If Everyone is Doing it, Is it Really Cool Anymore?


If a tree falls on a mime in the middle of the woods and nobody hears the mime scream (mouth wide open with no audible sound), does anyone care? I speak of blogging about blogging and I speak to myself as well.

In my opinion, the market is way oversaturated when it comes to blogging news. There’s Blog Herald, and the Blogging Times and 901am. Not to mention The Blog Columnist. There’s writing good copy for blogs, making money from blogs, and more. I even write about making WordPress do crazy things.

Trust me when I say I love all these authors and I read them. Martin Neumann at Blog Columnist is great. I love Minic (who just went from The Blogging Times to 901am this morning). I podcasted with David Krug this morning. I love these guys and I love the topic. But when is too much too much?

The same barrier to entry that exists in blogging exists in blogging about blogging. It takes someone with no experience less than 5 minutes to create a blog and as long as they want to create content. There is no barrier to entry. It’s the gripe that the mainstream media has about bloggers. The cost is low, the operational overhead is low. In other words, the barrier to entry is low. The same can be said about blogging about blogging.

It does not take a rocket scientist to blog about blogging. It’s so easy. Blog networks give bloggers ammo every day. Personality cults develop around personas in the blogosphere. There’s no trick to being an Arrington Fanboy or to love Calacanis – yet, as easy as these things are, it’s easier still to hate Calacanis and Mike Arrington.

And blogging these things become easier because in doing so, the polarization around these topics and people means instant attention in the blogosphere.

When it comes to blogging about blogging, enough is enough. It’s time to move the conversation into a more creative stream. It’s time to think independantly and add value to the conversation. It’s time to filter the noise and find a strong signal.

There’s bloggers out there doing this – and most avoid blogging about blogging. They are leaders in their fields. I love Seth Godin, for instance. Clear thinking business mind that doesn’t mind sharing his opinion. But that’s the key, it’s his opinion, dynamic as it is. Or, Loren Baker at Search Engine Journal who chronicles the search engine world but does so independently and intelligently. As much of a big shot as Mark Cuban is, you can’t deny that he stands head and shoulders above the rest of the internet-famous as a clear thinking business professional. Eh?

Nothing against the bloggers who blog about blogging. I just think there’s too much noise and not enough signal.