DISQUS

Robert: at the risk of sounding trite or simplistic, I think you should consider the following points:


1. Ignore Mike Arrington's opinion in this matter - you have different goals backing your opinion on the value of large numbers of followers. Or at least accept that he has a different point of view. Oh, by the way, Mike hasn't dragged me off the rails, nor has he dragged 99%+ of the world's (or blogosphere's) population after him. The people who we use as thought-leaders and role models tend not to be the most popular. "Me too" is getting far too old. Also, perhaps the recent declines in Techcrunch readership are not a sign of idiocy of the readership, but a sign of intelligence: a signal that it's not meeting some people's needs.
2. Continue trying to start or join in smart conversations - see, you're already on the right track
3. Continue to look beyond the tech blogosphere for smart people and smart conversations (which you've been doing this year) - see point 2
4. Finish what you start - if you start a new conversation, etc. then give it some time to carry on, become more complex, etc. and keep checking in. Build on it. You're already doing that in this post.
5. Acknowledge that we all want some brain candy in addition to good, nourishing stuff.

Impressive. Very impressive.


About 4 - there are different schools of thought about defining your permalink structure. Some people are strongly opposed to incorporating date characters into the URL, as it firmly fixes your posts at a certain point in time, which may turn some people off if they encounter them at some point in the future. Adding the word "blog" is interesting and something I've never considered before: is that in anticipation of a more function-filled website of which the blog is a part?



Great work!

Robert: perhaps so, but IMF doesn't hold a lot of credibility in my books. And, at any rate, you are attempting to show both sides... that's cool.

Robert:

Fair point, in a way, about how people don't always list the sources that form their opinions.

I did not read all of your FriendFeed, Google Reader, etc. activity in detail about the current financial markets downturn and, to be blunt, it's hard to do that. It does take a certain amount of time and effort. My impression was that your "doom and gloom" commentary was more energetic and overshadowed most of your more positive commentary. What can I say?

One thing that is interesting to note that you are performing multi-channel information watching, synthesis and broadcasting (two-way, of course) in a way that few people can or will do. There's definitely value in that. It does take a lot of time and you deserve some recognition for that.

However, I think you must realize that the first, loudest, brightest, most energetic communication forms an impression and I feel that's what your "doom and gloom" communications did in this scenario.

Just saying what I think. It's still good to see someone scouting out the information, though.

Congratulations on your success to date!

Actually a question for you, Robert: what kind of value would you place on references?

One meta-idea: do not send in a generic resume. Tailor the offering to the job and organization that you're applying for. The point is implicit in your comments above, but it doesn't hurt to state that explicitly, either.

Many thanks, Mike! You do great stuff, too!


P.S. You forgot to mention my comedy writing chops... :D Actually, I've only written one or two intentionally comic posts, so perhaps I've still got to prove myself in that form of writing... ;-)

FriendFeed meet ups sound like a good idea!

Many of these start-ups have names that are similar to established companies. And, speaking of which:

Best Buy? As in the electronics retailer? Wha?

If you are who you appear to be, I visited your spot in EU a couple of times. Crazy.

I agree, Gloria.

Hi Pamela. You have a good point about the potentially addictive nature of both games and social media. While it's true that people may not be sitting there and Twittering away non-stop, they may be doing an awful lot of reading and/or waiting for someone to respond to their Tweets. That can be an addictive time sink as well and it can led people to ignore their priorities, much like gaming does.

As for the manipulative nature of MMORPGs (i.e. activity to keep you playing and waiting for the next big "score", not unlike the way that slot machines work...

Hey taulpaul, that's an interesting coincidence. I think a number of conventions from online games have worked their way into social media.

Disclosure: I'm a Problogger.net and Darren Rowse fan, so this will probably color anything I write.

I haven't read the entire book, but I still plan to at some point. I have read the free introductory chapter and found the anecdotal stuff a bit interesting.

At best I expect that it's an introduction to professional blogging concepts. For the price they are charging, I would not expect them to give away the farm, particularly given their involvement with other products and programs.

Having said that, I'll certainly keep your thoughts in mind when I do read the book.

Thanks Lou! Quite true: online comms do provide the ability to keep people at arm's length - E-mail is the classic example of this.

After reading this post, it almost feels like Techcrunch is the Microsoft of blogging. Not the Google of blogging, the Microsoft.

Thing is: do the best products, with the most loyal followings, really get launched under the wing and coverage of Techcrunch vs. other outlets? I wonder. Maybe there are more success stories coming from elsewhere?

In other words, is there really that much power behind that big stick?

Cool picks. I posted for Blog Day 2008 as well, but I went far afield to find bloggers from different countries and walks of life, including bloggers from Africa, Argentina, India, Australia, and Belgium.

Cheers!

To everyone who's expressed similar thoughts or struggles - I hear you. For those who've said a kind word, thanks!

I'm calling BS, Melanie. ;)

DesignMeme, I agree that there is a different between communication skills and personality types. Introversion is a personality type that you're basically born with and you just have to work with that. On the other hand, introverts can be great thinkers and communicators - they just can't be "on" around other people as much as extroverts can be or for as long.

Don't underestimate the power of common sense. Also, perhaps you should keep in mind that a number of those points were describing the use of StumbleUpon to help promote your blog.

It is pretty basic stuff, though.

I loved that Star Wars game back in those days... Same vector graphics as Battlezone, only with color!

Inspiring!

<abbr>Mark Dykemans last blog post..And now for something completely different</abbr>

Inspiring stuff, man. Keep 'em coming.