1. Blogging with MindManager
So my earlier post made this way, way too hard. With MM X5 Pro you can ... save as a web page! Duh, RTFM, Tris. So this post was started with QLE (normal drag and drop, blah, blah, blah) and I decided to finish it here.
Let's see how this goes shall we?
2. Is there a shift?
The buzz on the Blogosphere today seems to be Scoble taking a hiatus for the week—B.L. Ochman's weblog - Scoble Unsubscribes From His Own Blog TurboBlogger - Scobleizer- Microsoft Geek Blogger. I then read Jeremy's post about un-subbing from the "A-list"—un- subbing from the A-list. Which immediately got me to thinking about paradigm shifts and such. Now e-mailing Jeremy on the whole un-subbing thing he reminded me (thanks Jeremy) about a post he wrote in May—blogging inflection point —which contained these four excellent questions about you and your blog:
1. Why did I get into blogging?2. Am I still blogging for the same reason as when I started?3. What do I want blogging to become?4. Are my current attitudes and actions the kinds of things likely to bring about my goal for blogging?
Which brings me to the topic at hand, are we at an inflection point or paradigm shift? If yes, what does that mean for blogging and the business of blogging (it has become a business, like it or not)?
Yes, I think we are. We've reached a point where the "A-list" might be growing weary of blogging and there is a new crop of bloggers who are jostling for attention. We've reached a point where there are millions of blogs and people also trying to make a living from said blogs. Blogs have moved into the mainstream. And like any mainstream phenomenon, there are some growing pains.
3. What's next?
So, the Blogosphere is changing. There are people who are learning this. Seems that some might be trying to take pot-shots at big names to get noticed. What's next?
More growth, for sure. More thought-leaders and experts blogging. Also more thought-leaders and experts blogging together on super blogs.
Rick Bruner's blog BusinessBlogConsulting is a perfect example and what I think is going to be a major part of this change. Rick got a "real" job and his blog went into hibernation (okay, it died), then Paul Chaney worked with a bunch of us business bloggers and we're all going to start publishing there . What do we have now? A blog- zine? A newspaper? A must-read blog for sure. Why do you read any magazine or newspaper? The writers write about topics you are interested in and provide sage commentary. OMG, THIS is it! Right before our eyes we're seeing this. Bloggers start off on their own, hone their craft, get noticed, get invited to contribute to more and more blogs, and suddenly ... bam! Those blogs, the ones that start attracting the "a-list" or at least the best of the best will become the new must-read sites. The could be niche blogs, like Rick's (or is it ours now?) or general. This is going beyond the multi-author blog. This is becoming true publishing. Seek out great writers and build a site around them. Right now the authors aren't getting any cash for our writing, but I bet if the blog gets sponsored we'll all get a small something.
Wow. This is heady stuff.
Of course this kind of blog-zine isn't the only change. Advertising and monetization is going to start playing a major role in this new Blogosphere. We're going to start seeing a small drop off in blogs, not to change the 5.5 month doubling rate, we'll net gain more than we lose, more like people are going to start publicly dropping off. More people going, wow this is a lot of work or man there are too many weenies out there for me.
4. Final word
I'm predicting that the Blogosphere is going to be in for a rough ride in the next few months. The Chinese curse "may you live in interesting times" comes to mind. All periods of catharsis and rapid change are rough, and when we emerge in a few months (I'm guessing three), the Blogosphere is going to be an even more amazing and dynamic place than it already is. There are going to be amazing collections of bloggers, Scoble will get a second wind and man I bet when he comes back he's going to break new ground. And Qumana? Well, Qumana has some tricks up it's sleeve. And those tricks are coming next month.
5. Wrap up
So how did it go writing this in MM?
A little strange. QumanaLE is all about writing in a familiar metaphor, that is the word processor. That being said, I love using MM as my first step into a document. My ideas flow better and I shuffle things around easier.
Will I continue, then, to blog via MM? No, probably not. QLE is just faster and easier, but if I have a long treatise like this one ... I think MM might come in handy.
So we shall see. Another tool in my kit, that's for sure!
6. Links
6.1 B.L. Ochman's weblog
6.2 Jeremy inflection
6.3 Jeremy un-sub
6.4 TurboBlogger
6.5 Scoble
6.6 BusinessBlogConsulting
