Colin Walker - Latest Comments in The social media time crisis

Re: The social media time crisis

Seo Singapore — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:58:19 -0000

I think many Socia Media companies will die when their funding dries up. It's just too competitive out there with almost 20 new Socia Media companies popping up a week!

Re: The social media time crisis

oldskoolmark — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 10:29:05 -0000

Interesting post. This crisis really breaks down the foundations which social media is built upon. The foundation that we are able to exchange thoughts, focus on a wider spectrum of the topic through sharing and generate more ideas.

I find myself trying to reduce my posts to less than 500 words just to suit my audience. I guess our Google readers are too filled up that we just skim through the post... Tragic really...

I think Tommyl's point of a good heading and introduction is a good point as that's what we see in our aggragators.

Re: The social media time crisis

charlieanzman — Mon, 26 May 2008 22:29:10 -0000

I find myself hesitating sharing long posts even if they are good. Doubt people will read down to the next one in many cases.

Re: The social media time crisis

colinwalker — Sat, 24 May 2008 18:48:50 -0000

@Hutch, not glib at all - they are all great ways to break up a post and used by many a blogger to add value to the post.

@James, a perfect example of perpetuating the problem. How long did it take to make the comment? Was the comment necessary? Could you have used that time to instead read the whole post? Who's to say that you may still have felt compelled to comment after reading it all and whether the comment would have been different had you done so.

Re: The social media time crisis

James Herbert — Sat, 24 May 2008 18:00:18 -0000

I would love to have read all of this article instead of just jumping in and making a quick quip. I just don't have the time... I agree with Alexander. I admit I have written a post on my blog about a paragraph or two long. I also have a 1000+ word article about clichés on my blog. The blog topic is about researching the tools of the digital or net learner.

John Seely Brown wrote an article here:http://www.usdla.org/html/j... and mentioned that the short attention span of the digital learner may be a good thing.

I am of two minds about it. I can see both sides. On the other (third?) hand, I write entirely too long a post to commit to short attention spans.

Re: The social media time crisis

Hutch Carpenter — Sat, 24 May 2008 16:39:53 -0000

Great post Colin. At the risk of being glib, here are a few things I try to do in my blog posts. (1) Break it up into smaller sections. Each section covers a different point, but I try to avoid going too long on any section. Not an absolute requirement, but I strive to do it. (2) Graphics. Yup, it's true. A picture is worth a thousand words. My graphics are kind of hacked together, but they seem serviceable. (3) Call-out quotes. I LOVE when someone else's observations can be used as part of a blog post. It makes the blog post part of a running conversation, a wider dialogue.

God, I sound like Chris Brogan or something.

Re: The social media time crisis

tommyl — Sat, 24 May 2008 16:17:59 -0000

Most posts on my blog are longer than three paragraphs. But what I try to do is write a concise introduction so that readers can look at a few sentences and decide if they want to read on. A succinct introduction that spells out what you're addressing and how you plan to get there saves everybody a lot of time, IMO.

I do like the point you made about taking enough time to read and understand something. But here, too, a well-written introduction can help smooth the way.

Re: The social media time crisis

colinwalker — Sat, 24 May 2008 14:22:28 -0000

I do have a history of having 'articles' in UK magazines so probably just keep going in the style to which I have become accustomed.

Re: The social media time crisis

Mark Dykeman — Sat, 24 May 2008 14:19:16 -0000

It just occurred to me that you write in a traditional article style, as opposed to the "mark it up" blog posting style that a number of experts espouse. I think it's a differentiator, especially when you back it up with your analysis.

It can be hard to switch from text scanning mode to true reading mode, but if more people did it, there'd be fewer misunderstandings.

Re: The social media time crisis

calebelston — Sat, 24 May 2008 13:53:58 -0000

Colin, thanks for the Toluu mention!

As you point out, we are working to make Toluu a unique service, rather than a me-too service. There are so many opportunities for original thinking and new ideas. Google Reader and others are fantastic feed readers that continue to focus on what they do best, and we think we have the most to offer by focusing on helping people discover interesting feeds and sharing the feeds they read with friends.

Re: The social media time crisis

Louis Gray — Sat, 24 May 2008 13:38:59 -0000

Strong summary. One thing about long articles vs. short is the issue I mentioned a few months ago, where headlines can be a make or break for your site. For those of us who do peruse hundreds of feeds, your article may represent well less than 1 percent of our options to read. I write the way I do because I think it makes sense to be conversational and explanatory. The post should stand on its own instead of needing you to already be familiar with previous conversation and it shouldn't be fragmented. Despite writing more than a few paragraphs, I do believe visitors read all the way to the end. I know I did for you here and do so as often as I can.

Re: The social media time crisis

Alexander van Elsas — Sat, 24 May 2008 13:25:11 -0000

I hardly ever write post with less than a 1000 words. I get carried away I guess ;-) Haven't noticed a difference in traffic. There is one exception to this. The posts that really drive traffic are those that discuss the habits of the tech elite. And that always makes me a bit sad. It seems we are more interested in our own little world than about the average web user who gets all these services thrown at him without the slightest clue what to do with that.
But in the end it always works out best if you blog about the things you are passionate about. If it gets you a lot of readers that's great. If it doesn't, well, does it really matter? Traffic is never a good driver for good posts, it's got the be the other way around. So I definitely agree with you on this Colin. Good post.