Hey Junk Bloggers...Shape Up Or Ship Out

The post itself is a bit of an indictment of crappy blogging, which was pretty much at epidemic levels over on LI. The question I have is,  just how relevant is it in today's world. I'd really be interested in some opinions on this issue.

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A few days ago, I started a discussion in a couple of groups about the crappy quality of most of the blog posts I have been reading lately. Not just on LinkedIn Pulse, but everywhere.
The responses were interesting because nobody really disagreed with what I had postulated. But then most of the people I know are good bloggers. Then again, who out there in blogger land is going to defend junk if that’s the kind of stuff they are putting out for general consumption?

The Situation  As I See It.

There are a number of reasons why there is so much junk out there.
A) There’s a lot of junk everywhere on the Internet, and blogs are just a part of it.
B) People who can’t write worth a shit are writing way too much stuff to try and
keep their content management programs afloat, without much thought invested.
C) A lot of people are simply reading other blogs and regurgitating what they see there, and badly.
D) A lot of people never really took the time to learn how to write a blog and it shows.
E) A good number of people are terminal egotists and think that what they are writing is the greatest thing since sliced bread, when it’s really just a lot of pointless junk.

What All These People Don’t Realize.

There is a major flaw in the way many digital marketers advise people on content marketing. Because the first criteria that one should be able to satisfy when undertaking a content marketing program is this: Can you actually write? And if not, can you afford to have someone either write or edit your junk? A lot of digital marketers don’t really seem to give a damn about this because if they did there would be way less junk out there and probably way less business for them.
Content marketing pays lip service to things like engagement, usefulness and compelling content. But at the end of the day, the system just processes your junk. The more you feed in the more it processes. It has no respect for the reader because it has no filters for well written, informative and engaging. And so readers spend as much time wading through junk blogs as they do reading good stuff, maybe even more.

Junk Junkies Abound.

If You Don’t Know How To Blog, What The Hell Are You Doing Here?

There’s a great video out there which points out that the people who are habitually putting out junk are essentially eroding the credibility of the whole blogosphere. And since it’s the majority of people who are doing it, it really won’t be long before the credibility of the entire blogging universe will be thrown into question, if it’s not already.
This is a serious piss-off for people who actually know what they are doing. They’re the few good apples that get spoiled by all the rotten ones. They are the people who actually work hard at creating engaging and meaningful content. They aren’t the ones who are preying on the ennui of job seekers everywhere. Or the ones who are simply repackaging bits and pieces of their latest self-help tome. They are the ones who are actually trying to teach people how to be better at taking care of their clients and or their own businesses. They are the ones who are working hard to keep this whole thing afloat for the sake of their own reputations and the reps of others like themselves.

The Big Problem.

The biggest problem is that most of the people who are churning out this junk, don’t really see themselves as churners of junk. The majority of them are earnestly trying, in their own ways, to be as good at this as they can be. But they know, deep down inside that they are putting out junk. They really do. How can you not? Junk is junk. Just read it and it will be obvious.
Normally at this point, I would give these people a list of things they could do to improve their blogging. But I’m not going to do that. What I am going to do is simply suggest that they go back and re-read the title of this post.

Shape Up or Ship Out. It’s Good For You. It’s Good For The Rest Of Us.

It’s real simple. If your blogging is junk, then it’s safe to assume that nobody is reading it, and if they are, they are fools who won’t really do you any good. If they aren’t, well then what’s the point of doing it? It’s not doing anything for you, and it probably never will. It’s nothing more than a colossal waste of your time. So while all this sounds pretty harsh, it’s actually an act kindness that I am perpetrating here. Get out before you sink the whole ship.
The alternative, of course, is to actually take advantage of all the talented people around you. There are good strategists who can help give you some focus. There are good editors who can clean up your junk and show you how to structure your blogs, There are also good digital media people out there who can set you up with a dispersal program to make sure your blogs are reaching the kind of people they should be reaching.
But at the end of the day, none of this will really matter if you don’t truly understand how to blog, why you’re blogging and what you hope to give to the larger community out there, besides just a lot of useless, meaningless, derivative, badly written junk.
So the best advice I could give you would be to find another avenue to drive on. Let’s face it, there is a lot of different media you could use besides blogging. And who knows, if you make your logo big enough, people just might pay attention.

Jim Murray is a marketer, communication strategist, writer, art director and blogger. His partner, Charlene Norman is a business systems and operational analyst. Their collaboration is called Bullet Proof Consulting, headquartered in St Catharines, Ontario. Bullet Proof is designed to help companies change their thinking for the better, to become more productive, efficient, better branded and successful in today’s highly competitive business world. You can get a very clear impression of how we think by reading our business blogs at www.bulletproofconsulting.ca/blog