ban the blog

Ban the Blog

Charlie Peverett

Definition of ‘blog’ #1

• A contraction of ‘web log’• A diary-style way to publish content easily to

the web• Typically displaying the most recent post first

• Usually enabling readers to add their comments

Definition of ‘blog’ #2

• A revolutionary democratisation of the process of publishing content that has the potential to empower people across the globe to tell their stories and express their opinions

Definition of ‘blog’ #3

• Mainly created by "bald, cauliflower-nosed, young men sitting in their mothers’ basements and ranting”.

– Andrew Marr, Oct 2010

Definition of ‘blog’ #4

• …our main website is still too shit to add anything to it regularly so we'll dump stuff here instead and hope someone notices.

– @tamsinbishton

Claims made for blogging by marketers

• Blogging will increase your visibility • Blogging will increase your engagement• Blogging will increase your authority

Claims made for blogging by marketers

• Blogging will improve your sex life • Blogging will do the washing up for you• [insert your own]

The blog is a bucket

Buckets are great

Some of us will always be more interested in the bucket

but for most of us….

It’s what’s in the bucket that counts

How did we get distracted by buckets?

How did we get distracted by buckets?

1. Blogs as workarounds

How did we get distracted by buckets?

2. My boss heard about blogging…

How did we get distracted by buckets?

3. It’s treated as a media buy

In short…

• The success of your blog is increasingly tied to what you say - not merely the fact that you’ve chosen to speak

In short…

• Alternative platforms may suit your objectives better

In short…

• Thinking hard first saves pain later

In short…

We’re seeking to avoid the fate of thousands of company blogs.

Blogs with archives that look something like this

Blogs with archives that look something like this

• Here’s an exclusive interview with one of our designers!

Blogs with archives that look something like this

• Here’s an exclusive interview with one of our designers!

• Here’s our press release about a store opening in Milton Keynes

Blogs with archives that look something like this

• Here’s an exclusive interview with one of our designers!

• Here’s our press release about a store opening in Milton Keynes

• Look! Voucher code!

Blogs with archives that look something like this

• Here’s an exclusive interview with one of our designers!

• Here’s our press release about a store opening in Milton Keynes

• Look! Voucher code!• Pictures of us in the office eating cakes

Blogs with archives that look something like this

• Here’s an exclusive interview with one of our designers!

• Here’s our press release about a store opening in Milton Keynes

• Look! Voucher code!• Pictures of us in the office eating cakes• Something else, can’t even remember what

Blogs with archives that look something like this

• Here’s an exclusive interview with one of our designers!

• Here’s our press release about a store opening in Milton Keynes

• Look! Voucher code!• Pictures of us in the office eating cakes• Something else, can’t even remember what• I posted this to get HR off my back!

It’s a place where content goes to die. A mishmash of bloggery-pokery that at iCrossing we like to call:

Shitpot.com

Shit-pot-dot-com♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

The solution?

• In early stages of planning, ban the word ‘blog’

• In early stages of planning, ban the word ‘blog’

• Take those questionable claims for ‘blogging’ and replace ‘blogging’ with ‘being interesting and relevant on a frequent basis’

• In early stages of planning, ban the word ‘blog’

• Take those questionable claims for ‘blogging’ and replace ‘blogging’ with ‘being interesting and relevant on a frequent basis’

• See if the conversation goes somewhere different

Reason 1:You’ll focus more on the purpose, less on the bucket

Ban the Blog

Reason 2:You’ll consider better options for publishing and distributing your content

Ban the Blog

Reason 3:If you do settle on the need for a blog it will be a positive decision

Ban the Blog

It’s a case of moving from a reactive model to a strategic one

We need to produce more content / ‘be

social’

We need to produce more content / ‘be

social’

[knee jerk]

We need to produce more content / ‘be

social’

I just signed up for Wordpress!

[knee jerk]

We need to produce more content / ‘be

social’

I just signed up for Wordpress!

We need to communicate

smarter!

[knee jerk] vs

Why? To whom? Where? How?

