Comments on: Contrarian Blogging: Is Small the New Big?

By: Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome

Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome — Sun, 24 May 2009 07:10:35 +0000

I’ve always written short posts. And I prefer reading short ones too. Ideally under 500 words. It’s a good length to provide some meat but still stick to just a single idea. After 500 words, it’s easy to expand into other points which then confuse the issue or to start rambling.

Of course, there are a lot great posts that are longer, but I don’t actually read them – at best I scan them and therefore likely miss the point.

That being said, it takes all types and there are readers who find short posts too limited.

By: Tom Aplomb

Tom Aplomb — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:45:31 +0000

The format of blog posts, and their immediacy, work together to discourage editing. If we all took a few minutes to edit after finishing the post and before publishing it, I think we’d end up with shorter, more concise posts.

By: Lori Roets

Lori Roets — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:11:08 +0000

I think you have to fit the size of the post to the needs of the message — BUT, we all have a tendency to be way to wordy. We need to be concise and to the point, and all to often we aren’t.

Yes, I find myself skipping over many potentially good blogs because they are just too long to get into. As a general rule, bite-sized fits my lifestyle better.

Lori

By: John Christy

John Christy — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:58:46 +0000

Speaking of contrarian approaches….I’ve been trying to take a “less is more” approach on my site. I try to limit my posts to things that I think readers will really enjoy and that haven’t been covered to death elsewhere. This might result in a couple (hopefully) really good posts each week – and much less noise and clutter. IMHO, if more blogs took this sort of approach, I think it would be a lot easier to get through all the unread stuff in your reader each day. If you’re covering a niche — as many blogs do — are there really 15 things that you need to blog about each day? At some point the audience gets overwhelmed and tunes out. Give me the one or two really important things I absolutely NEED to know and let it be done.

By: David S.

David S. — Thu, 21 May 2009 04:32:02 +0000

You nailed it with the phrase “Feed Reader Gridlock.” It was taking me longer and longer to get through all my favorite bloggers, so I actually started to unsubscribe from many. You’re one of the few remaining who still posts longer ones sometimes, but the content is good so I stick with you. But I love concise. I say, impart your message in as few words as possible, and it will be much appreciated. But if it takes longer to do a topic justice, don’t artificially limit yourself either!

By: Steve Kinney

Steve Kinney — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:14:51 +0000

I agree with you. I’ve been getting a bit overwhelmed by the length of a lot of post lately and have been unsubscribing from a lot of feeds that overwhelm me. Big posts are fine—but not every day.

Daily posts are fine if you’re Seth Godin. Long posts are find if you’re Tim Ferriss. But if they’re long and frequent, it gets to be too much. I think you’re doing okay (hence, I’m still subscribed).

John Gruber at Daring Fireball has a great balance. Lots of short punchy posts that are a bit too long for Twitter. Every once in a while he hits you with a long, insightful essay.

By: styleosophy

styleosophy — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:17:50 +0000

I think it really depends on what you need to get across to your readers, in relation to that particular blog post. Short doesn’t always cut it. A long post can also get wordy and inefficient.

I’m learning that now, as I try to blog more. Although I want to convey what I think to my readers, it really all about being concise, and that’s regardless of whether it becomes a longer post or not.

By: Kelly McCausey

Kelly McCausey — Wed, 20 May 2009 05:04:24 +0000

These days I personally prefer writing short posts with a brief useful point or resource. When I do write long – I write so long that it seems inappropriate for a blog post and I end up using it somewhere else.

By: Hunter Nuttall

Hunter Nuttall — Wed, 20 May 2009 04:31:06 +0000

I’m trying to write shorter posts, not so much because I think they work better, but honestly, they’re a heck of a lot easier to write! However, I’m finding that I have a really hard time keeping my posts short. So instead of making them shorter, I’m making them less frequent. Maybe weekly is the new daily!

By: shelley adelle

shelley adelle — Wed, 20 May 2009 04:05:20 +0000

For me I love the twitter format as a way into a blog, but not for summing up an entire idea (unless it’s inspirational)

Short and sweet. Mini Maxims that grab my attention and with a link send me to a longer post. It has been my favorite way to find new and interesting people and ideas. Far better than Stumble ever was for me. Tweet deck also lets me manage those I follow into groups so I can search according to flavor and temperament of the day.

I’m disappointed if I click through and the posts are less than three paragraphs. I still equate length with import of the message (to an extent) Long for the sake of long is no good either yet if you only have three more paragraphs to share on the topic I feel short changed. I feel my time was wasted and that I can’t really rely on the person to offer me more than a passing slogan; too little substance.

My favorite blogs are ones that have headlines, bullet points, and highlighted sections.

Jonathan, you do a great job of that both here and on your other blog. When time is short it allows me the opportunity to scan the broader conversation and see if there is something of value that I want to take more time with. Not only is it good for busy (and new) readers, it is a format that I come to expect and trust. In fact it is a format that for me is highly effective and I find myself drawn to others that mirror this tactic.

As long as headlines, bullet points, and highlighted sections are here to offer me the chance to see the big picture before I dig in deep, you can pretty much write from here to china and I will read through it.

Another option that might let you split the difference is to write short blog post that offer a few links to others who are engaged in the broader topic. This takes the content burden off of you, allows you to still be part of the conversation, keeps your readers up to date, encourages people to check back with you since you fill an information gap, and gives you the opportunity to be part of many topics in a shorter time frame. This can keep your desire for new and fresh saciated without having to work 50 hours a day. You could then have posts hit more often without having to crank out a book every time.

The series idea is another way to solve the bloat. However, I tend to feel like my time is demanded of me when I have to check back to get the rest of the story. I would be more likely to come again if each series was based on a theme, broken up into a few posts, with each post it’s own complete idea. That way I’m not left hanging.

I say leave the 140 characters to twitter, and blogs for the broader conversation.

Love and Light-

Shelley ;0)