They're pretty, but are they useful? I was reading Seth Godin’s blog the other day and it made me think. He made the following comment about paying attention: “We call it ‘paying attention’ for a reason. It's worth quite a bit, and ought to be cherished.”
This got me to thinking about the blogs I visit, or give my attention to. I’m paying them, not with money, but with my interest, time, and attention. They’ve earned that, although sometimes when I go through my bookmarks bar I wonder why.
If you’re anything like me you’ll often hit Ctrl-D on something and make a bookmark of it, ensuring you can find that page once again quickly. I like to do this with blogs I notice. Oftentimes I’ll run into new blogs when certain sites do curation posts that showcase many other blogs. This is a great way to find new voices you may have missed otherwise.
But what happens when these blogs go bust? I’m not talking about a 404-dead link here, but a blog that’s lost its effectiveness for you. After all, we often go to different blogs to learn things, gain new perspectives, and perhaps even to get a few laughs. But what if you’re not getting that anymore? Should you keep going?
Here are a couple reasons why you should reclaim your bookmarks, or stop visiting those old and staid blogs that are just no longer doing it for you.
This got me to thinking about the blogs I visit, or give my attention to. I’m paying them, not with money, but with my interest, time, and attention. They’ve earned that, although sometimes when I go through my bookmarks bar I wonder why.
If you’re anything like me you’ll often hit Ctrl-D on something and make a bookmark of it, ensuring you can find that page once again quickly. I like to do this with blogs I notice. Oftentimes I’ll run into new blogs when certain sites do curation posts that showcase many other blogs. This is a great way to find new voices you may have missed otherwise.
But what happens when these blogs go bust? I’m not talking about a 404-dead link here, but a blog that’s lost its effectiveness for you. After all, we often go to different blogs to learn things, gain new perspectives, and perhaps even to get a few laughs. But what if you’re not getting that anymore? Should you keep going?
Here are a couple reasons why you should reclaim your bookmarks, or stop visiting those old and staid blogs that are just no longer doing it for you.
My horizontal bookmark bar - only the most important get this prime real estate!
Lost Authority
Some sites really get into top positions because they have great content. This content gives them authority. After all, if everyone likes your writing they’ll want to know how you did it so they can copy you. But sometimes sites become big and forget about that great content that made them great. Instead they begin to put out real thin content, short posts, and lots of stuff promoting their own products, which doesn’t really give you value if you’re not buying them.
One site I’ve seen do this a lot over the past month is Copyblogger. I’ve argued with them in their commenting section about the course their taking with short posts that only advertise, posts which they know must rub people the wrong way as the comments to them are closed. Instead they question my authority. Well, I have none, just click back to my site to see that.
One site I’ve seen do this a lot over the past month is Copyblogger. I’ve argued with them in their commenting section about the course their taking with short posts that only advertise, posts which they know must rub people the wrong way as the comments to them are closed. Instead they question my authority. Well, I have none, just click back to my site to see that.
I’ve worked for too-big-to-fail companies in China and the result was always the same – their pompous and conceited attitude cost them customers. Usually this was by focusing too much on acquiring more customers, thus money, at the expense of existing customers and users, or those that had already paid money.
Now, what am I paying for Copyblogger’s blog? Nothing, although according to our good friend Seth Godin I guess we’d be paying them our attention. I thought they were taking advantage of mine, so I paid them some of my mind, and then just decided it wasn’t worth the aggravation and reclaimed my bookmark instead.
Now, what am I paying for Copyblogger’s blog? Nothing, although according to our good friend Seth Godin I guess we’d be paying them our attention. I thought they were taking advantage of mine, so I paid them some of my mind, and then just decided it wasn’t worth the aggravation and reclaimed my bookmark instead.
No Accountability
My Bookmarks This one should be a no-brainer to anyone who writes for a living or really, anyone who has a job. If I were to not do my work I’d probably be written-up and then eventually fired. But when a blogger doesn’t work nothing happens. Well, how long are you as a user going to allow this to continue?
This past summer I ran into a great blog. It had some cool points, was written in a fun and engaging manner, and made me think. I bookmarked it and came back a few days later. There was no new post, so I came back a few days after that. Still nothing.
Alright, by that time I’ve read their old posts and am ready for more. A month goes by, and still there’s nothing. Finally I just removed them from my bookmark bar.
This site was called Boost Blog Traffic and since then I’d gone back to take a look. I saw they had a new article up (about 6 weeks) and it was pretty good. But by that time I knew I didn’t need that blog. I had a rather ‘meh’ attitude toward it, mainly because of how they’d acted earlier.
