I just read an article from Matt Martin Neumann, the last owner of Blog Network Watch about blog network owners shying from the label Blog Network.
Quiet true, one of the blog networks SyntagmaMedia no longer liked to be called a Blog Network anymore, but a web network magazine. They have their reasons, and we have no problems to that. But the point is just calling ourselves something else, is not going to do anything different.
After the mushroom growth of Blog Networks last year, many networks have just vanished. Only a few were able to make a decent profit for themselves and for the bloggers associated with the network. These networks are happy with their old label. I am sure Jeremy Wright of B5media won`t have any problems calling themselves a blog network.
The biggest problem with the Blog Networks, is that they are just not evolving. The model of a blog network remains the same which was a year ago. For an average reader, blog network bears no significance. I would be more interested in a blog’s personal blogroll rather than a network’s blogroll. I have praises for 9rules in thinking out of box by centralizing the content on their main blog, helping the readers find the blogs of their taste in the network itself. The 9rules notes is also a good feature for readers to get more active in the network.
Today Blog Networks are fast becoming Ad Networks, no matter what they say. Categorizing blogs under a topic, is not sufficient, they need to tag each and every post on the network. Networks need to make custom RSS for the network, so that a reader is not limited to syndicate the RSS of a blog alone. Give user more control, and let him decide what to do.
And most important, Blog Network need to evolve into Social Network very soon.
Comments
Hey Sorry Martin!..
I will correct it right now.
Got to say I concur with what you are saying, but I suppose it’s more a case with an obsession with the word ”blog” more than anything. Whilst I’m don’t think denying that an entity is a blog network, at b5media we’ve moved past an obsession with the word ”blog”...indeed, you’ll see it for example in our earlier blog names and the latest ones, we don’t use the word ”blog” anymore in URL’s for example. The audience doesn’t care about whether you’ve got a blog or not, they are only interested in the content.
As for your proposition that blog networks need to evolve more into Social Networking, very very much true. Many are, we’ve always be pretty heaving from the start on being part of the conversation and embracing open commenting etc,...I know this isn’t exactly what you are saying but it is part of the social aspects of what we do. You can probably see it more on MSM blogs where they launched without open commenting and trackback support and yet today they are all going in this direction. Of course going forward there is plenty more fertile ground...
Ann Michael >>While I’m sure there are many benefits to a blog network. It seems to me that if you participate in blogs (yours and others) you ultimately create your own personal blog network.
Yes exactly, thats what I meant when I said a reader would be more interested in blog’s personal blogroll rather than its network’s blogroll. For a reader, blog networks haven`t done much so far. Blog networks have solely concentrated on Bloggers, which is to be changed in coming days.
Easton Ellsworth: >> I guess if your main point is that the term ”blog network” prompts less excitement and surprise now than at this time last year, I agree.
Blog Networks prompts less excitement today because there is no change in the blog network’s model which has not changed for years now. People have talked about that model for enough, and are now talking about new buzz words. We, the Blog Netwoks haven`t changed or contributed anythig new or substantial to the old model so far.
Duncan:: >>at b5media we’ve moved past an obsession with the word ”blog”... The audience doesn’t care about whether you’ve got a blog or not, they are only interested in the content.
B5media is one of the more successful blog networks out there. But just moving beyond the word ”blog”, is a big change or next evolution, I doubt. One thing I don`t agree with you Duncan is that readers are only interested in content. No, readers are interested in participation. Good content urges readers to think and participate. But current level of participation is limited to only comments. This has to be changed. Readers should be givem more control.
Roy T.>> Speaking if networks, what is this one doing to evolve?
We have been guilty of the same, Roy. But one of thing we are going to do very soon, is enrich our readers with more control and power.
BRW guys, Mike Rundle from 9rules left what I thought was a great comment the other week about his thoughts on how blog networks can engage more...
”I don’t think categorization of some type of media company based on blogs is necessary as long as you’re making users happy. I still don’t see the majority of blog networks aggregating and concatenating their content for easy user browsing… something I’d consider a must. A blog network could have 100 blogs but if there’s no centralized place to see all content then how do I discover new blogs? How do I stumble upon an article that sounds cool, read it, then read 10 pages of archives and get hooked? Where’s the contextual continuity? As a reader that’s what I’m looking for… a way for me to see all your content at once, decide immediately, and then open up links in tabs or subscribe. Showing the blog’s title does nothing for the stickiness factor.
Calling a blog network something else could be a first step in redefining your brand, if that’s what you’re interested in doing, but that’s only the first step. Competitive differentiation is an absolute necessity however too few blog networks do this beyond “what we pay bloggers” or “what topics we cover”. I want to see social features built into networks, network-wide tagging and custom aggregation, build-your-own RSS feeds, mashing of content with additional entertainment sources (splice Flickr photos and YouTube videos into RSS feeds), guest authors, comments integrated into articles, user-centered designs and not ad-centered designs, consolidation of blogs into larger meta-blogs, etc.
