Disappointment in Big Blogs
December 7th, 2007 | Categories: blogs, marketing, networks, off topic, social media, trends
I’ve been extremely disappointed with some of the big blogs recently. Their lack of interesting content and regurgitated material is uninspiring to say the least. I’m not going to name any blogs in particular, but you can come to your own conclusions.
My biggest concern revolves around blog owners, formerly known as the original blog publishers. I say this because most have given up writing (to some extent) to focus on management. These big blogs usually employ several full-time writers, as well as an assortment of part-time and guest publishers. Add to that the fact that ad sales and management take up a considerable chunk of time. This leaves little, if any, time for writing.
Another criticism I have for many big blogs is their habit of going off topic. Instead of focusing on the content that formed the basis for the blog, the author(s) choose to venture in a new direction - one that is often focused on gaining new readers rather than saitsfying the current ones.
Generally, it just seems that the priority has shifted from the content to the marketing and business processes. I’m not saying this is true for all big blogs, but it is definitely apparent on a couple.
All the above issues point to one thing: many big blogs are beginning to look like magazines or newspapers. Wait… Weren’t blogs supposed to be the medium that destroys these traditional media outlets? Yes, but it seems this argument has turned full circle. With less opinion and more conservatives views, these blogs are toning down the content in an attempt to appeal to a larger market. It also seems like they are trying to churn out quantity rather than quality. This may come back to bite them in end.
What is your take on this matter? Do you think that some big blogs are “selling out”?
December 7th, 2007 at 10:55 am
I’m not sure which specific “big blog sites” you’re referring to. But if you have the same shortlist as mine, I think they still have useful information. One person can’t be the original publisher all the time, especially if it’s a big blog site.
However, I think you got it right when blogs become a business process. It’s no longer about the content, but how much money you can get out of it. What worries me is the smaller (even startup) blogs who copy posts thinking it will generate enough Ad traffic.
I wonder if I can blame Google for the downfall of original ideas?
December 9th, 2007 at 5:38 am
Ah, you mean TechCrunch? It does go wildly off topic no doubt to appeal to diggers etc.. and the money those big tech blogs make must make it tempting to deviate onto revenue friendly keywords.
I don’t really have a problem with that, but I completely agree about the lack of real opinion from some authors, trying to please everyone by being nice.
If you’re not pissing people off, you’re not doing it properly IMO. I guage success by the amount of hate mail I get, since my ad revenue can’t begin to compete with the likes of TC.
December 9th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
I agree with Rudy, what defines a “big blog”? Then again what is the definition of a blog these days, Seth Godin doesn’t allow for comments, is he still hosting a blog?
December 10th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
@Dave,
A blog is a social networking tool. If a blog has no room for comments, then it’s simply just another newspaper column article. The best part of a blog is the comments section.
December 13th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
I think you right. In fact I don’t think those big blogs are better then our blog’s in anything. They had the luck and the network to create extended network of readers. You can see that 8 of those 10 top traffic blog’s have the same scripts and they link to each other at the bottom of the blog. When money making is the most interesting part of writing the blog, then you don’t waste time on good content.
DAN
December 14th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
[…] Mapping the Web is disappointed in “Big Blogs,” and I get the point to an extent. Successful bloggers turn into rich bloggers by taking a step back, running the business, marketing, and advertising side, and hire writers to carry out the vision that they used to solely handle. […]
February 6th, 2008 at 2:20 am
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