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Random Thoughts on Online Ads and Blogging
A few links along with my thoughts about blogging.
September 24, 2007 |
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Things are still pretty crazy around here and my brain is still a bit scattered . . . Instead of a proper post, here's a few links and some thoughts on blogging. Hope to return to your regularly scheduled programming this week.
- Very interesting Financial Times article that suggests the online advertising market will grow as the economy crashes. Their reasoning (which makes sense) is that the worse the economy is, the more people require ROI in their investments. ROI, of course, is easiest to measure in digital. (Thanks to Virtual Economics for the link.)
- The always smart Shelly Palmer explains why the broadcast model doesn't work online.
Finally, got an email last week from Tina (aka swissmiss) with a few questions about blogging. In absence of other content around here, I asked her if she minded me posting my answers. If anyone else feels like answering them in the comments I'm sure she'd appreciate any additional insight.
What drives me to blog?
I do it for myself. It's a place where I can think out loud. I never start with a conclusion, rather I use writing on my blog as a thinking exercise. It also gives me an excuse for constantly seeking out new things and reading with a critical eye. If I didn't have a blog I don't know that I would underline books and magazines, but having that outlet gives me a reason. I love that stuff.
Who is afraid of what the blogosphere has and will become?
Lots of folks are quite frightened. Big media is scared because they've never had competition from outside their walls. In this day and age I compete with Fox (albeit on a very small scale) for people's attention. Fox, however, is used to a world where they compete with NBC and CBS. In that kind of competition the goal may be to take out another station, but never at the expense of television or the business model attached to it. However, I don't care about their medium or business model. Us bloggers are kind of like the crazy guy in the room, we're scary to fight because we (literally) have nothing to lose (actual dollars earned directly from my blog over three years: $0).
What is its role of blogs as a forum for ideas?
Not sure I understand the question completely . . . so I will just give some thoughts. I absolutely love that I can throw up a half-baked idea and get back responses from a group of absolutely brilliant people. On occasion it feels a bit like opinion outsourcing: I take an idea I haven't fully developed and get feedback and viewpoints I never would have been able to amass before I had this forum. The quality of the comments never cease to amaze me.
Where's the medium going NEXT?
I think blogs are going to move even further into the community realm. At the moment most blog software doesn't have many community features beyond comments, however, I expect we will see that evolution coming soon (Movable Type 4 actually includes some of it). They're the perfect micro-communities: Super-targeted and sharing common interests. On a small level I find myself connecting different blog readers together and wish more of this were built in.
That's it. Happy Monday.
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