Yesterday, in a fit of bluntness, I let loose on Twitter an idea I’ve been simmering for a long time.
If you’ve disabled commenting on your blog, I’m gonna go ahead and say you’re not a blogger.
I had a conversation with my friend Scott about it. And a bunch of people responded on Twitter. And I talked about it at work with Zak.
@meagangracie asked, “how would you classify @mimismartypants then?” And I replied, “As a writer.”
I mentioned Seth Godin, the master of profoundly stating the obvious*. He has a tremendous impact on conversation in the marketing and publishing worlds, but he’s pretty much inaccessible. How would I classify him? As a writer. (And as a speaker and a consultant and whatever.)
Blogging is about conversation, and not just the conversation a blogger might spark elsewhere. It’s about a conversation on that writer’s blog. Put another way (or perhaps a different way; I’m still working this out in my head): a blogger is a participant in conversation, whether it’s a conversation they start or simply join in on. Just starting it and walking away or watching silently from the sidelines is simply not participating.
What do you think?
* I say that without sarcasm. There’s a true talent in conveying such things to people, and he really, really has it.
I agree. If blogs are indeed “social media,” then the idea should be that the audience can talk back, and the author will respond.
The only problem with social media is scalability. There definitely comes a point where you have to inch back from your audience in tiny increments, because the demands on your time and attention become too much. I struggle with this all the time – I want very much to be present and accessible, but… have you seen my email inbox lately?!