In the spirit of how my Twitter usage is changing in 2010, so too is my overall online learning changing.
Take blogs.
I used to read certain blogs — by person and subject — religiously. I used to comment on their blogs whenever I was inspired, and it was often. I used to click their suggested links and subscribed to more blogs. But you know what happened? My brain went into overload. Every few weeks, I was overwhelmed by the number of blogs in my feed reader — partially because it was too much content and I couldn’t read it all and partially because I did read it all and they all said variants of the same message — and both unsubscribed from those I rarely read anymore and/or added new blogs to my learning repertoire.
But after reading Amy Mengel’s musing of why she stopped reading blogs echoing the same social media content and started reading new genres, I blinked.
I ravenously consumed blog posts about PR, communications and social media. But after awhile, a lot of the information begins to feel repetitive (and derivative). I get it at this point – it’s “about the conversation” and “engaging with people” and “being transparent.”
Blah blah blah. I know what she means and how she feels, because I echoed her feed reader purge a few days ago. While I kept some blogs in my reader, such as communicators Gwen Bell, Jillian C. York, Dave Atkins, Seth Godin, and Kristi Hines, I really wanted to focus less on blogs about general web and social media “stuff” — people who write content that could easily fall into each other’s blogs.
Synchronous to my first term as a city councilor and cognizant of my secondary blog about my civic and local government reflections, I am fine-tuning the blogs I read to find specific people who write in a style I like about the public sector: contractors and consultants like Mike Kujawski, Steve Radick, and Luke Fretwell; servants like Casey Coleman and John Duncan; and public policy blogs from groups as diverse as Public Agenda, Google, and eBay.
As my blog reading is changing, so too will my blog writing change. I will still share strategies and tips on social media and online marketing — but they will be less of an echo chamber and more of original thought. I will also write more exploratory pieces in reaction to current events (or in projection to future events), and write less about the web as a whole and more about the web from the lens of a public servant and online media strategist, two hats I wear 24/7.
I hope you’ll stick around and share this site with your friends and colleagues, for I think we have something special going here. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, short of this: the content I am reading is changing the way I am thinking which is guaranteed to cause a change in the way you will be reading my thoughts. Please join me in the conversation.
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I stopped using Twitter after xmas and don’t miss it much. Likewise, the novelty of Social Media has worn off; now it’s the norm. I try to use my time more discriminately and choose my blogs more selectively. Time to rein in and focus.
If you’re suffering from overload, you should check out Fever.
http://feedafever.com/
From Tim Stiffler-Dean to you: On Immovable Objects and Unstoppable Forces
I tried commenting last night, but I got an error. I don’t think it was your site, but just my internet connection.
I’d like to thank you for keeping me in your reader.
And I’ll definitely stick around. I admire the fact that you announce changes you’re going to make (such as your new approaches to Twitter) and then you come back and describe the results of that change. I think it’s refreshing to read about your social media experimentations.
From Kristi@Blogging Tips to you: How Google Handles Duplicate Content
If you didn’t employ the CommentLuv plugin and didn’t have useful content, I wouldn’t be reading. Something to think about, when you compare kikolani.com to comparable sites.
‘I get it at this point – it’s “about the conversation” and “engaging with people” and “being transparent.”’ I think Amy Mengel’s point is significant. It’s important to build a base of trusted and respected friends and grow your readership base from there. Numbers mean nothing if you don’t have a foundation of cohesive and close networking.
From Paul Cornies to you: Solving a Pressing Global Problem
This comes really close to my experience with blogs. A few months ago I had 1,000+ unread blogs in my Reader. I had subscribed to the “can’t-miss” blogs via email and well, had no incentive to go read the rest. When I did go, I spent lots of time scrolling and not getting much out of it.
I soon came to a very similar conclusion about my reading. I do still read a lot of PR and social media blogs, but it’s because I’m still learning — and I only stick with those that really resonate with me. Meanwhile like you both, I try to read blogs that have to do with my other activities: digital forensics and law enforcement.
I’m now making time to read most every day, and getting more value from it. In turn I provide more value, because it’s now easier for me to comment on trusted blogs than it was before. It’s at least one area of my life in which I feel less overwhelmed.
From Christa M. Miller to you: CyberSpeak: The online resume
I’ve never subscribed to more than 300 blogs at a time; and have less than 50 today. Continually refining what blogs I follow, which categories they are defined inside, and how frequently I read them. If the title doesn’t appeal to me, I don’t click inside. If the same blog gives me unappealing titles or uninspiring content for so many days or weeks in a row, it’s a simple unsubscribe button click.
Ditto with Twitter. I used to follow people because I always followed them. No more.
I so get this and am right there with you. When I first started blogging I was a faithful reader of many blogs that I have to admit, I just got tired of reading. And yes, it was because they got repetitive, derivative, etc. and I got bored and a bit overwhelmed.
Thanks for a thoughtful and true post.
First, let me say I don’t find your content repetitive, but certainly glad you found a good learning experience from reading that specific blog article.
I believe you’re right in pointing out that too much content is below-standard, and I think a lot of bloggers should be encouraged to take stock with their content. It’s much better to take a break from blogging than ever beginning to churn out some PLR content as though that could ever become king.
Unique perspectives grab your attention, and that is a very good point to make.
Have a nice weekend everyone.
From Henrik Blunck to you: Passing By WordPress Version 2.9
These days, you too provide [too] many external links inside your posts that sometimes make me lost into the sea and forget what the initial topic of [your] post was.
Don’t mind; however, it’s good from some aspects.
From Aminul Islam Sajib to you: BlogBuzzer – The Regular Dose for Search Engines & Directories
Thanks for sharing your blog weeding process. So far it’s been really good for me to thin out the Google Reader and put some more focus around my RSS subscriptions. Still, it’s always hard to keep up. I find that if I don’t take a big chunk out of my day to devote to blog reading and try instead to read in dribs and drabs throughout the day, I end up reading nothing. But it’s also hard to find a lot of big chunks of time in my day anymore.
Thanks for the link to my post.
From amymengel to you: Luring ‘Specialized’ candidates through social HR
I think that people (quite mistakenly btw) have become obsessed with the frequency of their blog posting. This has resulted in more quantity and less quality. But, while there is less quality, it’s always a joy to read fresh, original content and perspectives…so I haven’t quit my blog reading…I’m just more selective.
From Richard@How To Videos to you: How Do I Get YouTube Videos On My iPod
I used to be on more than 50 email lists and wasted about 1 hour every day reading them. About a month ago I unsubscribed from all but 3 of them and my life feels so much better now.