Why so many blogs are just boring.

Long term readers of this blog already know that I don't much care for what Nick Carr has to say. The interesting part is that I don't like it loyally every day. On days when I don't have time to exercise, I use him to get my blood circulating faster.

Nick is a very good blogger.  First, he's a talented writer, second he's a good story teller and third, he's not afraid to take a stand--usually on the opposite side of the one I would take, forcing me to really think about the opposing view.

I prefer to read Nick to some people I know, like and with whom I almost alway agree.  These guys write nice things, but they add little new to the conversation. They try hard not to offend anyone. They don't scour online and off, for new data points to add to ongoing conversations and rarely discuss new topics worth discussing. Some days they feel obliged to write because they have been advised to write often, so they tell you about their messy desks.

There are now millions and millions of posts going up every day, most of which will bore most everyone. Some of this is topical. None of us are interest in all possible topics.  I for one, ignore most posts on sports, hummingbirds and butterflies, macramé and its quilting cousin, cars, cute puppies and inexpensive fashionable accessories.

That does not mean they are not good blogs.  It means they are not relevant to me.  This is the same for most of us when we browse bookstores, TV and movie listings, iTune store offerings or the Most Popular section on YouTube. Maybe you like animated penguins with Happy Feet, but I'll pass, thank you very much. But thanks for the search tools that let you find these topics and me to simultaneously avoid them.

But, there are a great many topics that interest me, business, international, social media, technology, political, travel, photos, sailing and so on. Nearly every day I wander through posts on blogs I have not previously looked at and, so very often, feel an instant cure for insomnia.

It seems to me that as blogs wend their way from neat little creeks into the roaring mainstream there is just too much content that is just plain boring. I find many, on topics I follow, that are about as engaging for me as reading a Russian language phone directory.  In the blogging mainstream, we seem to be building mountainous islands of pap and crap.

I don't think this trend is stoppable. It always happens. TV once overflowed with innovation. So did rock music.  But then, each got institutionalized. The pioneers got replaced by marketing people who replaced creativity with the brainless determination  to make the next one very much like the last profitable one.

I cannot stop the mundane from mucking up mainstream, neither can you, but I can offer you some cheap, free advice on how to keep your content off the islets of pap and crap. This advice is in the category of dreadfully obvious, but the evidence abounds that it bears mention:

1. It is better to be interesting than boring..

A couple of  days ago, I was asked why Scoble is so damned popular.  He's had to post more retractions than just about anyone. That's because Scoble is usually interesting.  He joins conversations that have already captured attention and he adds new thoughts and information to it. He takes risks by swinging the bat and he's prepared--sometimes eager--to admit when he screws up. That's why Scoble is usually interesting. That's why he gets more comments than the average radio talk show host.

2. It is better to be useful than boring.

Most bloggers are less provocative as Nick.  Nor so they wish to take as many risks as Scoble does. You don't have to.  Most readers are more concerned with finding useful information than anything else. Yesterday, someone asked me why Pat Phelan has such a successful blog.  "He's like Switzerland.  He never takes a stand.  He rarely throws a punch," I was told. Pat is one of the most successful bloggers I have coached. In less than six months he has moved from about a three millionth ranking to just about 30,000. Pat is frequently the first to report on matters related to the new telephony services and this is igniting into a very hot topic. He also salts his postings with personal experiences and interesting--or funny-- miscellaneous stuff. He's not likely to burn a bridge simply because that's not his style. He's also not afraid to be very personal.  When he wrote about a drunken Mel Gibson's brush with antisemitism and the law, he slipped in that he is a recovering alcoholic--very brave for a CEO. People like and trust Pat.  But his  blog is becoming popular because it is above all--useful.

3.Sparsity is better than boring. It is better to write less frequently and then surprise your readers by having something to say. Yes, I know, I know. You score better on search engines when you blog often, but that does you very little good if people realize you are mostly contributing to the mountains of pap and crap. When he was still CEO of Groove Networks, Ray Ozzie now Microsoft heir-designate used to go months between blogging bursts. His new blog seems to have been abandoned, but one never knows. But when he wrote, a great many of us soaked in his every word.  It's what he wrote then, that leaves me with some glimmer of hope that Microsoft will pull itself out of the abyss it seems to be hovering over. In short, if you say it once well, you don't need to say it a thousand times.

4. Provocative beats boring. Nick Carr sometimes makes my blood boil. Strumpette stirs it another way.  I really hope when her identity is revealed, she really turns out to look like the picture. Like Nick, she's made herself a contrarian and she keeps coming up with some compelling cases that make the traditional PR industry uncomfortable.  I just love it. I think every PR and marketing blogger should take note and try to write with the level of passion and persuasiveness she serves up.

Pne last thought to Nick Carr.  Nick, have yourself a very merry Christmas and enjoy your eggnog break. I look forward to having you piss me off again next year and long into the future.

Comments

[Kian Ann]

I would guess it would take some fine skill to write a interesting, useful and provocative post! Well, while most bloggers do their best to do so, not everyone succeeds. Sometimes, I read back at my own posts and I will admit my post are boring :)

I just hope to fine tune my writing skills with more experience.

[shel israel]

Ann,

I just checked out your blog and you are far from boring. I would suggest you join in more conversations started by other people and (2) Let us see a little more about you and your life in Singapore. Please keep at it. you have talent.

[Pat Phelan]

An apple for my teacher for Christmas.
To you,Paula and Jean
A very happy Christmas and a peaceful new year from your friends in Ireland

[Kian Ann]

Thanks Shel! :) Yeah, I'm keeping at it! I love my blog!

Posting about life in Singapore sounds good! Thanks for the tip!

[Kim M. Bayne]

Most of the tools on the Internet are free to users; blogging services are no exception. So what does one expect?

I'm a Netizen from way back, but I continue to be amazed daily. Tons of junk is posted to community forums and email discussion groups, even when the topic is finely tuned and the Rules of Engagement are prominently posted.

Many Internet users (and bloggers) behave like they are behind the wheel of a car, at a stop light, with a finger up the nose. "Gee, no one can see me behind this glass while I pick." Is it any wonder that people blog badly?

I'm not so sure if boring posts are the real problem. Everyone has a unique set of interests, so not every topic will appeal to everyone. Even with the best title, a blog is only as good as the author's ability to think and write.

~ Kim

[Amanda Chapel]

Shel,

Grazie.

Arrivederci amore, ciao.

- Amanda Chapel

[Jane Genova]

An efficient market takes over on boring blogs. No one reads them so their influence declines. Eventually there is just another abandoned blog in cyberspace. The world of metrics is Darwinian.