Colin Walker - Latest Comments in Who is our audience and what do we owe them?

Re: Who is our audience and what do we owe them?

Julian Baldwin — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:30:27 -0000

Re: Who is our audience and what do we owe them?

Brandon Werner — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:53:23 -0000

I agree with you Colin, but it would seem the only way to get your ideas out there is in short microbursts that the geeks with the ADD can absorb. We all say we are short on time, and I have to admit even I scanned across your post and read a few sentences each paragraph.

I've noticed if I write more than 3 paragraphs in a blog entry - around the same topic - you can tell the difference in comments and traffic vs. one that is shorter. I don't like it anymore than you do - but I see things having to get much worse before they get better sadly.

Re: Who is our audience and what do we owe them?

colinwalker — Fri, 23 May 2008 10:33:45 -0000

No problem and likewise, thanks for making me think. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

Re: Who is our audience and what do we owe them?

Ryan — Fri, 23 May 2008 10:27:23 -0000

Colin,
Thanks for the reference.

I think that being too personal has to do with who your audience is and why they are reading. I'm not going to expect a Fast Company blog to have post of "what I did this weekend." However, if you just position yourself as a guy who likes to talk about the stuff that he's interested in, then it's a little easier to be personal.

Statistics are showing that people make a large amount of their buying decisions based on personal recommendations, so there has to be some outlet for that to take place. People want to see the human side of their leaders, but not necessarily a family anecdote in the middle of a state of the union address.

Being personal can alienate a "business-minded" audience. There's a lot of risk because the more personal you become, the more niche you become and thus your audience shrinks.

One of my next posts is going to be on authenticity, this has given me a lot to think about. Thanks!