Blogs - a business or a person?

I was out of town last week and did not read any of the blogs in my aggregator. Now that I am back in Seattle, I see that Bren, from Slacker Manager has sold his blog and is recruiting new writers for Slacker Manager.

Bren is a great guy and I congratulate him on his success and will miss his voice in the business blogosphere. That said, this news brings up two questions for me.

1. First, are business blogs a business or are they a voice? Clearly the answer is, "it depends," and "both," but I wonder what your thoughts are? When I first read Bren's post, my initial response was:

Bren IS the Slacker Manager, how can someone else write for the blog - or how can Bren be separate from the identity of Slacker Manager? Is Slacker Manager Brendon Connelly or is it a business site that Bren created and wrote for?

I am torn on this.

2. Slacker Manager is certainly not the first blog to be sold - it is done all the time. Is this no different than any other start-up?

I don't think it IS like other start-ups. Blogs are built on the notion of being a place for open and authentic communication. Blogs are places where we get to know the authors and the blog's readers. Blogs are personal - even if the content is dead serious.

Golly, I hope this is not a big trend in business blogs that takes things over. Companies who buy blogs likely have the cash to make their sites more visited than the independents. Like the corner book stores, I worry that this trend will lead to business blog homogenization and depersonalization.

And I mean no offense to the writers posting "tryout" posts on Slacker Manager right now, they are excellent. But they are not THE Slacker Manager.

I have often thought about how I might handle the day when I don't want to write Management Craft any longer. The day has not yet come, don't worry, but it is inevitable that I will not be doing this forever. Maybe I am being a bit too naive or ego-centric, but I don't think you - my dear readers - would want me to sell the site and I don't think I could do it. I am Management Craft, Management Craft is me.

Is that how you feel?

I feel like I am sliding in the blog world a bit, but I guess that depends on my definition of success. Other than being an affiliate for Amazon and StyleWriter, I do not accept advertising. I have not put all the gizmos and buttons and widgets that you find on a lot of blogs. And you know what? My readership is not growing as much as it once did. There are so many GREAT blogs out there and your choices expand every day. Perhaps I am like the corner book store. My selves are rounded and warn. I have been writing Management Craft for three years (August 2004) and have completed 995 posts. A lot has changed in three years - that's like 30 years in brick and mortar land, right? :-)

If my definition of success is blog readers - stats - I am struggling a bit. If my definition of success is about WHAT I write, I would guess that I might need to fluff my pillows a bit but am otherwise still on target. Is that true?

This all leads me to wonder about how people are getting the management and leadership information and training they need. How is this changing?

Every now and then I think about inviting a partner to write with me on Management Craft. Perhaps someone who does not agree with me on everything - I love a great debate. But I have always dismissed the idea, I am not really sure why.

This is all very interesting to think about. Even if you are not a blogger, what's going on at Slacker Manager is indicative of the changes that will impact you in some way as a blog reader - heck, as a reader in general.

Bren, I hope you enjoy what's next. I will miss the original Slacker Manager.

Comments

[Dean]

Initial thoughts -

- My first reaction was the same as yours ... Slacker Manager is the same as Bren.
- And on the other hand while we may look at it as if it were this hugely personal thing that has no mobility, it is not much different than any other business that gets bought and sold. I have bought and sold personal service based businesses and in many respects there is no difference. So my initial reaction was of no import except for this ...
- The great thing is that there is space for all sorts of blogs with different objectives, goals, and outcomes. The fact of the matters is that everything is changing all the time its just that we are not aware of it. I may or may not have continued reading Slacker Manager depending on what I needed at the moment and what held my interest. He may have tired of it and needed to move on. So Slacker Manager was transitory to writer and reader but no one noticed it.

I suppose the upshot is that we'd like things to remain the same all the while life is changing all around us. It is just when there is a larger change that awakens us to an already existing trend do we sit up and take notice. Who knows the new Slacker Manager may be better than the old.

[Lisa Haneberg]

Dean - you are right, the next Slacker Manager might be a better writer than Bren. But I can't shake the notion that Slacker Manager is a persona created by Bren - so the new writer might be wonderful, but how will he or she relate to the Slacker Manager persona?

I worry that the sale of blogs is just an attempt to buy ready made reader and subscriber lists so that the new owners can immediately start making money from advertising. This disrespects the way that great blogs grow and are built, and, what they stand for.