We need to produce more content / ‘be

social’

I just signed up for Wordpress!

We need to communicate

smarter!

[knee jerk] vs

Why? To whom? Where? How?

We need to produce more content / ‘be

social’

I just signed up for Wordpress!

We need to communicate

smarter!

Main site Off-site Email

[knee jerk]

Twitter Apps Blog

vs

Why? To whom? Where? How?

We need to produce more content / ‘be

social’

I just signed up for Wordpress!

We need to communicate

smarter!

Main site Off-site Email

[knee jerk]

Twitter Apps Blog

vs

Why? To whom? Where? How?

We need to produce more content / ‘be

social’

I just signed up for Wordpress!

We need to communicate

smarter!

Main site Off-site Email

[knee jerk]

Twitter Apps Blog

vs

[maybe]

Three great tips for blogging being frequently relevant

and interesting online

1) Get some perspective

Get everyone thinking like a real person who likes real stuff!

[interactive workshop activity was here – but you can try this at home]

Exercise: thinking like a real person

• Take a group of people • Ask one person to talk about something they

love online (doesn’t have to be a blog)• Bring it up on the screen for everyone to see

Exercise: thinking like a real person

• Ask that person to specify the positive qualities of the site they’ve chosen

• Add each quality (e.g. accurate, funny, surprising, inspiring) to a post-it note

• Put the post-its on a wall

Exercise: thinking like a real person

• Repeat with as many participants as you can• When finished, have a look at all the post-its• Consider which qualities have arisen time and

again (it’s usually the same ones…)• And finally….

Exercise: thinking like a real person

• Consider whether the content you’re planning is likely to have any of these qualities…

2) Relevance

Beware marketers who tell you they can be interesting on your behalf[cue deathstar]

Stuff you actually do / what you know about

Stuff you actually do / what you know about

A step away from your products and services

Stuff you actually do / what you know about

A step away from your products and services

Way out of comfort zone

Increased time, effort, investment to establish credibility Stuff you actually do /

what you know about

A step away from your products and services

Way out of comfort zone

Increased time, effort, investment to establish credibility Stuff you actually do /

what you know about

Less relevant to what your customers want from you

A step away from your products and services

Way out of comfort zone

Increased time, effort, investment to establish credibility Stuff you actually do /

what you know about

Less relevant to what your customers want from you

A step away from your products and services

Way out of comfort zone

Risk of brand erosion

Increased time, effort, investment to establish credibility Stuff you actually do /

what you know about

Less relevant to what your customers want from you

A step away from your products and services

Way out of comfort zone

Risk of looking a bit desperate

Risk of brand erosion

3) *Do* something interesting

• 98% of interesting online content involves something interesting happening offline*

• The cost of *doing* something interesting (a project / event / campaign) is rarely factored into the investment in producing content

• The further from your core business your focus for content is, the greater the need to commit to *doing* extra stuff to fuel what you have to say

* I totally made this up but I believe it to be true

Bonus tip: Tags are not content

Remember, tag clouds are the mullets of the internet (Zeldman, 2005, still bears repeating)

So in summary

• Purpose before content before platform• Get some perspective • Keep it relevant• Doing something interesting

Ban the Blog

Charlie Peverett

Thanks

Image creditsImages reproduced under Creative Commons licence:

Roses in a bucket image by Flickr user jenny downing licensed under Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenny-pics/3079485197/sizes/l/

Colourful stacked buckets image by Flickr user tanakawho licensed under Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)http://www.flickr.com/photos/28481088@N00/670258156/

Buckets on sale in street image by Flickr user nSeika licensed under Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)http://www.flickr.com/photos/nseika/6376364681/

Tennis court image by Flickr user EEPaul licensed under Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)http://www.flickr.com/photos/eepaul/6860515636/

Cat in a bucket image by Flickr user nromagna licensed under Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)http://www.flickr.com/photos/nromagna/5643588854/

Pissed off cat image by Flickr user Mikko Lumtiala licensed under Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikko_luntiala/5068157476/

Please note that the ‘blog as perfume’ image is reproduced under copyright from the supplier.