Daniel: Writing Time Thief (follow @thepaulsutton on Instagram)
This weekend I sat down to draft a couple of blog posts. I’ve had a few topics floating around my head for a while, and with a newborn baby stealing most of my writing time (and sleep) these days, the opportunity of a precious hour or two just to sit and write was too good to miss. You know how much I wrote? Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
After an hour of struggling to formulate something original, I gave up and turned my attention to my three year old instead. And it left me wondering whether we’ve reached a stage in comms, social media and PR where there’s very little new to talk about. It’s said that more information is now uploaded to the internet every second than has ever existed in the entire history of space and time. Or something like that – I can’t find the exact statistic, but you know the one I’m talking about. And in the face of that, how much more can we write about social communications that hasn’t already been written? Are all of us bloggers just covering old ground? Even this post is nothing that hasn’t been written about before in other places.
I don’t have the answers to these questions; my weekend experience has led me to this point and no further. And so this post is intended as a conversation starter more than anything else. If you can spare me two minutes of your day, I’d really, truly appreciate your thoughts in the comments below. Do you read much that’s truly original in the blogosphere any more? Have you widened your reading topics to counter a lack of fresh thoughts or content? Furthermore, do you even think blogging still has a place? Or have other forms of (social) media now usurped blogging as a personal thought leadership tool?
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Whilst I do agree that as a reader you do find that blogs have a tendency to cover the same ground as those gone before, but the fact remains that the internet constantly changes. Although the topics might start out the same the conclusions might be different.
That’s a fair point. But enough to sustain the number of comms/social media blogs out there? I know for a fact I’m not the only one struggling with this at present.
I agree with Claire. Also, with so much information around the same general topics, there are always new discoveries, and it’s these little nuggets of ‘new’ we should be harnessing.
I agree with the ‘new’ statement. And there are some blogs out there who focus on new tools and new platforms and the like. But as per my reply to Claire above, this in itself isn’t enough to sustain the current volume of blogs, which are all starting to look very, very similar in my opinion.
But I do very much appreciate you taking the time to leave your thoughts, Tanya.
I had a similar experience last week when I appealed for someone, anyone to write something fresh and inciteful about social media which would re-energise me. I ended up writing something myself about the Gartner curve of adoption which inevitably leads to the trough of despond as we all relaise that things aren’t going to be as life changing as we thought and then the plateau of something or other where we just jog along doing the same old.
Funnily enough that post resulted in a clutch of e-mails from people who still haven’t got around to social media but want to do so. So I guess there is still purpose in writing about social media if pulling in new followers is what you are about. There are still tonnes of people out there who don’t have a clue and if people who really do have something interesting to say – like you Paul – give up, then they will fall into the clutches of those who advocate buying likes, selling at all times and automating everything.
haha! If you want something done, you have to do it yourself, Lucy
Sounds like a good post though – I’ll check it out.
You certainly have a point about people wanting to be educated. That has not and will not change. Maybe the/my issue comes from the fact that I’ve found myself repeating stuff I’ve written previously, just in a different form. There are only so many topics one can write about and I’m currently very reliant on things I read elsewhere to spark thoughts. But as I say, that’s not original – it’s just a different view on another’s ideas.
I wonder whether other bloggers feel the same or not?
Hi Paul. I have to agree with Lucy that whilst for an expert in the subject like yourself it might seem like it has all been said before, there is also a vast swathe of the population who are still trying to find their way in the new world of comms/social media (I was one of them not that long ago). So it needs the industry leaders to promote the good and important stuff and make sure it finds its way to the audience that needs it.
Maybe there’s something in this idea of a ‘bubble’ among people who are doing this stuff day in, day out, Hugh. You’re right in that being immersed in this stuff so much (when I’m not writing it, I’m reading or (this is crazy) doing it) tends to blind one. The reason I asked the question above about widening reading topics is that it’s something I’m currently doing. I’ve started to read blogs on different topics rather than social media/comms/pr, as I find them more interesting. But maybe that’s because I’m in this bubble?
Food for thought. Thanks Hugh.
This is why I like your writing Paul – saying what people always think, but professionally dare not admit. I see many bloggers just churning out borrowed stuff and desperately trying to win the blog content race.
The reality is, that there is a fear of duplicity, where actually different aspects on the same subject apply. In creating social media events, I find the same challenge.
But here’s the thing. I’m no blogging guru – but I see that TNW & co are the sources of `new information` – and the bloggers are there, not to reveal – but to comment and offer opinion, and open up debate. Something you do well.
Forget about feeling it’s your responsibility for the `next big idea` mate – and share your expertise on what others are proposing should be.
Thank you Steve. I really appreciate that.
That’s always the way I’ve done things – just write what I feel and think about other stuff I see/hear/read/experience. Pretty much all of my posts are aimed at opening conversation, whether that’s here or on Facebook or on Twitter (not on Google+, obviously…haha!), although that’s increasingly difficult to do for many reasons (people’s time being a major one) and something I quite often fail at. (Ironic that a post about having nothing to say does it.)
What I’m not good at is coming up with ‘new’ stuff. But yeah, maybe you’re right. Maybe there’s still a place for opinion blogging…
[...] talk about is blogging dead or is it worth continuing (the latest of the latter coming today from Paul Sutton). In my view, it is worth doing for many reasons, whether you’re writing “long-form [...]
I think there’s more, but like I was, you’re in the desert. Keep blogging through it, try to put yourself around some new voices and minds to inspire you. You’ll do just fine!
‘In the desert’. I like that Geoff. And god it’s frickin’ dry!
Seriously though, I’m currently expanding my reading away from social comms/pr/marketing for that exact reason – inspiration. Just discovered the Zite app for Android (I’m a late adopter…) which is great for discovering brand new content areas. Prefer it now to Flipboard or Feedly.
I think there’s a lot of truth in what you’re saying Paul, though I agree with Steve that there is still massive value in blogging about social comms… even if you feel you’re covering trodden ground, you’re keeping the dialogue going and engaging new people. Look, I read blogs but NEVER comment, and here I am…
Also, with regard to your question about whether other forms of social media have now usurped blogging as a personal thought leadership tool, I think Twitter is a strong contender.
Finally, on a broader note, is anything ever truly ‘original’ anyway? They say there are only seven stories ever told (and Enid Blyton got them all first – ha!) … and have you ever heard a ‘new’ song only to have that nagging feeling you’ve heard the chords before? Sad reality is that few of us reach the peak of self-actualisation… but we can have a bloody fun time trying!
Thanks Emily. And I am truly honoured that you should consider this blog worthy of a comment
If something else is coming close to blogging, I think it’s definitely Twitter. And I think this is a topic worth further explanation: does someone gain an impression of a person as an ‘influencer’ more effectively through Twitter or their blog? What’s better to convey knowledge and expertise? I shall investigate and report back…
In 1990, Francis Fukuyama declared ‘The End of History’ that with the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was he concluded the triumph of Western capitalism and liberal democracy and a world that would be stable under free markets and liberty. There’s always something round the corner. And his surname lends itself to an unfortunate rebuke
Sorry, 1992.