@gruen wrote another noteworthy post over at blog.michaelgruen.com, this one about bloggers writing the same stuff over and over again… about how we’re not creating any original content anymore. It’s good stuff, but the best part of the whole thing came when @megfowler quickly replied: “EVERYONE writes about how no one’s blogging unique content anymore!”
Why (besides relaying this interaction) do I bring it up here? Well, first, I thought it would be funny to link to it, to prove his point (that I’m just recycling other people’s content). And second, to contest the point. The blogosphere is about new ideas, and I try to produce good ones on a near-daily basis here. But it’s also about community. About trackbacking, twittering, and talking… about bloggers and readers connecting around a common interest. It’s not original content sure, but that’s the idea. It’s human engagement.
Community, not isolated people talking, is what makes a blog interesting.
Just as much (for StartupWriting purposes), community (not just founders talking), is what makes copy interesting.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
“The blogosphere is about new ideas, and I try to produce good ones on a near-daily basis here. But it’s also about community.”
I couldn’t agree more– but, the blogosphere has become an ocean of recycled ideas from low-hanging fruit.
Community is important. But, as the barrier to blogging is so low, people spend less time thinking and more time reacting.
Each post contains less thought-provoking content. There are also more posts, and any original content becomes diluted and inaccessible given my attention span.
Community is important. I just wish we spent more time thinking and becoming less, “hey, me too!”
I figured I should comment, too, since Gruen made it here ahead of me:).
I have commented before about how the tech blogging community relies too much on covering the same stories with a slightly different angle, or how the newsmakers are often the same people doing the same things over and over again.
Other blogging communities do it, too (mommybloggers, sports bloggers, etc.) by riding controversies, scandals, and news stories way past their natural conclusion.
I agree with Michael that people spend a lot of time reacting instead of thinking, which is why my blog isn’t really a spot where I react… I just talk about what I think and know. Twitter is more a reaction spot for me, because I can @ people and comment and receive responses in real time. It’s a matter of choosing the best venue for a conversation, I guess.
I think people will continue to write a lot about the same things, because that same obsession with a few issues is reflected in the mainstream media and cultural centres, too.
But I think the idea of pushing ourselves a little for originality in a venue where you are free to express your ideas in your own unique way. That’s the best way to find your voice — not by responding to someone else’s, but by figuring out the special thing or viewpoint that only you have to share.
I agree with both of you :).
No really, I do… especially Meg: “That’s the best way to find your voice — not by responding to someone else’s, but by figuring out the special thing or viewpoint that only you have to share.”
Good advice for blogs, and good advice for startups. Maybe I’ll write a post about it sometime soon.