Comments on: Are You Reading Too Many Blogs About Blogging?

By: Laurel Papworth

Laurel Papworth — Sun, 20 May 2007 02:06:43 +0000

I am interested in extrapolating out Dr. Jakob Nielsen’s (useit.com)rule of 90:9:1. that is: 90% of people just lurk on blogs reading, 9% respond if something someone else has created tickles their fancy and 1% initiate the discussion/actions.

I think the questions that might help explain this would be: So how often do you read something and say “oh good idea” and do nothing? How often do you read it, agree/disagree and decide to do something about it? And how often do you hit that 1% where you come up with the idea yourself, discuss it/get feedback with the 9% and then implement it for the 90% to read/use?

By: Yaro

Yaro — Thu, 17 May 2007 12:13:52 +0000

Glenn – yes, I agree. I hope I can zero in on the bloggers with a natural talent and convince them to join Blog Mastermind because I believe they stand to benefit the most.

Mentors always enjoy working with bright students since they see their advice come to fruition that much quicker (or if at all!).

By: George

George — Thu, 17 May 2007 02:36:45 +0000

Ooops, I meant “know” not “no”…

By: George

George — Thu, 17 May 2007 02:35:12 +0000

Yes, plus I want to see how much value I can get out of it every month to see if it’s worth the 800 dollars worth of pain a month.

At this point, I can’t really tell. I will no better in a few weeks.

By: Yaro

Yaro — Thu, 17 May 2007 01:09:40 +0000

Amazing what $1 worth of pain money will do to motivate someone hey George

By: Yaro

Yaro — Thu, 17 May 2007 01:08:19 +0000

Hi Robyn,

I don’t think comments are a very good barometer simply because most people do not leave comments.

The comment leaving population of the people who read blogs is VERY small. I suspect many people get a lot from blogs and engage with the content and author, despite not leaving a comment as a representation of this.

In fact I’m one of those people – I rarely leave comments anymore.

By: George

George — Wed, 16 May 2007 14:45:38 +0000

Great post Yaro. I totally agree. I just joined STOMPERNET under the trial membership and the one thing about it that works is that I am MORE motivated to take action, then I was before. Albeit, I was taking action before, just not as much…

By: Robyn

Robyn — Wed, 16 May 2007 14:04:22 +0000

Yaro, I couldn’t agree more that readers come to a web site or blog and go very quickly without really taking much in. You’re lucky, I’m told, if visitors stay on your site for 17 seconds. Only the best sites hold readers enough for them to comment on your work.

Yaro, do you sense that comments are a barometer of what people take away from your articles?

By: Glenn

Glenn — Wed, 16 May 2007 03:37:57 +0000

Two points spring to mind Yaro. Firstly, John Caples reports in his book Tested Advertising Methods (published in the 30s, but very relevant to bloggers) that personal development products sell very well via direct mail. So people reading about and buying personal development products around blogging is the continuation of a noble tradition.
Secondly, blogging requires skill, and people with a natural talent have an advantage. As Rich Schefren points out in his coaching programme (thanks for the tip), just because its largely a mental activity doesn’t mean everyone can do it. But I’m sure those with the aptitude and application will definitely benefit from blog coaching!