These are just a few innovative things that blog networks could do with their vast content resources but aren’t doing for various reasons, and I don’t mean “everybody besides 9rules” here because we’re not doing all of it (yet) either. This type of stuff is what breaks you away from the pack in terms of blog networks… forget the naming convention, companies can just innovate past everybody else instead of simply changing their name ;) ”
Can`t agree more on this with you Martin.
This comment by Mike Rundel inspired me to write another post on next generation of Blog Networks.
Ankit - I guess I better read your latest post - I’m heading right over now. :-)
The Blogging is just shaping up with more colorfull expressions.English ?no! French ......
Ankit! heres my latest blog!
SHAH SHER KHAN
Multan 10 Jan 2007
The time on watches is Election time. This is not going to Change affairs with GLOBALISATION.
At Washington the new Boss Nancy Pelosi as not letting Bush Family back because of external relations that fell out of the twenty years Democrats were a minority and War to Crime quite a long list of misgivings destroyed many nations and the picture of Rule ay Washington itself resembled to hiring puppets to hold White House that is now literally a Information Office . But The Speaker with House Majority is not connected with Official Crimes or going to address State Controlled Terrorism, because she’s a Democrat! But who are the dumbocrats? The answer is the same! The Black Vote that Obama who will now suit after words like puppet and The Presses singing’ we call What’s Next! Obama in sorry to say has THE CONNECTIONS to underworld ,you may call it ’ Ajay’ or you may call it ’bob but the Black Bureacracy is fact and isnt going to help Majority House debate at all. So there’s no US President .Yes!Alright just keep your papers in shape. Like everyone ive voted; me’ too and do you think Democrats dont have a Candidate ’It’s got to be Gov. Hamilton Kennedy of Maryland that’s Teddy’s sister or Democrats are non serious .This year keep your money in Green Energy. The times they are a changing because in Pakistan the 7 point government of Nawaz has made it and here are The Stakes, Chaudry Brothers co part of Bush Family have announced to bring Musharaff with his uniform on and elect him back to President . Musharaff has enough cash on hand to beat former records of 7 Million Pak Rs. expenditure on each National Assembly Seat ,however Nawaz doesn’t get beat with his backer The King of Saudi Arabia and his new tumult, Regime Partner MS Bhutto whose gotten a zero from US White House but has strong roots in Regime followers but all these are going to announce as Musharaff an Chaudry;s have already announced they will be Bellydecked [Size of Regime Policies and . The time on watches is Election time.This is not going to Change affairs with GLOBALISATION.
At Washington the new Boss Nancy Pelosi as not letting Bush Family back because of external relations that fell out of the twenty years Democrats were a minority and War to Crime quite a long list of misgivings destroyed many nations and the picture of Rule ay Washington itself resembled to hiring puppets to hold White House that is now literally a Information Office . But The Speaker with House Majority is not connected with Official Crimes or going to address State Controlled Terrorism ,because shes a Democrat! but who are the dumbocrats ?The answer is the same! The Black Vote that Obama who will now suit after words like puppet and The Presses singing’we call What’s Next! Obama in sorry to say has THE CONNECTIONS to underworld, you may call it ’ Ajay’ or you may call it ’bob but the Black Bureaucracy is fact and isnt going to help Majority House debate at all. So there’s no US President .Yes!Alright just keep your papers in shape. Like everyone ive voted ;me’ too and do you think Democrats dont have a Candidate ’It’s got to be Gov. Hamilton Kennedy of Maryland that’s Teddy’s sister or Democrats are non serious .This year keep your money in Green Energy. The times they are a changing because in Pakistan the 7 point government of Nawaz has made it and here are The Stakes ,Chaudry Brothers co part of Bush Family have announced to bring Musharaff with his uniform on and elect him back to President . Musharaff has enough cash on hand to beat former records of 7 Million Pak Rs expenditure on each National Assembly Seat ,however Nawaz doesn’t get beat withhis backer The King of Saudi Arabia and his new tumult, Regime Partner MS Bhutto whose gotten a zero from US White House but has strong roots in Regime followers but all these are going to announce as Musharaff an Chaudry;s have already announced they will be Bellydecked [Size of Regime Policies and Crime Mafias Overseas Companies and other Racial Utilitarian Population’s Creators of new poverty . The Saudi’s will be reconsidering but Nawaz has made tribal friendship with The Arabs, although both get shelter Nawaz is like Sunni Vote to Saudis. Now a short look at the Wahabism [Wabbis] they hold themselves as Kings of Hijjaz that makes them important Maliks over a big continent except Iran Afganistan and Multan ,however when Money or Arms come in a Dog doth squeal for the Man who took on The Ottoman Empire and Established himself from into a tribe as AlSaud and himself as King of Saudi Arabia.