Bloggers Wish List for 2006
12/28/2005
>I've added some additional excellent "more and less wishes". Not sure if this is correct "blog protocol" - but to keep life simple and all insights in one place, I'm making a management decision to include all wishes on this post. Just seems to make sense.
>It's been an exciting year for the the virtual communities that we affectionately call "the blogosphere." As a business strategy, blogs are making their way into mainstream acceptance. More voices are being heard and listened to on both sides of the post - blogger and commenter (assuming comments are left on of course.)
Began to wonder how bloggers would like the blogsphere to evolve during the next 12-months. What would people, who have a stake in the evolution of this medium, like to see "more of and less of in 2006." So I asked a few blog buddies (If you're name fell off the list shoot me an email and I'll add yours to the next round.)
Here's what I'm seeing ...
Many folks wanted a kinder more civil blogosphere. Others wanted more credible and higher standards of professionalism. Bloggers were looking for less "fruit cake" or pass along information posts, without value-added commentary. Several people wanted to hear new voices including women, clients and older bloggers.
From a tactical aspect people wanted to see better use of the side bars, use of personal domain names and to kill off the concept of tags. Less ads and more content. Blog platforms that work.
Not surprising less comment spam was on several wish lists. In keeping with a more professional environment less self promotion and less whining.
Sidebar: I encourage you click to visit some new bloggers and renew the acquitance of some blogger friends who you may not have visited in awhile.
Oh and please excuse the multiple fonts and the horrid spacing...call it technical difficulties. I have not a clue what happened.
More of ...
Yvonne DiVita
MORE Smart Women Bloggers. There are dozens now, but I want more. I want women to stand up and be counted, because blogging is word of mouth marketing at its best, and that's a task we are designed by nature to dominate.
Jane Genova
In the blogosphere, I would like to see more evidence of research on a topic, just the way mainstream media provides evidence from research. Opinion is good but opinion backed by documentation is better. Now that we're being taken more seriously, we have to become more serious in how we present information and points of view.
Marshall Kirkpatrick
I'd like to see more sidebar appreciation - I think sidebars are one of the most under-loved parts of every blog (am I wrong?).
What I'd like to see more of is the availability of basic ecommerce functions as plug 'n play options with major blog software packages. Blogs are good for business, big and small and I think there's a lot of opportunity for business and value for consumers with ecommerce blogs.
More niche blogging. Blogging is powerful because it is the power of niche communities. We all talk about it.
Dave Taylor
More civility and professionalism. The level of aggressive interchange in the blogosphere doesn't make "the conversation" more genuine, it makes it more juvenile and makes it harder for Corporate America to truly grasp the business case for blogging.
Donna Lyons-Miller
I wish blog people would chill & be more open minded to innovation without damning those that try new things. I guess it's another version of Peace On Earth Goodwill to Men.
Scott Allen
I'd like to see more of less. What do I mean? I'd like to see blog carnivals with the seven best posts rather than all 50 that were submitted. I want better tools for subscribing just to the information I want. I want to see people acting more as filters than as aggregators. I think posting every passing thought is passe, at least for business blogs - I'd like to see people stay more focused.
Average Jane
More appreciation for the raw skills each blogger uses: writing, photography, design, etc. I think a lot of bloggers fail to get the respect they deserve because their subject matter is dismissed as "too trivial" (and I'm not talking about myself here - I know my blog is all about trivial matters!)
Marc Babei
I’d like to see more blogs written by client-side marketers.
Sybil Stershic
To find more time to read other blogs on a regular basis!
Millie Garfield
I would like to see more older people discover the computer and start
blogging. Like Mikie says, "If they try it, they will like it."
Susan Getgood
With the corollary that I’d like to see more awareness by folks
that they are responsible for their own success (or lack thereof). ….. You want
to succeed at something, take charge of it – make it happen, don’t keep listing
all the outside forces that prevented you from succeeding. You won’t win all the
time, but you, and no one else, owns your
success.
More people blogging. Yeah I know, everybody and his grandmother is already starting a blog, but there are many more people out there who should be lending their voices to the chorus who should be blogging too. Plus many more companies need to start blogging. Like Dana mentions, the person to person interactivity of blogging is still deeply under utilized. I know that from my own brand's experiences, blogging has been a very successful tool in getting consumers to reconnect to the bikes I sell. More creativity in the kinds of blogging going on. More humor. I think too many bloggers take themselves far too seriously. A little humility and a sense of humor goes a long way.
Marianne Richmond
In
keeping with the season, less fruitcake blogs; Johnnie Carson said there was
only one fruit cake in the world and everyone just kept sending it to each
other. If just passing along information read on someone else’s blog, please at
least add an adjective or a reason why it is being passed along, in a conversational
tone... More tech support for the non-intuitive.
I’d love to see more original blogs. Copycat blogs seem to sprout up every day and I’d love to see some
really original content that speaks to a niche that hasn’t been covered yet. I’d
personally love to see a site for travelers that care about design, a resource
of sorts.
