Individual vs. Community Blogs

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Individual vs. Community Blogs…I was recently asked: “Do I think individual blogs have a future?” The underlying premise behind the question was the insinuation that if as an individual blogger you don’t take shelter within a blogging community, you simply won’t be able to survive. There has been a lot of buzz surrounding this topic of late, with people beginning to form very firm opinions on either side of the debate. From my perspective, I believe there are sound arguments to be made on both sides. The larger issue is not whether one form of blogging will survive while the other perishes, but rather how the maturation of the blogosphere may force many bloggers to choose a side.  In today’s post I’ll take a look at the benefits of individual vs. community blogs. 

Let me begin by stating that despite opinions to the contrary, blogging isn’t dead; it’s just starting to get interesting. Microblogging (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) doesn’t replace blogging, it serves as a catalyst. People who say blogging is dead either already have a blog that died, or they have no blog at all. There are always naysayers willing to offer their opinions, but my suggestion is not to listen to the rhetoric of the failed or uninitiated, but rather to seek your counsel from those who are experiencing success. While you can find numerous examples of successful bloggers to glean insight from, let me put this as simply as I can…I would not have continued blogging for the last several years if it was not extremely beneficial to do so.  

It merits advancing the discussion by examining a few simple business fundamentals and macro-economic lessons that will lend some historical context to the rapidly evolving state of the blogosphere. When a new industry surfaces, the early adopters (first-movers) set-up shop, validate proof of concept, carve out their niche, and build very strong, if not in some cases, category dominant brands. Clearly this was the case for many of today’s most successful bloggers. The truth is that some of today’s most established bloggers aren’t necessarily the best bloggers, they just got there first.

However it’s also important to keep in mind that not all first-movers prosper, or for that matter, even survive. Because first-movers take large risks in uncharted territory, they often make mistakes that are not survivable. Even if their mistakes are not fatal, many times they serve to blaze a better trail for others to follow by removing and/or diminishing barriers to entry. In a previous post “Blogging Hits A Crossroads” I shared some insights on some of the “A-Listers” that have given up blogging, and why others stick it out. In a universe the size of the blogosphere there will always be churn. In fact, blogging has been around long enough that we’re now starting to see the second and third comings of those who once abandoned their blogs only to come back again.  

Many successful bloggers today were not necessarily first-movers, but rather fast-followers that were able to leap frog the early adopters. Any student of history understands that as an industry matures, more capital becomes available, advancements in technology occur, new niches, markets and nuanced communication channels open-up, and more players enter the market. This is where we find ourselves now with regard to the state of the blogosphere.

There are so many blogs today that the noise is absolutely deafening…Most estimates place the number of blogs in existence at more than 150 million and growing. Why so many blogs you ask? Aside from the fact that there is no barrier to entry (it’s free, and regrettably a lack of ability, and in some cases even illiteracy doesn’t keep people from blogging), social media has changed the landscape of how people communicate. While the list of reasons behind why people blog are probably only limited to the confines of one’s imagination, the following list contains common representative examples of what I believe to be the main reasons people begin to blog (listed in no particular order):

1. To follow a trend
2. To become famous
3. To rant, voice an opinion, or champion a cause
4. To be of service
5. To have a cathartic outlet
6. To communicate with friends and family
7. To collaborate or exchange ideas and information
8. To build trust
9. To acquire knowledge or business intelligence
10. To engage a particular constituency or constituencies
11. To make money
12. To expand spheres of influence
13. To extend marketing efforts
14. To improve search engine rankings
15. To improve personal or professional networking
16. To create added personal or corporate brand equity
17. To establish subject matter expertise
18. And the list could go on, and on, and on…    

The reason I’ve taken the time to walk you through this exercise is because “who” you are, and  ”why” you blog will determine your unique definition of success with regard to your blogging efforts, which in turn will help you select the appropriate blogging platform. The truth of the matter is that there are no simple one size fits all strategies that can be applied to blogging. In the text that follows, I’ll offer a few thoughts with regard to the pros and cons of individual vs community blogs:

Individual Blogs: Creating an individual blog is the easiest thing to do, and in many cases the most appropriate thing to do based upon the particulars of a persons goals and objectives. That said, unless you happen to be of some notoriety, this is also the most difficult path to travel in terms of gaining recognition. If you are not already well known, if you don’t have a natural following, if you don’t have focused vision, goals and objectives for your blogging initiative, you’ll find it difficult at best to gain momentum and get traction with your blogging efforts. However, if you stay the course, establish trust and build a loyal following, individual blogging can be rewarding, profitable, and add value to your reputation and personal  brand equity. Moreover, achieving success with a personal blog can serve as a catalyst for improving your personal circumstances and expanding your reach across mediums. Successful individual blogging efforts have led to book deals, TV appearances, syndicated columns, improved employment opportunities, and an increase in personal income and wealth, etc.  

Community Blogs:  The advantage of blogging within a community (assuming the community has value) is that you can piggy-back on the brand of the community and its other contributors. By blogging for a highly regarded community (news outlet, industry group, corporate blog, professional group, think tank, media outlet, academic institution, etc.)  you have the advantage of tapping into a large amount of visibility from the outset, obviating the need to create the traffic on your own accord. Additionally, the production demands for content creation are often much less when contributing as part of a larger community as opposed to being the sole source of content. The downside of being a community blogger is that you not only share the spotlight with other bloggers, but the reality is that any community worth blogging for is very choosy in the selection of their contributors. While anyone can blog individually, not everyone can gain access to a private community platform.

Bottom line…process what you’ve read here and in other places, then incorporate what you deem to be valid into a blogging strategy that will work for you. Here’s a thought: Why limit yourself?  I blog here at N2growth, am part of the blogging communities at GlobeSt.com and Blogging Innovation, am a regular guest blogger, and also blog from time-to-time on public platforms. Finally, it is my opinion that the only way you can lose with blogging is to not blog…stop finding excuses for why you can’t, won’t, or don’t blog and get in the game.