Lee Gomes did an interesting interview (subscription only) for his “Talking Tech” column in the Wall Street Journal today. According to the subject of his interview, Web designer Jakob Nielsen, business bloggers should make their blogs more like…e-newsletters.
I know the newsletter idea seems counterintuitive, but Nielsen has a point. He points out that the really great e-mail newsletters are full of timely, relevant and highly targeted information. They’re released on a schedule, with the users’ needs in mind. Blogs don’t tend to behave the same way. The content and timing are subject to the whims and attention of the blogger. In the absence of careful structure and clarity, Nielsen argues, the average reader will treat a blog as information overload. Blogs, he says, are targeted only at the fringe market of people who are truly passionate about the Web and the blogosphere.
Are blogs really only written for the techiest of the techies? Do I lack perspective on this issue because I’m a giant geek in my early 20’s? Does the rest of society even care yet?
Right now, blogs have a mostly indirect effect on people’s thinking. I remember a couple of months ago when I heard a friend of mine use the term “Dell Hell” without knowing that it originated on Jeff Jarvis’ blog. But despite their circuitous influence, the regular readership pool in the blogosphere is severely limited.
Maybe Nielsen is right. To take blogs to the next level, we may need to start simplifying and structuring. Would it really hurt us to start referring to our RSS feeds as “news feeds” to avoid confusing the uninitiated? And how bad would it be for us to put a little more thought and planning into the timing of the information we discuss on our business blogs? Do people respond better to the authentic human voice when it’s presented spontaneously or with a lot of structure?
Like most things in the blogosphere, I think it all depends on the audience. Companies really need to know their target demographic and what they expect out of the blog. A company that makes gardening tools might want to present information in a way that appeals to the 35+ year old female homeowner. And maybe that includes giving some structure and pre-planned timing to the way information is presented.
For my generation, the story changes. I’ve been exposed to an ever-growing overload of information my entire life. I’ve become very good at picking out what I need and ignoring the rest. People my age respond well to randomness, so a blog targeted at us can afford to be a little more stream-of-consciousness.
All of this boils back down a a very central blogosphere maxim: know your audience. If you know what they want, then you’ll know what to do with Jakob Nielsen’s advice.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
vaspers the grate 06.20.06 at 12:59 pm
Nielsen is my biggest influence in web matters, but he doesn’t quite get blogs.
I tremble to say this, but he, I think, has the wrong business model in mind. He is very attached to ecommerce and rich information sites.
He does not think blogs can make money. So what? Blogs are a whole different breed of web object. They cannot be compared to email, newsletters, or corporate web presences.
Blogs thrive in a vast array of content types, writing styles, update schedules, graphic enhancements, etc.
Each blog is, to my mind, more like a pirate radio station, with the personality of the blogger foremost.
Teresa Valdez Klein 06.20.06 at 3:53 pm
Vaspers: I absolutely agree with you that Nielsen doesn’t “get” blogs. The question is, if someone who is so versed in the ways of the Web doesn’t get blogs, then who really does?
All I’m saying is that business bloggers need to flex towards the needs of their customers. I do agree that personality and stream-of-consciousness are essential to the blogosphere. But audience focus is also an imperative.