Livingston

Jul
28
2008

Where Do the Bloggers Go?

eggertson.jpgWhere do the children go,
Between the bright night and darkest day?
Where do the children go?
And who’s that deadly piper who leads them away?

- Where Do the Children Go, The Hooters

Some of you may have seen CommonSense PR Eric Eggertson’s post this Saturday. He has decided to go on hiatus from CommonSense PR. This continues a trend where many established business bloggers stop for a while (Leo Bottary is back!), for good, or migrate to Twitter or another social network.

Eric states:

I’m tired. I want to not have a public opinion about everything I see. And if you aren’t absolutely driven to blog, you shouldn’t be doing it.

You have to respect Eric’s desire to move on. After years and months of blogging, isn’t burn-out inevitable? There comes a time when new media and paths must be explored in a person’s journey. Which brings up an interesting issue for corporate blogs: Artistic creativity or business? Can content be created on demand, or is great professional blogging a result of creative fire?

Business is business, so in many cases good blogging is a marketing function, an editorial production. We have found that editorial schedules and missions work well to drive content. Multiple authors allay the taxing nature of blogging time and creativity resources. In one case, our client StackSafe’s blog was cited by Forrester Research as part of an integrated marketing mix that offered compelling content to the IT mix.

For me, blogging and content creation lies in what seems to be an unrelenting fount of creativity. As soon as I push the publish button, a sense of relief occurs, but within hours the next post(s) starts brewing in my head. Further, even when I am stymied, I can still write on demand, a result of being the fifth journalist, and third published author in my family. I have always been possessed by the writing bug, and suspect I always will be (below image by desiitaly).

2321115942_3791fb6a6b.jpg

But there have been times where I burned out on the marketing, social media and PR schtick. This caused me to abandon my second social media blog, Now Is Gone (in support of the book) in favor of personal “fun” blogging. It also caused me to explore video, a media form I enjoy because of it’s extremely daunting canvas.

Yet I forged through burn-out on the Buzz Bin. Because it’s business, and there’s always some new idea or take on developments to offer insights to the marketplace. We publish on the Buzz Bin religiously because we see the blog as a core business offering, essential to the firm’s well-being. This will only continue as we integrate with Social Media Group.

It bears to mind an old Frederick Douglass quote (paraphrased): “Good writers write when they want to. Great writers write when they have to.”

When it’s a business — as opposed to an individual’s blog — you write. Artists be damned. And if a writer burns out, then it’s time to replace them with a new cog in the wheel. Well engineered business blogs should survive the comings and goings of personalities. Thus is the nature of business blogging.

Note: Kami Huyse stuck this idea of creative force vs. business in my head a couple weeks ago. She should get some credit for the idea.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button
by Geoff Livingston | Blogging |

6 Responses to “Where Do the Bloggers Go?”

  • Lewis Green Says:

    July 28th, 2008 at 9:40 am

    Geoff,

    So true. I often feel as if today is the day I shut my blog down. And then I read, hear or see something or am asked a business-related question that gets my juices flowing. There is a never-ending supply of topics to discuss and share.

  • Liz Says:

    July 28th, 2008 at 12:31 pm

    I think when you start thinking of people as “cogs” and not individuals, you lose a little bit of your soul. People are not what they do or what can do for you, they are who they are and thinking that writers are just interchangeable with each other indicates a very utilitarian view of the art of communication. This is not touchy-feely stuff this is recognizing the humanity and gifts of people whether they are writing for a personal or business blogs.

    What is that old saying? No one ever complains at the end of their life that they didn’t spend enough time at work.

  • Geoff Livingston Says:

    July 28th, 2008 at 12:35 pm

    Liz: I used to run several publications with reporters, and while people are people, the process must go on. Business supersedes individuals, principles matter more than personalities. That’s what it means to be in something larger.

    If you run a business, I think your feelings may change on this matter. But if you look at it from the employee standpoint, your reaction is normal.

  • Kami Huyse Says:

    July 28th, 2008 at 1:18 pm

    Remind me to write about my ideas more quickly after talking with you (lol). Really though, I love what you did with this and the insight into what drives you to crank out so much great content every week. Consistency does matter (from someone that has been anything but consistent lately I can tell you).

  • marguerite manteau-rao Says:

    July 28th, 2008 at 5:23 pm

    Like you Goeff, I ’suffer’ from a never ending flow of creativity, and topics I want to write about. I do not foresee it stopping any time soon. The medium may vary, I may one day decide to migrate to another blog, or another format altogether, but I will always need to share ideas and engage in conversations with others around creative matters.

    Your post brings up the issue of burnout versus sustainability. I visit Twitter quite often, and cannot believe the pace of some of the people there. Manic habits are not sustainable in the long run. Same applies to blogging. Also, it is hard to come up with meaningful content 24/7. The brain and the heart need some resting time to conjure up content that is of any worth.

  • Geoff Livingston Says:

    July 29th, 2008 at 12:31 am

    Marguerite, I agree the great ones seem to be able to pace themselves. They do not buy into the tyranny of th eurgent, instead keep going slow and steady.

Leave a Reply