A couple of years ago I asked myself that question, did some research and came up with the What the Blogosphere Wants More Of
list shown at the bottom of my right sidebar. Since that time, as the
chart above shows, my blog's popularity has increased steadily: 1500
people subscribe to my blog via Bloglines (the leading RSS subscription reader) or Rmail (the leading RSS e-mail subscription utility) alone. According to Sitemeter
(the leading web traffic utility), my 'average' reader spends 2m30s
reading my blog. That's several times the blogosphere average, and
collectively (excluding my subscribers, whose reading time is unknown)
people spend between 60 and 70 hours per day
reading How to Save the World. That's pretty astonishing, as it's more
than the attention some community newspapers get*. Talk about
responsibility!
But in the past year or so, some newer blogs have surged past mine in popularity. One of my favourites is Kathy Sierra's blog Creating Passionate Users. Kathy recently asked her readers why her blog has become so popular. She has received over 100 insightful responses.
For
those who don't have the time or patience to wade through them, here is
my synthesis of what her readers said, in approximate order of
frequency and passion of mention:
- Engaging (Style): Light, friendly, conversational, down-to-earth. Real, not preachy. Personal, passionate, fun, fresh. Doesn't take itself too seriously. Creates a sense that "we're all in this together".
- Accessible: Simple, tight, articulate, interesting, easy to read. Compare Kathy's writing to mine using established readability criteria:
| How to Save the World | Creating Passionate Users | | Average Characters per Word | 5.1 | 4.6 | | Average Words per Sentence | 25 (ouch) | 18 | | Average Sentences per Paragraph | 5 | 3 | | Flesch Readability Score (target 60-70) | 35 | 62 | | Flesch-Kincaid Reading Grade (target 8-9) | 12 | 9 |
- Useful: Practical, broadly applicable, not just informative. Actionable.
- Original: Unique, fresh, stuff you can't find anywhere else.
- Uses Images Effectively: Graphics that are attractive, valuable, easy to understand, amusing.
- Thoughtful and Thought-Provoking: Brings
a unique point-of-view. Provides context. Not afraid to be provocative,
but not in your face about it. Not knee-jerk or dismissive. Carefully
worded. A conversation-starter -- gives you something to talk with others about, and to send to others to invite them to a conversation.
- Generous: Respectful, giving, modest, no bullshit or condescension.
- Focusing on What's Important: Asks and answers the questions others are asking themselves, or should be asking themselves. Gets to the point.
- Positive: Upbeat. Enthusiastic. Energized. Makes the reader feel good, empowered.
- Credible: Not beyond the author's competencies. Reinforced with relevant, valuable first-person stories.
- Just the Right Length: Not cryptic, cute, obscure or verbose.
- Honest: Not afraid to tackle complex issues or admit not having all the answers. Candid. Reasonable. Balanced. Open. Genuine.
I
can hear some well-established bloggers, both A-listers and those
struggling in obscurity, reading this list and dismissing it. "Not my
style". "Not edgy enough". "Who has time for this?" "I do this, it's
just not appreciated". "Doesn't apply to my genre of blog".
But this is the future of blogging. Not off-the-cuff simplistic echo-chamber rants about things the author doesn't really know anything about, but instead, journalism as invitation to knowledgeable, actionable, interesting conversations.
In this kind of journalism, insight trumps mere cleverness, what it
means is more important than what happened, and collaboration,
consensus and resolution are valued over scoops, scandals and
vituperation.
If you're a blogger (or any other kind of
journalist), try this: Score yourself honestly on a scale of 1-10 on
each of the twelve criteria above. Then, for any criterion for which
you've scored yourself 7 or less, identify one step you could take to
improve that score. Keep the list in front of you while you write your
blog posts. My list (gulp) is as follows:
Criterion #1: Re-read each article as if it were my side of a conversation. If it's stiff, forced, or strident, loosen it up.
Criterion #2:
Don't publish any articles until their readability scores are in target
range. It should average less than 20 words per sentence, with a
readability score >60 and grade <11).
Criterion #7:
Think about the readers who are going to collectively spend 60 or 70
hours reading this article. Ask myself if I'm giving them enough to
reward their attention.
Criterion #9: Without compromising honesty, focus on what's possible. Be kinder to my readers. Don't make them work so hard.
Criterion #10:
If I'm writing about something I know little about, or writing just to
organize my thoughts, be upfront about that and ask myself whether my
synthesis, my second-hand information, is really more useful than
simply directing to readers to people and written work by those who
know much more about it than I ever will.
Criterion #11: Make it shorter. I need to become a much better, more ruthless self-editor.
With
so many bloggers out there, it's getting harder and harder for new
bloggers to get attention. Kathy has shown that it's possible, and how
to do it.
The toughest of the twelve criteria, I think, is #4. By its nature, journalism is first-person
stuff, and rehashing other people's news and material just isn't enough
to be truly and consistently original. The only advice I would presume
to give (and to take more often myself) on this score is to get out more.
I
see blogging morphing considerably in the coming years from interactive
journalism to genuine conversation. When that happens, the rules will
change and a new set of criteria will apply. In the meantime, my kudos
and thanks to Kathy for being a great role model for successful
blogging. Thanks, too, to her thoughtful and articulate readers for
telling us why she is such a great one. And most of all, thanks to my
own readers, for their patience as I strive to become one, too.
*The
number of 'inbound blogs' (other bloggers linking to me in the last 6
months) per Technorati has dropped off. However, David Sifry of
Technorati has acknowledged that this drop-off doesn't make sense and
is investigating. If you use Technorati data to assess your blog's
popularity, stay tuned.
P.S. Readability scores for this article: Average Words per Sentence 12. Readability 50. Grade level 9. Getting closer! |
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