Scott Burkett
-I
would like to see the people who will never make any money from their blogs
remove the third party advertisements from said blogs.
-I
would like to see more business bloggers ... fewer pictures of people's dogs and
more thought leadership.
-I would like to see better ways of finding business bloggers.
Elisa Camahort
-Research: if you're gonna say it, cite it. Cite something. I don't even
know you, don't ask me to just believe you!
-Useful and user-friendly tools. That work (and I mean with full
functionality) on Macs!!!!!
-'Live and let live' attitudes from bloggers of one type toward bloggers of
another. If you don't like it you don't have to read it, and you don't have to
write one like it.
-That being said, my personal preference is: more context and commentary
Dana VanDen Heuvel
-I'd like to see more people move beyond 'blogging' and reach deeper to the
'metaphors' that blogging represents like customer-to-corporatation (read:
people-to-people) connection and the role blogging plays in the participant
economy.
- Let's see more bloggers realize that they are part
of changing the world as we know it, even if only in some small way in a little
corner of the world. Online conversation is a beautiful thing.
Bill Flitter
Marketers need to consider blogging seriously, if not by
creating a blog for their brand at the very least participate in a constructive
manner with the community they serve. This could simply be just commenting on
blogs that mention their brand. Let your customers no you are listening. It
makes for a happier community.”
Elana Centor
If I am going to be completely honest and self-absorbed, the thing that I would like it see more of in 2006 is more traffic at FunnyBusiness. My second wish for 2006 is that I would like to see "professional journalists" get over themselves in their attitude to those of us who choose to blog.
Nick Jacobs
I'd like to see Republicans and Democrats come together for the good of the
country for the first time in 14 years.
Peter Flachner
-I'd like to see more new bloggers joining in the fun. I've walked a couple
of techno-phobic friends through getting started recently, and it has been such
a pleasure to watch them "get it".
-I'd like to see more people using their own domain names - this is going to be a huge issue as blogs develop and grow.
-I'd like to see more originality and care in blog design.-
I'd like to see more thought put into blog archives. -
I'd like technorati (or equivalent) to work as advertised.
-I'd really, really, really like to see the word 'blog' disappear. Blogs are
websites. Let's just call them that.
-I'd like to continue to meet amazing people through my blogging
adventures.
Sally Falkow
Communication is the universal solvent. It never hurt to communicate more. Blogging
is the way to reach out and communicate with people. Making yourself and your company real to your
audience is a good thing. Learn to let
go of the ‘message’ and really communicate with your public.
Nancy White
Well, on the flippant side, more chocolate, less baloney. Getting a wee bit more serious (because I'm still on blogholiday) I'd like to see more exploration of how blogs can support collaboration, particularly in the non profit world, but I'm happy to see it happening in any domain. How can we create both this wonderful sense of self identity that is so strong in blogs and lean it towards a group goal? Crazy? Perhaps. More generally, I will be reading blogs that:
-help me see other's perspectives, particularly outside of my culture or domains
-make me smile when I need some smiling
-offer me the chance to learn something new
Alex
To make more than 10 cents from my blog.
Mary Schmidt
1. Ditto re civil behavior/common courtesy. That said, we should use the blogosphere (depending on the blog subject matter & purpose) to raise awareness of shoddy business practices, scams, government wrongdoings and such. I do make it a practice to never say anything I wouldn't say to somebody's face (and usually have) but then I'm pretty blunt when I'm unhappy about something (principle is the thing.)
2. Ditto re getting more people involved. The more interaction we have, the better chance we'll avoid problems (versus having solved them). Example: If the GOP and Demos had really talked to each other (instead of AT each other) and focused on the issues (versus dong mass mediocrity sound bites) - we'd be in much better shape.
Wayne Hurlbert
I would like to see some technical improvements appearing in both individual blogs and in blogging software platforms. Improvements in how blogs speak to one another via trackbacks would assist bloggers in referencing one another. Perhaps an automated system that included all blogging software platforms would work well in this regard. Improved and simplified RSS feeds would help more novice RSS users add blog feeds to their subscription lists. With greater east of RSS use, and better cross interfaces, more bloggers could reach wider audiences. Better technical blogging systems would not only help individual bloggers and readers, but the blogging industry as a whole.
Koan Bremner
For myself? I'd like to see more of a blurring between the personal and professional in blogging - particularly, I'd like to see corporate and professional bloggers "let the mask slip" a little more, and show us the *real* people (not fake, airbrushed or "character") behind their blog and /or company. Companies that do that are the ones that fascinate me - they're the ones, to be mercenary, whom I will grace with my spending power (such as it is!). Of course, it won't happen - but, hey, a girl can dream can't she :)
Ivan Chew
I
wish for a more robust web identification system in the blogosphere. It
scares me that it's so easy to pretend to be someone else. e.g.,
posting a comment.
Dave Dolak
I'd like to see more focus .. blogs that stick with a theme rather than just random comments and a lot of disconnected nonsense.
