Triune Designs Blog: Web Design, Development, & Marketing

A while ago I read a blog post by a well-known blogger who was irritated by people commenting that they were unsubscribing to his blog. The readers were unsubscribing because they felt he was getting off track from the blog’s main focus. His response to them? “See ya. I am better off without you.” While he was at it, he also pointed out that the blog was his and he could write whatever he wanted.

For me it raised an important question: whose blog is it?

His Blog
It should be noted that his blog is a semi-personal one and not a business blog like this. (However, since he makes part of his living through his blog I am counting it as part business/part personal.) With that said, though, the blogger is right. It is his blog. He can shut it down whenever he wants. He can decide to go in a completely different direction and start writing lemur-themed haiku posts. The same is true for this blog. If we decided to only write about the benefits of oscillating fans during the summer there is not much you could do about it. Or could you?

Your Blog
While the audience cannot completely control the website owner’s actions, the audience does have some power. They have a voice. As was mentioned above, their voices come in two primary forms: (1) commenting and (2) unsubscribing. Voicing displeasure on comments is a great way to provide feedback to the writer(s). In a blogging community (like a business blog should support), responding to feedback is vital to a blog’s health. If there is no response then that blog community moves on to step two: mass exodus. If large masses of people leave your blog then your revenue streams and/or marketing opportunities dry up. That is bad for business.

So, for me, the answer to my question of “whose blog is it?” is simple. The blog is both of theirs. That particular blogging community has part ownership with the final decision-making power lying in the hands of the writer himself.

And, if the blogger wants to go in a completely new direction. He will just have to understand that they might have to find a brand new audience.

This week’s recommendation is for Seth Godin’s most recent book, Tribes. I have been following Seth for some time now. He is one of those bloggers that is a must-add for your feed reader of choice.

Seth Godin - Tribes

In his most recent book, Seth talks about how leaders and innovators assemble groups of similarly minded individuals. These leaders then lead their groups by getting the people excited about new products, services, or messages. Seth writes that tribes have been around for thousands of years in such forms as churches, work environments, or even local communities. He also argues how the Internet has allowed for exponential growth in the number of tribes and leaders alike. His challenge for us is to think as leaders instead of “sheepwalkers” (his term in the book) and try to organize, assemble, and inspire the tribes out there.

If you are interested in hearing what Seth has to say without first buying the book here is an audio recording courtesy of Seth and the Marketing Over Coffee podcast. As a side note, I also recommend listening to Marketing Over Coffee. John and Chris provide a lot of good marketing information in a nice relaxed “atmosphere” (Dunkin Donuts as it so happens).

Has anyone read Tribes? What did you think? Do you also think it is worth people’s time and money? I would love to hear your comments. If you do read it please let me know about your personal review.

Author’s note: I received a free download of Tribes via audible.com. This was my first venture into the audio book realm. I do prefer to turn the pages of a good book in my hand instead, though. (I cannot promise you anything, but you may still be able to download the audio version for free at Audible.)