Message to New Bloggers: Quit Cloning Darren Rowse and John Chow!
If I want to read what Darren Rowse or John Chow think I will visit their damn blogs.
The thing is that lately there are a lot of new blogs about online marketing and blogging popping up everywhere - just check out MyBlogLog to see them all.
The problem is that 80% seem to be based on rehashing points from problogger.net and johnchow.com or telling us what John or Darren are saying - this makes those new blogs b-o-r-i-n-g!!!
As I said, if I want to know what those guys think, I will go straight to the source.
I come to a new blog, because I want a unique insight into what the author thinks about blogging and online marketing. A new author’s opinion, even if they don’t make as much as those big guys, is what makes a new blog unique and worth visiting.
That’s not to say don’t mention the big bloggers, but a good blogger always adds some unique perspective to another blogger’s ideas when they mention them. Tell your readers why what John Chow says matters to them and how your readers (who are probably different to John’s readers) can adapt that information to their specific needs.
A little orginality in your blog will go a long way to retaining your readers and getting you some more RSS sunscribers.
Technorati Tags: john chow, darren rowse, copycat
It takes time and thought and a certain amount of not caring too much about what others think to be original.
Also, original, might be difficult to understand. We simply are not prepared for the new. My way of dealing with this is humor. Most of it aimed at myself.
Humor of course needs no other goal than to delight. But it can shift our perspective and be a stimulus to thought. I am not talking about jokes which are a substitute for wit. Humor can deliver a meaningful message. Like http://www.slowdownnow.org.
Yours in slowness,
Christopher
June 11th, 2007 at 9:48 pmHi Christopher - true, but humour is actually a talent in its own right. It takes skill!
Unfortunely, I am not smart enough to be funny.
June 14th, 2007 at 1:13 pmRob,
Thanks for the kind words. I think that humor might have started off as a survival skill; a way to cope with a crazy world; a way to cope with suffering. We all cope differently.
I’m sure you *are* smart. I read Laughter, an essay on the meaning of comic. That is not a funny book at all, but written by a very smart philosopher (Henri Bergson). However, I don’t think humor can be taught. But it might be caught, like a disease.
June 14th, 2007 at 2:12 pm