experience, yet doesn’t shove the latest ‘must purchase brand x’ down our throats.
Keep up the good work Murray, I’m still delving into your historic archives for more pearls of wisdom.
John
Leamington Spa, England
John McNally@Blogging for Pleasure and Profit´s last [type] ..198 Peaceful Ways to PROTEST