Disagreeing on a blog to blog superiority

I know that some of my readers will have fun with this, but I'm in no mood for flame-wars, so I post this here. The article I'm relating to is at Problogger

Have blogs "overpowered" or conquered the market of traditional websites?

The answer would be a matter of definition and is not as easily given as in this article or the linked Problogger article, I think.

Yes, Blogs are superior to the purely HTML (private) homepages you saw in the beginning of the web.

Otherwise I think they are just an extension/addition to the tools available to create a successful web project.

Let's go through the points of the Problogger article:

1. Websites are clunky and expensive; blogs are lean and cheap.

By definition, a website is a whole web project, including all it's features, pages, etc. So, I can only disagree with this point by just having a look at web-site of the company I work for, which could never be replaced by blogs - but which uses blogs and podcasts as one of it's CRM&Marketing features. (Not relying on third party solutions, though. For reasons of security and lack of needed features provided by said third parties. So a big time saver and "cheap" only in the long run.)

Actually Google - and I adore their services for me as an individual, I feel so thoroughly analyzed :-) - provided me a great example of what I mean while writing this:


2. You have to wait for someone to make changes to your website; your blog can be changed easily by you.

That's dependent on who "you" are. When I was a child my mama used to cook for me. Now I do it myself. In the old days I left people with some for-their-needs programmed syndication tool. Today you can even use your you-name-it (Word, Open Office Writer, etc.) word processor to generate content. And even upload it! So, expect your webmaster to set you on his spam list and turn on his answering machine if you continue bothering him with simple upload requests.

3. You have to wait for someone else to set up your site; your blog can be set up by you in 15 minutes.

No, you don't have to if you have the knowledge & granted access to do it yourself.
Google "Self HTML" for mere starters... And you will create project templates once you have done something for the first time.

4. You can update your blog at an airport, while you’re on the run. You have to call your webmaster … and wait … to update your site.

I think this point shows most clearly the author doesn't know what he's talking about. Yes, I have to write an email to the owner of someones blog, too, if I ask him to post one of my articles on his site. He could also give me write access to this blog. As I could give you write access to my blog. Or access to any non-blog project I have... FTP access, for example.

5.-7.

Yes, someone seems to forget that a blog is just a homepage powered by third party work. So of course you can add any feature you could add to a normal project... Unless third party disagrees... ;)

8. It takes three to six months for the big search engines to find you with a website. It takes two or three days with a blog.

Hm, the usual frequency of spiders of all search engines is quite a mega-bit faster. Maybe add some sensible Meta tags & keywords? You might not hit the search engine tops very quickly, but... Hmmm... Who was it again powers all those great blog services and meta-services for blogs?

Well, let's leave the rest of the points in peace. I'm kind of tired after a long day at work. All in all it's a childish article written by someone with no knowledge of corporate internet needs or even the possibilities given to any private individual willing to learn.

So, if you've read as far as this, you might also want to hear that I like, maybe even love Blogs and the blogger scene!

They ARE fast and convenient, as long as you don't stretch what they were made for and accept that they have limits. Why else would I use one?

But - even if suited to the needs of most private users - they are not the holy grail and you can do much much more to/with/in the net if you educate yourself! And still use a blog as an additional! As even Problogger does...

Blogging - Some basic tips for starters...

(I wrote this article for Webhypes.com, so it is there you will find a fully edited version - and will likely find a full-grown tree of comments also. If you're interested in Blogging in all it's aspects, Webhypes.com is a good place to start... and re-visit - Suriel)

Another side note: I do NOT consider this Blog a stylish high quality work of art. This blog is purely for my own amusement. My mind's trashcan. So, don't take it as an example of what I preach here... ;)

Blogging – Some basic tips for the start
by Suriel

So you want to be a famous blogger, you want people to read about what you think and share your knowledge? Good plan, here’s some thoughts for starters. Mind you, they are just my thoughts, backed by my experience… Feel free to disagree! It's multitude of opinion that keeps the world interesting.

Know your topic

Before you start a blog – or any project at all – you should think about two things:

What exactly is it you want to achieve?
What can you achieve in a given time frame/with the resources available?

All too often the scope is admirable, but also unachievable.

Don’t try to save the world!

If you want to start a blog about gardening and you know all the tricks about growing roses – try to leave the orchids out of it for now. Stick to what you know about.

Know your crowd and know yourself

Web 2.0 eradicates the need for you to possess many technical/programming skills anymore. You can safely assume that any 6 year old – once grasping the concept of how to write – can also grasp the concept of how to create and post to a blog. The same goes for the average willing-to-learn 60 years old.

