You want it hard and fast
It’s amuses me to see human nature take over good business sense when it comes to social media. Blog post after blog post has been written to help aide the noob in their entry to blogging and social media, yet it seems something newer, shinier, and ultimately faster seems to be taking over- Twitter, Facebook, etc. – the status updater.
It takes time, patience, practice, and perseverance to create a great blog, and it takes equally the same amount of investment to actually gain a following and ultimately a thriving community wrapped around their value proposition- an investment many seem to now be skipping for the ‘status update.’
Life without soul
The problem many will miss in this so-called micro version of the blog is that there is no basis for value of the status updater (the micro-blogger) because they’re fast failing in capturing anything within their own home base (in this case, their blog). In other words, how many posts from others can you share, how many news articles can you share, how many retweets can you post, without documenting or outlining how you feel about those posts- either by comments within those same articles, or within articles you’ve created on your own blog?
Before the status update there was a broad conversation from blog to blog about the medium, there was a blog to blog discussion about the same articles, news stories, and blog posts you’re retweeting today- in those days, your value was landmarked within your very own site- you were actually contributing to the conversation.
The song writer still lives
The sad thing is, the conversation continues without you, thanks for sharing, but in essence, you’re a vitual RSS feed without a position, without a value, without an opinion, without a passion, and in the long run, the original source outlives you- the actual value, the content creator.
I’ve nothing to base my opinion of you on
So here’s a tip about status updating… how about rather than updating as to what you’re reading, you document your own feelings about the subject on your own site and tweet that. In the process, you’ve landmarked your value, contributed to a larger conversation, and you didn’t inject yourself into a conversation you’re attempting to hijack.
This may sound a lot like I’m chastising the status updater when in fact I am actually doing the opposite. I very much appreciate those that share great content, but what I appreciate even more is reading what you think about what you’re sharing- whether that be through well articulated comments that expound, affirm, or disagree on concepts, or through rich and meaningful articles of your own about those same subjects- completing the dialogue, providing real value, and meaningful conversation, unless this is about your 15 minutes of fame…
15 Minutes or a lifetime
So no, ultimately, status updaters kill nothing, you’ll always just be that, a fleeting moment in time (it fades with the timeline), where the content creator will live on in history because they actually took the time to landmark their passion.
Who are you?
What have you landmarked today?
Jeffrey Douglass
June 29, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Blogging is hard work and takes time and effort to have content that is relevant to your market area. With that said there are plenty of consumers desperate to find some good local real estate content.
I am in the business for the long haul and like your article states, blogging allows the reader to get to know you and your voice. Nice article!
Chuck G
June 29, 2009 at 6:24 pm
To answer your question “Who are you?”, the correct answer should be “Both.”
When used in conjunction with each other, status updates (Twitter, FB) are an effective way to drive traffic to what matter most in the first place…your blog. There are a variety of plug-ins that make it automatic, so you don’t have to spend one iota of time or effort making this happen.
But you’re absolutely right — status updating by itself adds very little value. You’re just a middle-man. Another way of looking at the value proposition is this: I have clients who have chosen me because what of what they read on my site. I don’t have one client who came to me because of what they read on Twitter. (But they may have unknowingly found my blog that way…)
Benn Rosales
June 29, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Who are you? https://bit.ly/EVBVh
Jeffrey Douglass
June 29, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Good point Chuck, I use Twitter to drive traffic to recent posts and also Face Book.
sheilabragg
June 29, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Status Update Killed the Blogging Star?: Don\’t be stingy with your thoughts- stop by and comment!
You want it h.. https://tinyurl.com/nuq3pb
ChrisKarenHighland
June 29, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Reading: “Status Update Killed the Blogging Star? | Real Estate Opinion MAG – AgentGenius” (https://twitthis.com/laz5cz)
Matt Stigliano
June 29, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Benn – As someone who you know to be opinionated, I have to say you just gave a me a bit of food for thought. Although I’m not a 24 hour a day RT-machine, I do quite often when I see something that I just feel needs to be seen. Now of course, I can’t write an opinion post around each thing I want to share, but perhaps at times, I’m missing my chance to lend a voice to the conversation and bring more attention to the matter at hand.
Once again, I stop by AgentGenius for a moment and now have a lot to think about. Thanks Benn.
Austin Smith - Goomzee.com
June 30, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Thats a great point you raise and I will definately re-tool my tweets to add more value. I’ve been searching for something to flesh out the Twitter experience and I guess all I had to do was change my mindset. Thanks Benn!
Ian Greenleigh
July 1, 2009 at 7:01 pm
I’m of the opinion that tweets should not be substantive in and of themselves (how could they be?), but should serve to introduce others to content of some depth. That said, I don’t always practice what I preach. Thanks for this.