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2 months ago
in How to Start a Blog Without Making the Mistakes I Did on Twenty Set
I'll add that Lance Haun and Richard Millington are two people who often appear on lists of the best blogs in their respective industries just to give some examples that aren't as unattainable as Mashable. Another would be Ramit Sethi though he falls closer to unattainable on the spectrum.
1 reply
2 months ago
in The Best Gen Y Bloggers Don’t Fit the Gen Y Stereotypes on Twenty Set
You're right about blogging being something of an art, and I don't think everyone with useful content will be able to translate that into something nteresting that gathers an audience. But my main point is that of the potential topics, only a few are viable options right now for Gen Y. Few of our generation can write about parenting or being a VC or a pastor or a best-selling author or having cancer or being CEO of a public company or being much of an expert at anything.
Our generation's Tom Peters is probably climbing the ranks of IBM right now and doing more listening than talking and more working than social networking.
As an aside, it strikes me as funny that discussions of best gen y bloggers regularly omit A-listers that happen to be Gen Y like Randall Munroe and Pete Cashmore.
Or less well-known but brilliant bloggers like Clay Hebert and Richard Millington. I think that's probably because there are two different approaches and mindsets to blogging: 1) I want to win the attention and respect of other gen y bloggers and to be popular 2) I want to go head to head with the very best in the world in my chosen field.
Randall is often funnier to me (admittedly it's geek humor) than Scott Adams and makes a full-time living off of his comic and blog. Richard is genuinely respected by the senior members of his chosen profession and has used that reputation to make a living.
Rather than trying to be the Penelope Trunk of Gen Y or the Gary Vaynerchuk of the next generation, the real accomplishments is to start showing up on 'Best Bloggers' lists, without generational qualifications. After all, if you claim to be the equal of your seniors, why are they the ones with viable businesses and vastly more popular blogs?
That last question is a tongue-in-cheek, but I think it would do most of us well to aim higher and not settle for being the big fish in a pond splashing around in hopes of being noticed.
And I don't think I've got it all figured out, by the way. I count myself as a member of the group I'm poking in this comment. I've been flirting with putting these thoughts into words for a while, and I guess I just got in the mood.
Our generation's Tom Peters is probably climbing the ranks of IBM right now and doing more listening than talking and more working than social networking.
As an aside, it strikes me as funny that discussions of best gen y bloggers regularly omit A-listers that happen to be Gen Y like Randall Munroe and Pete Cashmore.
Or less well-known but brilliant bloggers like Clay Hebert and Richard Millington. I think that's probably because there are two different approaches and mindsets to blogging: 1) I want to win the attention and respect of other gen y bloggers and to be popular 2) I want to go head to head with the very best in the world in my chosen field.
Randall is often funnier to me (admittedly it's geek humor) than Scott Adams and makes a full-time living off of his comic and blog. Richard is genuinely respected by the senior members of his chosen profession and has used that reputation to make a living.
Rather than trying to be the Penelope Trunk of Gen Y or the Gary Vaynerchuk of the next generation, the real accomplishments is to start showing up on 'Best Bloggers' lists, without generational qualifications. After all, if you claim to be the equal of your seniors, why are they the ones with viable businesses and vastly more popular blogs?
That last question is a tongue-in-cheek, but I think it would do most of us well to aim higher and not settle for being the big fish in a pond splashing around in hopes of being noticed.
And I don't think I've got it all figured out, by the way. I count myself as a member of the group I'm poking in this comment. I've been flirting with putting these thoughts into words for a while, and I guess I just got in the mood.
1 reply
monicaobrien
Chuck,
I see what you're saying. Great points. You are right that most of us don't have much to talk about and kind of end up talking about ourselves or generational issues or what we as Gen Y want. Personally, I adore Pete Cashmore and admire Richard Millington and even Ramit Sethi, whom you didn't mention. I agree that most people don't think of them as Gen Y bloggers. I don't. But that's probably because of their mainstream popularity and because they don't write about Gen Y topics.
I think when people have those "Top Gen Y bloggers" lists they usually do just want other Gen Y bloggers to like them. (I actually can't remember if I've written one of these posts, but I'm probably guilty of it too.) I also think people see the Brazen Careerist community as the only source for Gen Y bloggers. It's an incestuous pool of linking and conversing. Which I maybe shouldn't say, because I've contributed so much to that community's success and still sometimes participate in the linking and conversing.
I think many Gen Y bloggers also confuse the benefits of blogging. We write about our opinions mostly, or how to manage our careers. But the true benefit of blogging from the career perspective is to write about topics within your chosen field, and become an expert on them. So many people write about how to manage a career when they are not looking to become a career coach or an HR professional - so they can't really get on the "Best Bloggers" lists because nobody takes them seriously. And I've noticed that a ton of Gen Y bloggers are now creating a separate blog to become experts on a topic that's not Gen Y centric.
