I’ve been thinking about this blog.
Not “what is the meaning of life” type of thinking but what’s worked in the past, what hasn’t worked and how can I improve the product.
As a result, I’ve spiraled into a few conclusions that I’m going to apply this year.
First, let’s take a look at what’s not working.
That’s easy.
I created a regular feature called “Moes Takes” that highlights entertaining quotes from recent publications and shows how they might appear if dulled down.
In the technical world, they call this reverse engineering.
In the quest for readers, they call this a bomb.
You won’t be reading “Moes Takes” in 2011.
On the positive side, many of the more popular posts from 2010 (Toyota recall, WikiLeaks, etc.) involved entering conversations as opposed to starting a conversation. I plan to further cultivate this mentality in the coming year.
Finally, I’m going to take some of my own advice and experiment.
I envision advancing the media-like qualities of the blog with features ranging from book reviews to interviews with others on how they tell stories.
It should be fun.
And just to show I’m serious about the experimentation piece, I’m posting on January 1.
To borrow words from the Matchbox 20 lyrics:
“I’m not crazy. I’m just a little unwell.”
Comments
Paul Roberts
Looking forward to the improvements, but I hope you don’t change this blog too much.
Lou Hoffman
Thanks Paul.
What I find interesting (or amusing) and what the audience finds interesting aren’t always one and the same.
Fortunately, I’m not a news anchor who will be out of a job if the ratings spiral downward.
On the other hand, a blog without readers becomes an open-source diary.
I’m sure you and others go through the same balancing act.
Lou Hoffman
Did I mention my daughter Grace took the photo?