“How You Can Help End the Problem of Blogs with Great Content and No Readers.” When I saw this headline on Chuck Westbrook’s Blog, I secretly thought what I’m sure hundreds of bloggers out there were each individually thinking: “That’s me! I have great content and no readers!” (I know I probably shouldn’t admit to such thoughts, but let’s be real—lots of bloggers were thinking it. Many even offered their blogs up for consideration right there in the comments section of Chuck’s post.)
As I continued reading about Chuck’s idea, though, I quickly forgot about me and instead got excited about what happens when a bunch of regular people join forces for positive change. Here’s Chuck’s simple and powerful concept to help some great blogs be heard through the overwhelming din:
- Gather some nice bloggers who believe in helping good content rise. The more the merrier. This becomes our group for the project.
- A good, lesser-known blog is chosen. Everyone in the group will read that blog for two weeks.
- At the end of the two weeks, the group moves to another blog to read.
With scores of bloggers focused on a particular blog, the author should see many nice things happen over those two weeks, especially if the blog really is a hidden gem. This includes discussions, traffic, constructive criticism, encouragement, and connecting to some of the bloggers in the group. That author then joins the group and we move along and do it again.
Chuck’s project made me think about Chris Anderson’s Long Tail Theory. Essentially, Anderson’s theory is an economic one that says if enough people buy enough obscure CDs, DVDs, books etc., the overall economic impact of those purchases can rival that of the true blockbusters and hits. In other words, we’re no longer limited to the relatively small number of CDs or DVDs that big box stores like Best Buy can fit on their shelves. We have countless, amazing options available to us on line, even if we don’t live in New York. Together, those Indy, low-budget and more obscure options constitute the Long Tail.
That’s what Chuck is claiming about blogs—there’s no lack of great content out there. Certainly anyone who wants to put together a blog roll that’s micro-tailored to their particular interests, niches—and even to their preferable level of wit, warmth or nerdiness—should be able to. The only problem, of course, is how to find all that’s great and obscure in your niche, especially because it’s not going to magically rise to the top of your Google search results all by itself. (For the blogger, musician or filmmaker, the problem is the same but in reverse—how to hunt down that elusive audience they just know is out there.)
Anderson calls those who help facilitate these matches-made-in-heaven “filters.” Chuck’s project is a grassroots filter. It’s also what social media sites like Spout are devoted to: helping people easily filter through the thousands of possibilities and find what’s best for them.
I love this cultural development. A musician doesn’t have to be signed by a big label any more for her music to be heard; a writer doesn’t have to have several books published before his words and ideas can be widely read. The Long Tail is full of exciting stuff. But, as Anderson says, “A Long Tail without good filters is just noise.” And there’s already too much noise out there. So here’s to Chuck, to the couple hundred people who’ve signed up to be readers for his project, and to anyone else who’s devoted to being a good filter. Without you, all that high-quality, undiscovered content might as well not exist.
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