I think there is a lot of hope for Gen Y bloggers but we've all got to get away from the "Gen Y in the ___________" topic. Fill in the blank with workplace, community, environment, media - it's all the same at the end of the day.
(PS. I fully include myself in the group that needs to get away from these topics :) )
I see what you're saying. Great points. You are right that most of us don't have much to talk about and kind of end up talking about ourselves or generational issues or what we as Gen Y want. Personally, I adore Pete Cashmore and admire Richard Millington and even Ramit Sethi, whom you didn't mention. I agree that most people don't think of them as Gen Y bloggers. I don't. But that's probably because of their mainstream popularity and because they don't write about Gen Y topics.
I think when people have those "Top Gen Y bloggers" lists they usually do just want other Gen Y bloggers to like them. (I actually can't remember if I've written one of these posts, but I'm probably guilty of it too.) I also think people see the Brazen Careerist community as the only source for Gen Y bloggers. It's an incestuous pool of linking and conversing. Which I maybe shouldn't say, because I've contributed so much to that community's success and still sometimes participate in the linking and conversing.
I think many Gen Y bloggers also confuse the benefits of blogging. We write about our opinions mostly, or how to manage our careers. But the true benefit of blogging from the career perspective is to write about topics within your chosen field, and become an expert on them. So many people write about how to manage a career when they are not looking to become a career coach or an HR professional - so they can't really get on the "Best Bloggers" lists because nobody takes them seriously. And I've noticed that a ton of Gen Y bloggers are now creating a separate blog to become experts on a topic that's not Gen Y centric.
I think there is a lot of hope for Gen Y bloggers but we've all got to get away from the "Gen Y in the ___________" topic. Fill in the blank with workplace, community, environment, media - it's all the same at the end of the day.
(PS. I fully include myself in the group that needs to get away from these topics :) )
2 months ago
in The Best Gen Y Bloggers Don’t Fit the Gen Y Stereotypes on Twenty Set
I suspect that in the end, many of the best gen y bloggers will be those that waited until their 30s before they started blogging regularly and getting an audience. Today, those people are virtually invisible online because they are busy learning and producing.
A friend of mine runs a million dollar business, and he's not on Twitter and he doesn't blog. Will he join "the conversation" one day? Probably so, and when he does, he will have abundant experiences and insights to share.I think that's the rule, not the exception, for what will ultimately make for a great blogger, but we won't see that played out for several years when those voices kick in and bump aside (or rather simply overshadow) the less substantive bloggers and personalities. At the moment, there is a vocal minority of first-movers who have gained attention by tossing out clever articulations of naive or simplistic opinions. The popularity contest effect kicks in, and people want to be friends with the ones who get the buzz and controversy going. A clique is born centered around getting attention, congratulating one another, and validating one another.
Are there great gen y bloggers writing today? Yes. Do some of the great bloggers have large audiences? Yes.
But not everyone with an audience today is producing great content. Many of them just have the time and the desire to make noise and get attention, and in due time, those audiences will grow bored and migrate toward content of greater substance.
Or maybe I'm wrong. Just my $.02 tonight.
A friend of mine runs a million dollar business, and he's not on Twitter and he doesn't blog. Will he join "the conversation" one day? Probably so, and when he does, he will have abundant experiences and insights to share.I think that's the rule, not the exception, for what will ultimately make for a great blogger, but we won't see that played out for several years when those voices kick in and bump aside (or rather simply overshadow) the less substantive bloggers and personalities. At the moment, there is a vocal minority of first-movers who have gained attention by tossing out clever articulations of naive or simplistic opinions. The popularity contest effect kicks in, and people want to be friends with the ones who get the buzz and controversy going. A clique is born centered around getting attention, congratulating one another, and validating one another.
Are there great gen y bloggers writing today? Yes. Do some of the great bloggers have large audiences? Yes.
But not everyone with an audience today is producing great content. Many of them just have the time and the desire to make noise and get attention, and in due time, those audiences will grow bored and migrate toward content of greater substance.
Or maybe I'm wrong. Just my $.02 tonight.
1 reply
monicaobrien
Chuck,
Your comment made me think a lot about this idea last night. Your point is insightful. I do agree that there are many bloggers who have large audiences who seemingly don't produce great content.
I also wonder if maybe that content just doesn't resonate with me, like what Ryan Stephens said.
The second question I have is whether what you said about people who are not online now having more to contribute later. I think that blogging and especially building an audience is part-art. I know tons of people who are awesome and experienced offline. CEOs, people working on cutting edge tech, etc. They also have blogs that they don't update, and their blog posts that are there are boring. And honestly, I don't read their blogs, because they're only interesting in person.