Carrie
I can't help but notice that several of the wishes posted already exist. Some just haven't looked for them. I know that bloggers tend to form cliques (ie. Business bloggers, Women bloggers, Doctor bloggers, IT bloggers, Political bloggers) and I think, most of them just need to step outside their group to find what they want. It's definitely out there. (Read more in comments)
Mike Bawdin
1. Civility in discourse and criticism. I don't have a problem with points of view that are contrary to my own, but I expect people to be decent and thoughtful in how they express their positions. Declaring that there is a "War on Christmas" or calling people derogatory names when commenting on their blog post (ref. the now infamous "pussy" comment allegedly thrown out by an Alaskan Air employee on Jeremy Herman's blog.
2. I hope we learn that no one can "have it all" - there are limits to our ability to maintain social relationships. If we want blogging to go beyond the "early adopters" those in the mainstream will need to feel secure in their space. If you talk to people who aren't blogging, a lot of them shake their head and say they just don't get it. Forming relationships through social media can be a bit like drinking from a firehose, but never really knowing when the firehose is going to be turned off and on. In a much larger sense, we have to learn that it's okay to set limits and slow down. I'm not advocating withdrawing from society as I am taking some time to get to know fewer people better - I think the result will be much more fulfilling. The implications for the blogosphere are, I think, fairly significant in the long-term.
3. All that stuff about "slowing down" and becoming more intimate with fewer people aside, I hope we'll see the birth of some significant movement back to rich sources of mass media. I'm not calling for a return to the days of the big three television networks - but now, with technology capable of doing what it can and the country wired as much as it is, there must be a way to produce a few primary sources of information dissemination that will help frame the debates and discussions we need to continue progressing.
These are three, really big ideas. But I believe each of us, as individuals, can work to make them a reality.
Robert Scoble
I'd like to see good information make a come back. Reviews anyone? DPreview.com has awesome ones on camera. What if we had a review site like that for software?
Nicole Simon
We should be challenging. Expect more from the people around you, including your readers. How else are we suppose to learn and evolve if everything stays mediocre and just for the mainstream taste?
To quote one of my favorite song lyrics: "What have you done today to make you feel proud?" There are so many people and you can't be everyone's darling. Stop trying to be and make the the one person proud which really counts: You!
Say what you want: In order for you to be more than mediocre, others (and you yourself) need impulses and ideas. Tell them what you want and why, so others can pick up on your request.
Sidebar: I
have read your mail and pondered upon an answer for a longer time and
it strikes me, that me - the more technical geek of most of the people
I know - comes up with something quite ungeeky to add to your list. I
will do a podcast later this day just on this topic so you see how
occupied it has me :))
Sidebar: Nicole did do a podcast about her 2006 wishes for the blogosphere.
Jane Genova - Opinions that haven't been well-thought-out.
of...well less spam blogs clogging up my search feeds would be a dream
come true!
Arieanna Foley
Scott Allen
I'd like, of course, less comment spam and splogs.
Average Jane
I'd like to see less compartmentalizing of blogs by topic.
Marc Babei
Less mindless self-promotion i.e. Seth Godin.
Sybil Stershic
To feel less pressure & more pleasure in writing my posts.
Susan Getgood
What I'd like to see less of (in the blogosphere, and in general as well) - less whining.
Tim Jackson
A bit less slandering. Dana is right, fewer blogs attacking companies and people would be refreshing. It is so true that this type of behavior does a lot more harm to the collective cause and scares more and more good people out of the blogosphere. Let's all step back for a minute and recognize that our importance is not so great that we are going to change the world over night nor are we the only real and relevant voices around. The mainstream media still has a place and importance, so we need to not take ourselves so seriously.
Grace Bonney
Less comment spam.Scott Burkett
I would personally like to see the death of "tagging", or the use of "tags" on blogs.
Elisa Camahort
Nick Jacobs
Scott Neal
I’d like to see more bloggers who are not professional media or professional writers start blogs. I think we all benefit when what I call “field level” bloggers share their first-person observations and feelings with the rest of the world.”
Nancy White
What I'd like to see less of? Well, the joy of blog is if you don't like 'em, don't read 'em. So it is easy to not see what I don't want to see. Not that I believe blinders are always a useful thing - grin. I know I won't be reading blogs that:
-don't have full RSS feeds because time is precious
-are over the top with self promotion or pure publicity seeking
-support gratuitous flames because I simply don't enjoy them. I don't begrudge them, I'm not wasting my time!
Koan Bremner
It goes without saying that I wish a painful, lingering death on comment spammers (well, *all* spammers, actually - but comments spam is the one that annoys me the most). Not a very Buddhist attitude, I know - but hey, I acknowledge my imperfections!
Dave Dolak
I'd like to see less press about blogging. We've all heard all about it and you aren't even being close to cutting-edge by reporting in now.
Nicole Simon
I want less people who do not understand why connecting to the internet is not an addiction but a new form of social interaction. I am tired of seeing those pity looks because they think, they do have a "real life" when all they do is watching television all night or going out in bars having meaningless conversations with people they already know.
Technorati Tags: Blogs, Business, Blogosphere, Weblogs, Blog_Strategy, 2006