Anyone with access to a computer and the Internet can contribute – and that’s a good thing.

But: Anyone able to write could also write a novel – theoretically – but not all novels get published.

With blogs apparently this is different. You are both author and editor of your blog, so you decide what will be published.

So there is a lot more responsibility on your shoulders. If you care at all. You might want to start a blog that is more or less a less-than-private internet diary or just a junkyard of brainstormed ideas. The main topic would be you. The crowd most likely your friends. Easy! And perfectly legitimate! I have a blog like that – and I enjoy it tremendously.

Most users out there are probably far too selective for that kind of blog, though.

Yes, they might notice your blog on the top of blogger-hypes list XY. They might pay it a visit. And most likely they’ll venture on again afterwards. After all, there is a few terrabyte of data still to be explored.

Go out there yourself and seek your audience. See for yourself, what they are interested in. See what they can get already and prepare your blog as carefully as you would an evening dinner for your latest love.

Our rose-gardener might join some gardener’s forums. He might sneak in his blog via the signature or link to a helpful article on his blog from time to time. In the end it won't bring him many spontaneous hits. But it will get him a loyal – and interested - crowd, that will spread the word. The power of good old mouth propaganda is easily underestimated.

People won over this way likely stick around.

If you remember another rule, that is…


Content is everything

Content should at its very best be fresh and new, with original insights and perspectives.

At the very least it should compile knowledge in a new way, or people might as well visit Wikipedia instead.

Simple example: If I go out looking for a new recipe, I'll not likely search for spaghetti with tomato sauce.

Even if you can't come up with something entirely new, you might spice your content with what no one else could provide: Your own experiences.

So, perhaps you know an easy way to color normal spaghetti black! This would not only attract a bunch of goths. Hey, you'd even get me interested! (So teach me if you know, I don't like the ones made with octopus ink though...)

Whatever you do, don’t try to go the old copy cat way. First of all, it won’t do much to stimulate your brain or bring out your creative potential.

Second, if you’re more materialistically inclined: People will notice! They will get bored and move on and they will not easily be persuaded to come back.

There are some bloggers who can easily post an article or two per day. These are mostly people with an interesting background or life. For example: Iranian exile writers, OS Kernel gurus – or perhaps mutant turtles.

For all others I’d suggest: Better write one good article than post nonsense, just to post something at all. If you want to ensure regular posts, split up a larger article into several smaller episodes.

10% genius, 90% hard work and belief in your idea

You know you’re good, you know you provide unique content… Why doesn’t anyone notice?

Like everything else, a good web project – and even a blog – needs time to grow and be recognized. Even if it is a masterpiece from the very beginning.

Be patient! Believe in yourself and your idea, and in time others will believe in you and your project, if you continue to invest hard work in it.

The real hard work starts once you are where you wanted to be. It's easy to provide a good standard. Much harder to maintain it over time.

Bloggers are loners?

Could be right, but needn’t be so. Many topics are so complicated, you need a bunch of experts to cover them. That’s what called a team work, a concept very popular since the first stone age hunter tried to kill a Grizzly bear all alone.

Never underestimate the power of synergy generated when several people come together to combine their ideas. You’ll have to live with the fact that it will not always be your opinion riding the top – but if you surround yourself with fairly open-minded people that shouldn’t be a problem.

Usually it is ultimately more satisfying to work in a team and will get you over those dry spells and writing blocks you will encounter as a tribe-of-one.

Do it for the fun first, think of profit… if it happens to come your way

Forget the big bucks and the villa on Hawaii for the moment. There are some very few bloggers and podcasters in the US earning big bucks at the moment, who hit a nerve.

The best earning bloggers/poddies I know about in Europe can live from their blog articles. But they certainly aren’t rich. (And went to great lengths to get their ads themselves instead of using Google Ads, but that’s stuff for another article.)

Stephen King wrote a fascinating book “On Writing – A memorial of the craft”. I can only warmly encourage bloggers - or bloggers in spe - to read it.

Webhypes.COM

Yeah, that's not me... Wanted to buy that domain, but - you got lucky, people!

Someone with more energy, drive and time took it... And this terrible guy even stole my little blogs Google #1 ranking!

To my own joy I discovered that the page is not dealing with the latest cybersex sites, but with Web 2.0 and good ole Web Design and Development.

The articles I read so far are well worth reading - both for beginners and advanced designers. As are most of the comments, but I chose to add a few of my own to slow down the inevitable rise to success...

You could spend your online time at worse places! 'nuff said, visit and make it a Hype.

(No, they don't pay me for this. Yes, I will think differently if it turns into a "floating ad" zoo.)