I know these people have a lot to offer - but I have to wonder if blogging will ever be the right medium for them to share those things. If it is, wouldn't they be online now? Blogging isn't very new. And Twitter is going more mainstream too.
This isn't to say there won't ever be new players in the blogosphere - there are new players coming out of the woodwork every day. But I think people with large audiences have probably gotten there by resonating with their audience. That doesn't mean they're the best, just that they are good bloggers and good at marketing themselves.
Good blog topic. I'd be interested in a separate post on this topic.
Your comment made me think a lot about this idea last night. Your point is insightful. I do agree that there are many bloggers who have large audiences who seemingly don't produce great content.
I also wonder if maybe that content just doesn't resonate with me, like what Ryan Stephens said.
The second question I have is whether what you said about people who are not online now having more to contribute later. I think that blogging and especially building an audience is part-art. I know tons of people who are awesome and experienced offline. CEOs, people working on cutting edge tech, etc. They also have blogs that they don't update, and their blog posts that are there are boring. And honestly, I don't read their blogs, because they're only interesting in person.
I know these people have a lot to offer - but I have to wonder if blogging will ever be the right medium for them to share those things. If it is, wouldn't they be online now? Blogging isn't very new. And Twitter is going more mainstream too.
This isn't to say there won't ever be new players in the blogosphere - there are new players coming out of the woodwork every day. But I think people with large audiences have probably gotten there by resonating with their audience. That doesn't mean they're the best, just that they are good bloggers and good at marketing themselves.
Good blog topic. I'd be interested in a separate post on this topic.
2 months ago
in Blind people on twitter? on The Life of Lewister
This is what spooks me about trying to do a custom background on Twitter. These people aren't blind nor are they idiots. Depending on the screen resolution of the viewer, the pages will appear entirely different. That's because the action-box(tm) is a fixed width (as far as I can tell) and the margins will be different based on the size of the browser window.
I'm guessing there's a smart way to make it pretty for everyone somehow.
I'm guessing there's a smart way to make it pretty for everyone somehow.
1 reply
SusanVillasLewis
Yes, I understand the whole "looks different to every viewer" thing. But there is no way that it looks right to someone who puts in a background image that is too wide and goes behind the tweets. Or to have white text on a white background. Really? At the very least, it ought to be obvious that your image with information has to be vertical to run along side the tweet - not horizontal.
(I'm a cranky sort. :-)
(I'm a cranky sort. :-)
3 months ago
in Mission Failure and Changes Coming Monday on Chuck Westbrook's Blog
I don't think it was an abject failure. Traffic died off and so did discussion. I should have said it was on its way to failing.
Several of the member bloggers feel great about it. A few didn't see much impact, mostly the more recent ones.
Join us at Bloghiker.com for more of the discussion.
Several of the member bloggers feel great about it. A few didn't see much impact, mostly the more recent ones.
Join us at Bloghiker.com for more of the discussion.
1 reply
cjwestbrook
Testing Disqus reply system.
3 months ago
in appropriate topics for work talk on June Lin dot com
Do you think it's generally more accepted when progressive, liberal, atheistic, or agnostic opinions are expressed in those contexts?
I think the off-topic proselytizing I encountered in school was almost entirely anti-religious and anti-capitalist, and I imagine this is the case in most universities. I know you're not making a statement about the content of the opinions as much as the presence of them, but I suspect that similarly inappropriate comments on the other side of those issues are often made and considered acceptable because it's a part of the majority opinion in that environment.
What do you think?
I think the off-topic proselytizing I encountered in school was almost entirely anti-religious and anti-capitalist, and I imagine this is the case in most universities. I know you're not making a statement about the content of the opinions as much as the presence of them, but I suspect that similarly inappropriate comments on the other side of those issues are often made and considered acceptable because it's a part of the majority opinion in that environment.
What do you think?
1 reply
June
I agree that progressive views are considered more acceptable because, as you say, most people at universities are liberal. When I worked in California, pretty much everyone was liberal, so it was all one big happy Obama-loving family... so there wasn't much controversy.
Conservatives and to a greater extent evangelists are more "known" for trying to convert people to their cause. Perhaps the negative associations with hardcore religious evangelists also has something to do with it.
Conservatives and to a greater extent evangelists are more "known" for trying to convert people to their cause. Perhaps the negative associations with hardcore religious evangelists also has something to do with it.
6 months ago
in Presenting Johnny Truant and ‘The Economy Isn’t Happening’ on Chuck Westbrook's Blog
Yep, those are two great examples of bloggers who aren't hugely "popular" but who are well-respected within their industries. Definitely something to strive for as a twentysomething blogger, like you said. And thank you for the inspiration for parts of this post!