This past summer I ran into a great blog. It had some cool points, was written in a fun and engaging manner, and made me think. I bookmarked it and came back a few days later. There was no new post, so I came back a few days after that. Still nothing.
Alright, by that time I’ve read their old posts and am ready for more. A month goes by, and still there’s nothing. Finally I just removed them from my bookmark bar.
This site was called Boost Blog Traffic and since then I’d gone back to take a look. I saw they had a new article up (about 6 weeks) and it was pretty good. But by that time I knew I didn’t need that blog. I had a rather ‘meh’ attitude toward it, mainly because of how they’d acted earlier.
Do you think you can just high-tail it to Vegas for six weeks and not get away with it? I suppose some can, but this reeks to me of a too-big-to-fail attitude. Maybe if you’re a top blog you can do this. Personally I think it’s a bit insulting, and on this particular blog I’ve not looked back.
Broken Promises
If you say you’re going to do something please do it. One blog that I really liked for awhile was putting up some interesting content. Each Sunday this site would do some content curation and they’d have some decent articles. During the week there’d be a few posts as well, although over time this dwindled to one a week. After awhile it was just that weekly content curation post. And as time went on it wasn’t even that.
This site is Your Writer Platform and I just took them off my bookmark bar this week. I felt they broke their promise by not posting that regularly scheduled post that I’d come to expect. And really, if you’re not putting up new content then what do I need to visit you for? You can't even do a once-a-week post that just links to other posts?
When you continually let me down like that I stop paying attention entirely in the form of removing my bookmark, and thus my access to you.
When you continually let me down like that I stop paying attention entirely in the form of removing my bookmark, and thus my access to you.
No Effectiveness
When I used to post in the KDP forum there was someone named noorosha that posted a lot as well. He often had good advice on sales and marketing and how to get things going. For whatever reasons KDP banned him from the forums and no one heard from him again.
Well, I went to his site and signed up on the mailing list. I thought Nick Stephenson had some good advice in his posts and liked reading them. After awhile, however, the posts became real thin. A month would go by without a post, and then when there was one it wasn’t much good. Then there was just promotional stuff.
Well, I went to his site and signed up on the mailing list. I thought Nick Stephenson had some good advice in his posts and liked reading them. After awhile, however, the posts became real thin. A month would go by without a post, and then when there was one it wasn’t much good. Then there was just promotional stuff.
After awhile I started to become uncomfortable. I thought here’s an author that’s nearing the end of their rope. They can’t get new books out, can’t post to their blog – I just couldn’t understand it. After all, here I am a one-man show putting out 3 different blogs several times a week, writing internet content for others, and publishing my own eBooks, often one or two a month.
To me this seemed unfathomable, and I just thought the site had lost its effectiveness for me. I’d moved on.
To me this seemed unfathomable, and I just thought the site had lost its effectiveness for me. I’d moved on.
Doesn't Provide Value
Another blog I began following this past summer had some good content on it. They’d post some interesting thoughts and each month they’d also give an award out to another site that they thought was also putting out great content. But the thing was, after a time there weren’t that many posts. For the complete month of August there wasn’t even a single post. And then when back it just didn’t seem that valuable anymore.
This site was called Valuable Content, and, you guessed it, I’ve reclaimed my bookmark from them as well. Perhaps I’ll stop in again, but honestly, when you don’t have that bookmark to look at you have a tendency to forget these sites. And that’s when you realize how valuable they were in the first place.
Reclaiming Your Comments
If you’re real serious about reclaiming your bookmarks then I urge you to reclaim your comments as well. After all, who knows when a post you commented on will get another comment. If you want to fully move on then do away with those email notifications and really set yourself free.
Sometimes I’ll get an email about a comment on a post I commented on months ago. Since I didn’t write it I could really care less, and even the most tumultuous posts really fade from your memory after a time. I cleaned out my commenting options yesterday and was surprised to see how many fewer useless emails I had cluttering my inbox today.
So what are you waiting for? Take back those bookmarks, find some sites with real authority and effectiveness for you, and best those others that you’ve already left behind! You can do it – and you know it!
Sometimes I’ll get an email about a comment on a post I commented on months ago. Since I didn’t write it I could really care less, and even the most tumultuous posts really fade from your memory after a time. I cleaned out my commenting options yesterday and was surprised to see how many fewer useless emails I had cluttering my inbox today.
So what are you waiting for? Take back those bookmarks, find some sites with real authority and effectiveness for you, and best those others that you’ve already left behind! You can do it – and you know it!
RSS Feed