We’ve come a long way since the first Diary of an Ad Man post. But rather than wax poetic, let’s get on with the business at hand.
Some bloggers who have achieved notoriety start believing their own hype and flaunt unwarranted egotism. The result of these new big britches is an angered readership. They were attracted by great content that served their needs. When their loyalty is rewarded with bursts of arrogant or self-oriented content, readers vote with their feet. Blogs start losing readership. This does not mean a death sentence for a blog, so long as the writer(s) realizes what’s happening and engages in a course correction.
Examples
Last summer Robert Scoble went on a Facebook frenzy that also included a new high in popularity. Soon readers were treated with comments about how he couldn’t have more than 5000 friends, nor could he believe that several friends had dropped him. Then there were incredibly excited statements about Facebook, and when backlash occurred irritable comments in his posts. Then there were mia culpas. What happened? People noticed (see chronicle of events on Technosailor) and there was less traffic.
Since then Scobleizer’s back in form and seems to have leveled off.
How about Steve Rubel? Boy, has Micro Persuasion fallen off. First he seemed to lose relevance and timeliness. Then when he blogged he created these grand proclamations. These were sweeping statements that seemed to have been started by other marketing bloggers. When called on it, Rubel said:
“I see this isn’t a new idea. I had missed others’ prior posts on this subject. I don’t read other PR blogs beyond the ones that my colleagues pen. There’s only so much time in the day and had to cut down my feed list.”
Ouch! Then there was the whole, “I don’t need to blog that often, I can just Twitter” bit. The end result, less traffic, and loss of the position in the Ad Age 150 as the #2 marketing blogger. Who took his place? Copyblogger (tied with Seth for first). Interesting to note that traffic stats had Steve and Brian neck and neck one year ago.
Steve is blogging regularly again, and some minds think a resurgence may be in the works.
Who’s next? Maybe Michael Arrington after publishing a guest column that recommended astroturfing. Or his no-show at BlogWorld. Keep it up, Mr. Arrington. I can only tell you that sooner or later folks will vote with their feet. We’ve seen A list bloggers who collapsed in this segment because of similar issues.
Then there are those who are quick to call out newer bloggers who don’t have the years of history that some do. Be careful, fellas. Social media communities are fickle ones, and demanding respect on yesteryear’s work is a fast way to lose mindshare. Don’t rest on your laurels. There’s a ton of new, hungry savvy players who get social media. And they want your community’s eyeballs.
Moving Forward
The Buzz Bin has enjoyed a lot of popularity as of late. But make no bones about it, we understand it’s because our writing in the past eight-nine months has been designed to serve you, not because we’re hot stuff. The moment we forget who we’re writing for and start believing all of the hype is the day when the downward spiral begins. We will continue our Hustle 2.0 approach!
I’ll leave this post with one final note. Seventeen months ago this company was only two months old when it was almost wiped out by a tragic flood (see blog post four hours afterwards). The catastrophe affected 150 homes in my neighborhood.
This blog was used to fight for the Huntington neighborhood, and serve its immediate physical community. No matter how high we climb or how far we fall, for me that time will always offer some of the most cherished moments in this blog’s history. At that time, the average day saw 15-25 readers.
Enough. On to 501.
Well said.
Apparently we were thinking similar thoughts…
Geoff,
All communcators, including bloggers, need regular reminders that we are but one voice floating in a sea of voices. Most of what we have to say never makes much of a difference. The hope is that when strung together our line of thought as shared, can serve someone in some way.
All this week, I have wondered about my own communications. Is my tone egoistic, or my comments too self-absorbed, or my posts too self-serving. For most of us, staying true to our readers is a struggle. But the struggle must be part of the communications process, less we begin writing for ourselves instead of our readers.
This is a really interesting post, Geoff. In defense of Steve, he’s faced the same conflict that many of us have — how to juggle the ever-increasing work commitments with blogging. Steve chose not to do what Brian Clark and Steve Hall, among others, have done — specifically, hiring folks to share the writing duties with. I don’t fault Brian or Steve H. for their decisions, but I respect Steve R.’s decision as well.
@Scott Absolutely, Steve’s still got a lot more traffic than most of us combined. I think he still deserves a lot of respect. And he was the first PR blogger to really break open a huge career using this media form.
@Lauren :) Good to see you, my friend. Lauren had a similar post today here:
http://12commanonymous.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/11/diamond-in-the.html
@Lewis You are totally on track. No worries.
Great content pulls audiences. Well, let me correct that. I put up six Kindle videos in the past week. Five were pretty rational looks at the device. One was, um, a bit over the top (Slashdot called it “apoplectic.” Which one got all the traffic? You guessed right.
If you worry about traffic trends you’ll go nuts. By the way, my server logs show that many of the traffic ratings sites (Alexa, Compete) are wildly inaccurate.
Just to be clear (regarding Scott’s comment) I’ve never hired or paid anyone to post at Copyblogger. The guest writers post for exposure, and many of them have been paid handsomely with new business.
Steve could offer the same exposure, but Edelman can’t let “competitors” share the limelight, now can they? ;)
Thanks for the mention, Geoff.
Geoff, Congratulations on your 500 post milestone. The Buzz Bin continues to share great insights and stimulate conversations with the community.
Brian, you cheap bastard :)
@scoble On Alexa, fluctuations yes, irregularities yes, but over time I think it paints a fair enough of an abstract. Artfully speaking, not scientifically.
Good to see you here, sir. Thank you for Naked Conversations.
@Brian Always good to see the master, and thanks for the clarification.
@Doug Thank you for everything. Looking for some more NextUp!
This is my first time reading your blog, so let me first congratulate you on 500 posts!
I look forward to perusing the backlog as I learn more about blogging.
Your point about keeping focused and in touch with your readership is well taken. It’s interesting how a blog’s value and reputation rises and falls with those of its author. Maybe there’s a danger in putting too much personality into a blog. On the other hand… maybe that’s the secret sauce.
Good luck with the next 500 posts!
Congratulations on your 500th (I’m a bit in awe). I don’t know how I first found The Buzz Bin, but it’s become a daily read and a great resource when I’m doing research.
You do get it, Geoff – it’s about the readers. I enjoy your posts (like Chris Brogan, Brian Solis and Jeremiah Owyang, Robert Scoble, etc.) because you offer so much value and a high level of conversation without arrogance or patronization.
You have a lot to be proud of!
@Scott – so see your point. Work vs online presence (and sleep!) is a continual battle I fight and I’m amazed at people who can juggle all of these responsibilities. And give great value.
Congratulations Geoff,
I’ve enjoyed your blog & getting to know you.
Your book is great! I read most of while traveling yesterday.
@Mark Yes, you are right. This is a particularly important aspect for community managers. Does the departure of a community manager kill the blog/community?
@Jane and Connie: I am thrilled to have come to know you through Twitter, etc. It’s great to be part of your community. Thank you for coming by.
@Connie Glad you liked!!!!