I felt this way when Ford bought Saab, by the way. They totally destroyed the Saab persona.

[Brad Isaac]

Lisa,

>>>I feel like I am sliding in the blog world a bit, but I guess that depends on my definition of success.... And you know what? My readership is not growing as much as it once did.<<<

I can definitely relate. I came to the conclusion recently that there are 2 types of bloggers. Those who are more content producers and those who are more marketing focused. Personally, I find myself in the content producing crowd.

2 years ago this stuff was simple. Just produce content and people came to me that was easy for me. Now, I am having to start promoting fast and furiously and grow outside of the content production only mindset.

Regarding the sale of Slacker Manager. Having been in a similar position with the sale of my Pocket PC site, it has a great chance of continuing and possibly growing. I think it will take a team to do that, but it still should be ok if they play their cards right.

[David Zinger]

Lisa,

I appreciate your perspective and voice. Especially in this issue I have read your words carefully. I ponder how blogs are changing and about the commerical element of blogs. I have never used any advertising on my blogs.

I have been experimenting with my blogs extensively this year. I have created an employee engagement blog, a humorous leadership blog, and made frequent posting to Joyful Jubilant Learning.

I always read Slacker Manager - I thought the title was terrific. I have "tried out" for the blog. In my first post I even said that I was not sure I was the right person for this yet I also am writing a few posts to "try it out." Of course I should be careful as even Yoda said, "do or no do, there is no try."

I hope this does not turn out to be another Saab story.

Bren certainly brought his own craft to Slacker Manager and I don't think anyone can replace him even if someone else or a team of people take up residence in the wonderful site he has built.

David

[Lisa Haneberg]

David and others: I guess there is another way to look at this. What if the sale of SM allows several great writers and thinkers, like you, to have a different and/or broader audience? That would be an OK outcome, for sure.

[Phil Gerbyshak]

Lisa - your last comment resonates with me, and is one of the reasons I have looked at the opportunity to write for Slacker Manager as a good one.

I think of it as a newspaper column being written by a new voice. At first, it takes some getting used to, to be sure. But hopefully, if it's done correctly, there's an element of improvement, of maximization, and of reaching out into the community and plucking one from the ranks.

I really enjoyed Bren's writings. He was very insightful and offered musings from a very different perspective than me. In a very cool, Slacker Manager way, Bren has influenced my thinking by encouraging me to continue to work smarter, not harder, at my management craft, much like you and Rosa have done. I can only hope that comes forth in my writing, my managing, and my life.

[Bren]

Yeah, interesting post and comments! Lots of the same thoughts went through my head long before I finally decided it was time to get out of the game.

First, I think you're right about the rise of the blog networks. If traffic is your measure, then bloggers are well served by joining (or forming, hint) a network. There will always be standout individual bloggers who pull in traffic, or the occasional post that goes big, but on the whole the networks move traffic. And traffic converts to dollars, which is why there will be networks that work really hard at building traffic. Crass but true.

Second, I also struggled with the meaning of Slacker Manager. Is/was it me? Or was I just naming something that existed in the world? I think both. At first it was me. As I became disenchanted with the blog, it just became something I did. Maybe that's too fine a distinction for the casual reader of SM, but it works for me. :-)

Third, when was the last time I commented here? A long time ago, I'm sure. I LOVE being able to comment and not feel like maybe I should do a follow-on post or something. I can already tell that dropping the blog will make me a better member of the business blogging community.

[Lisa Haneberg]

Bren - I think you started SM about the same time I started this blog. Three years is a long time to do this. All the best and I hope you enjoy being on the other side.

[Louise Manning]

I have found this post and series of comments very thought provoking. I have only been blogging for a couple of months and keep asking myself the same question - why do I blog? Should I be concerned about all the statistics and will the blog bring any commercial benefits to my business? Well the greatest benefit for me is that I have a voice - even if only a few people are listening to it and I enjoy writing the posts although I can foresee the problem arising when one day the next post is eagerly awaited and I have "writers block" or have simply just run out of things I want to say on that particular theme - i'll have to wait and see how it all pans out.

[Wally Bock]

I have an architect client who is in the process of selling his professional practice. His situation is similar. He IS the practice, so one question is: "what is there to sell?"

On my personal note, I'm not ready to quit blogging, but I know the day will come. It came for my Monday Memo newsletter after ten years. Ditto for my radio commentary, but after 4. Someday it will be time to say good-bye and then it will be time to see what the options are.