Marketing Blogs and Info-Competition
Is it just me, or is there a major surge of info-competition between blog genres?
Like most bloggers and non-bloggers, I am often perusing the web in search for interesting information, which for me includes: marketing, branding, consumerism, entrepreneuship, writing, graduate school, etc... I often get tied up in the web of links leading from one website to another until I've forgotten which blog I was originally looking at. As a result of this casual web-surfing (particularly in regards to marketing blogs) I've noticed a sort of existing tension (or as I refer to it, info-competition) that is becoming increasingly noticeable between the so called, "community of bloggers".
On the surface, this network of marketing blogs may seem supportive of one another by featuring one another's blogs under their "Frequently Visited" section. However, I believe that the true reason for keeping these blogs under close watch is a marketing tactic in and of itself (which every marketer can identify with) as monitoring the competition, or continually assessing the possibility of T's (as in SWO*T*). The Viral Garden blog exemplifies this notion of competition by regularly posting "The Viral Garden Top 25 Marketing Blogs" list.
It is overwhelming the amount of industry information these blogs are churning out on a regular basis. They all strive to be the first to post about a particular issue, and in so doing, they gain the respect of fellow bloggers (aka, competitors). By being one of the first to post about a given subject (or to have an insightful view of a particular issue), a blogger is basically guarenteed to be referenced in a related blog. This, in turn, gives the pioneering blogger a reputation of knowledge in the subject, which ultimately gives them credibility, and thus, increases the hits to their own blog.
Maybe marketing bloggers are not consciously aware of it yet, but by so desperately wanting to be the first to post unique thoughts, industry insights, and marketing breakthroughs on their own blogs, what they fundamentally want is publicity themselves.
I suppose this inclination began to wear on me when I had the feeling that in order to blog about marketing, branding, copywriting, business, or what have you, I would have to give up everything else in my life and completely devote myself to rummaging the nooks and cranny's of the Internet; subscribing to every magazine, website, and vblog just to keep up with the dire competition of business related blogs! This is often the cause of frustration and anguish for blogging business consultants. They feel the need to compete against the mountains of like-minded blogs in order to stay relevant, and to have something to really be proud of.
Last year I read a post by "What's Your Brand Mantra", and I did not think of it as anything more than what the post was literally about. I really couldn't identify with "blog depression" or "content anxiety" as I was not blogging at that time, but I did know that it was this particular post that held me back from starting a blog. It is only now that I understand what these syndromes are, not because I personally suffer from them, but because I now have my own personal insight as to what may cause them: info-competition.
Sadly, I know that I am subject to the dog-eat-dog world of info-competition. By not being active in the hunt for the latest news and industry drama, I too will fall behind in keeping up with my "competition" and risk being cast out of the blogging in-crowd.
****This post could have ended there, and it would have served as a useful reflection to my consulting comrades (*cough* competition). But I will say this, I will probably not be the first to comment on marketing breakthroughs, and I will probably not always have the most current industry information on my blog. But I will have things that interest me in my chosen fields, and I will always, always have my own insights on the current state of things. This blog is a reflection of who I am, what I think, and what I do on a (mostly) profressional level. I have a blog because I love doing what I am doing right now - analyzing, writing, wondering.****
I encourange my "competitors" to keep posting the random bits of information that they are all-too-good at finding, but you can count on me to dig deeper.
Keep Bizzy!
Like most bloggers and non-bloggers, I am often perusing the web in search for interesting information, which for me includes: marketing, branding, consumerism, entrepreneuship, writing, graduate school, etc... I often get tied up in the web of links leading from one website to another until I've forgotten which blog I was originally looking at. As a result of this casual web-surfing (particularly in regards to marketing blogs) I've noticed a sort of existing tension (or as I refer to it, info-competition) that is becoming increasingly noticeable between the so called, "community of bloggers".
On the surface, this network of marketing blogs may seem supportive of one another by featuring one another's blogs under their "Frequently Visited" section. However, I believe that the true reason for keeping these blogs under close watch is a marketing tactic in and of itself (which every marketer can identify with) as monitoring the competition, or continually assessing the possibility of T's (as in SWO*T*). The Viral Garden blog exemplifies this notion of competition by regularly posting "The Viral Garden Top 25 Marketing Blogs" list.
It is overwhelming the amount of industry information these blogs are churning out on a regular basis. They all strive to be the first to post about a particular issue, and in so doing, they gain the respect of fellow bloggers (aka, competitors). By being one of the first to post about a given subject (or to have an insightful view of a particular issue), a blogger is basically guarenteed to be referenced in a related blog. This, in turn, gives the pioneering blogger a reputation of knowledge in the subject, which ultimately gives them credibility, and thus, increases the hits to their own blog.
Maybe marketing bloggers are not consciously aware of it yet, but by so desperately wanting to be the first to post unique thoughts, industry insights, and marketing breakthroughs on their own blogs, what they fundamentally want is publicity themselves.
I suppose this inclination began to wear on me when I had the feeling that in order to blog about marketing, branding, copywriting, business, or what have you, I would have to give up everything else in my life and completely devote myself to rummaging the nooks and cranny's of the Internet; subscribing to every magazine, website, and vblog just to keep up with the dire competition of business related blogs! This is often the cause of frustration and anguish for blogging business consultants. They feel the need to compete against the mountains of like-minded blogs in order to stay relevant, and to have something to really be proud of.
Last year I read a post by "What's Your Brand Mantra", and I did not think of it as anything more than what the post was literally about. I really couldn't identify with "blog depression" or "content anxiety" as I was not blogging at that time, but I did know that it was this particular post that held me back from starting a blog. It is only now that I understand what these syndromes are, not because I personally suffer from them, but because I now have my own personal insight as to what may cause them: info-competition.
Sadly, I know that I am subject to the dog-eat-dog world of info-competition. By not being active in the hunt for the latest news and industry drama, I too will fall behind in keeping up with my "competition" and risk being cast out of the blogging in-crowd.
****This post could have ended there, and it would have served as a useful reflection to my consulting comrades (*cough* competition). But I will say this, I will probably not be the first to comment on marketing breakthroughs, and I will probably not always have the most current industry information on my blog. But I will have things that interest me in my chosen fields, and I will always, always have my own insights on the current state of things. This blog is a reflection of who I am, what I think, and what I do on a (mostly) profressional level. I have a blog because I love doing what I am doing right now - analyzing, writing, wondering.****
I encourange my "competitors" to keep posting the random bits of information that they are all-too-good at finding, but you can count on me to dig deeper.
Keep Bizzy!
--------------------------------------
"I'm not in competition with anyone but myself. My goal is to beat my last performance."
Celine Dion
posted by MissBiz | 10:46 AM
2 Comments:
Miss Biz I prefer to take my time and let the smart people have their say first, then copy their thoughts ;)
BTW thanks for the link-love!
Hmmm...didn't think of it that way. Thanks for the new insight. As for me, I watch other blogs for the same reason as you do - to learn what's new. When I find something of interest and I've formed an opinion of it, I write my opinion on my own blog.
Thanks for the link. I was surprised to see my blog on your list. :)
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