Comments on: Who are our audience and what do we owe them?

By: Colin Walker » Whose stuff is it anyway?

Colin Walker » Whose stuff is it anyway? — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:02:17 +0000

[...] about the implied social contract of blogging which has caused a number of arguments over exactly what bloggers owe their audiences and perhaps we should be asking if an implied social contract should extend to the way we utilise [...]

By: Julian Baldwin

Julian Baldwin — Fri, 23 May 2008 23:30:27 +0000

I think we need to prepare for what lies ahead at the same time we pull others up to speed. We're thinkers, nothing is too much as long as there's big purpose behind the madness. I've been pondering an idea around the theme: Gen X Meet Gen Y.. and I've been thinking RRW definitely has a solid archive of helpful material to get people going. The other day even, Social Media U.

By: Brandon Werner

Brandon Werner — Fri, 23 May 2008 22:53:23 +0000

I agree with you Colin, but it would seem the only way to get your ideas out there is in short microbursts that the geeks with the ADD can absorb. We all say we are short on time, and I have to admit even I scanned across your post and read a few sentences each paragraph.

I've noticed if I write more than 3 paragraphs in a blog entry – around the same topic – you can tell the difference in comments and traffic vs. one that is shorter. I don't like it anymore than you do – but I see things having to get much worse before they get better sadly.

By: colinwalker

colinwalker — Fri, 23 May 2008 20:33:45 +0000

No problem and likewise, thanks for making me think. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 23 May 2008 20:27:23 +0000

Colin,
Thanks for the reference.

I think that being too personal has to do with who your audience is and why they are reading. I'm not going to expect a Fast Company blog to have post of "what I did this weekend." However, if you just position yourself as a guy who likes to talk about the stuff that he's interested in, then it's a little easier to be personal.

Statistics are showing that people make a large amount of their buying decisions based on personal recommendations, so there has to be some outlet for that to take place. People want to see the human side of their leaders, but not necessarily a family anecdote in the middle of a state of the union address.

Being personal can alienate a "business-minded" audience. There's a lot of risk because the more personal you become, the more niche you become and thus your audience shrinks.

One of my next posts is going to be on authenticity, this has given me a lot to think about. Thanks!