I usually like to tie up my posts in a nice, neat little bow, and I wasn’t able to do that on this one. I’ve been thinking about this for months, wondering how to articulate both my uncertainty about the sustainability of our industry, as well as my belief that work with a purpose will triumph over all. But the more I wrote about it, more questions came up than answers.
I’ve been blogging now for just over two years. In that time, I’ve read some of the most brilliant work ever written on the subjects of internet business, social media, marketing & making money online. I’ve even written a couple of those.
But I’m having a hard time lately finding anything really new & innovative to read on the subjects. I mean, what can you say about making money blogging that Darren hasn’t already said? Or on WordPress that Lorelle hasn’t already said? Or on social media that Chris Brogan hasn’t already said? Or on community that Liz Strauss hasn’t already said? And I could add 50 more names and topics in that paragraph.
Granted, there is some value in putting your own voice and spin on existing information. Hollywood makes most of their movies that way – and most of their money that way. But at that point people aren’t buying content, they are buying an experience. People go to see Disney movies not because they think they will hear a story that they have never heard before. They go because they know that Disney, no matter what story they tell, knows how to make that story entertaining.
But I’m beginning to feel like I’m hitting a saturation point lately. There’s only so many ways to spin a story before you recognize the material.
Boy meets Girl.
Boy and Girl fall in love.
Boy pisses off Girl.
Boy works hard and gets Girl back.
The End.
Ultimately, we will go out of business unless we continue to provide value to our readers & clients. But in an information-saturated age, it’s getting harder and harder to provide more value than other people in your niche.
I Really Want to Know What’s Next for Business and Marketing Bloggers
- How can you and I continue to stay one step ahead when the web 2.0 market already got to web 4.0 yesterday?
- How can we prevent becoming one big echo chamber?
- What are you doing to stand out from the crowd and offer more value than the next person or company?
It’s a lot of questions, and I only have one answer for you – Love. Work without passion, voice without inspiration and action without heart can be the nails in your coffin.
But before you accuse me of getting all kumbayah on you, I have to add that I don’t think that Love is the answer to everything. You can’t pay the bills with a hug, you can’t buy your groceries with a love note. There has to be some practical action & application to how we work, how we move forward as entrepreneurs, consultants and professionals as our markets continue to evolve.
What do you think?
- Is blogging about blogging, making money online, and business strategy dead?
- How can we innovate when innovation has become normal, expected, even a little boring?
- How do we pour more love and passion into our work while tempering that balance with practical business strategy?
- Is our work really all about conversation and connection? How do you translate that to dollars?
And I think most importantly:
What can we do to continue to make a measurable difference with what we are saying, writing, or speaking?
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