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Do you want to follow the herd or set the latest trend?
With blogging it can be very productive for getting readers to ride the wave of the latest trend.
Of course if you can manage to set the latest trend this is much more productive creative and rewarding.
The trouble is if no one is listening to you can you set a trend?
It seems you need to deal with subjects that a broad audience can understand using popular themes in order to build an audience, then perhaps you can take them somewhere new.....perhaps?
What do you think do blogs need to follow the trend or can they set it?
I do both- and perhaps while following herd keeping the best of it- my personal mix would set a trend- whatever the impact that might be- :))
To discuss further that you've mentioned, I think one important matter to gesture is- What would be the reason behind the action of setting the trend?
The answer settle and direct many things to consider! There would be many different reasoning by different people.
I think best approach always is following what is fit for us not just because its a trend. And, If I would rather spend effort to improve what I do and share my experiences/knowledge /opinions/woks on my blog- which obviously when meets other persons interest spread well, and works better for every party!
"To discuss further that you've mentioned, I think one important matter to gesture is- What would be the reason behind the action of setting the trend? "
I think the reason for wanting to set trends rather than follow them is that there is much more cudos in setting a trend than following it, if you are seen as a pioneer you will get much more recognition and respect than if you simply follow the crowd and say me too.
I think also we make progress as human beings by breaking new ground and attempting new directions, rather than by simply sticking to what others have tried and tested for us.
There is clearly risk in breaking from the norm which must be weighed up and taken into account. If the direction you seek to develop is too alien to an audience you will lose that audience or simply be unable to develop it.
"do both- and perhaps while following herd keeping the best of it- my personal mix would set a trend- whatever the impact that might be- :)) "
I think I know what you mean by this, I have found myself working on themes that are fairly main steam in order to get an audience. My hope is that once the audience is established I can push in new directions.
Blogging and the internet seems very reliant on where the crowds attention is. It seems as though you need to work with what's popular to get your ideas seen. I wonder if this means we have more of a herd society than we have had in the past?
I think also within the modern corporate world far too much emphasis and faith is put into the findings of market research. This form of research is trying to predict future opportunities by analyzing the past which seems a very backwards way of moving forward. My experience of working with marketing is that they say make your new product along the lines of this previously successful product.....which just feeds into a "me too" society where no one want's to take any risks.
Since "if you are seen as a pioneer you will get much more recognition and respect" doesn't always give you freedom enough to keep doing it- Whatever we do, we judge it by reward/s- either, Credit (recognition/respect) or Benefit (fun/wealth/ability to pursue the living etc).
I guess actually at the end it ended up whether it brings benefit (with all the variety of its meaning)!
You know, breaking rules can be done easily/effectively only when you understand how it works and what is what at first. And audience will be with you once they understand why that new direction they would want- they need to understand some sort of Benefit of it. May be that benefit would be entertainment, way to solve things or whatever.
Getting back to the point- I learn the hard way, you need to flow with the working trend, because you don't need to break or invent something that already is working.
You may bring new way to do it, people may catch up slow but they will once that new way works- just for example, notebook failed, but smartphones did it. And, it may needs hell of time, or effort- but once you know how to do it, it's doable!
You already said it: "It seems you need to deal with subjects that a broad audience can understand". But the rest of that sentence "using popular themes in order to build an audience" would not guaranty it.
Success on Blogging would be because of how you're doing it, may not what you're Blogging about!
Glad you like the topic, it's something that's playing on my mind at the moment.
"judge it by reward/s>>whether it brings benefit"
For me on this I'm torn between pleasing myself and pleasing others.
If I please others I can make money from it but I need to follow the herd.
"Success on Blogging would be because of how you're doing it, may not what you're Blogging about!"
I think not all blogging directions are equal. For example if you run a political blog you will be covering current affairs which many people are interested in. I would think this was an easy type of blog to bring first time visitors to.
hmm.. Most if not all blogs i had encounter set trends, talks about whats hip, whats new. They had the most followers. Not to mention the most who spam as well. For whatever reason I am not so sure, perhaps work, or they are earning through their blogs.
For someone who is stating something different it is difficult to gain readers or reach out without breaching spamming,phishing etc. But it is a personal fulfillment. Nothing more nothing less. Since blogging if i remember is a creative writing that tackles general stuff but hinting a personal opinion towards it. Some, made it like an online diary. If people follows it and read it that is suppose to be a bonus. Quality over quantity.
I guess just do your thing and if people likes what they read they would keep coming back to your blog.
Nothing wrong with that, like I said if you are earning through your blog you gotta do what you gotta do. To each their own. :) Besides there are possible solutions to accommodate both, make another blog if you want to do your own thing and the other ,.well.. for the money i guess.
I'd personally like to think I'm not a herd follower, as I'm trying to do something with my blog that I really haven't seen, which is be more or less nicheless. On top of just writing a blog about anything, I throw in Poetry on Friday, and a Serial Web Fiction on Saturday. I like the idea that people can come to my site and read about a variety of subjects, that may interest them, after being lured to my site by something else they've seen.
I have seen a fair few blogs that go for a whole schmorgosboard of subjects. I guess the strength of that is you get to compare and contrast which subject your readers are more interested in.
I definitely set trends with the way I blog, from the first time I wrote a post, i had few followers, my writings were naive. I have grown with the followers with time but never let go the true writer in me. I am attracting a lot of new readers each day & people who appreciate me in one way or the other. I get complements that my style is unique & straight-from the heart which most of the bloggers have forgotten some where down the line. I recently hosted a word-based game, which was a fairly new idea & the response was commendable, actually when I do something new its my heart that says "Go On, don't stay restricted" & i get a nice new response every time. Don't If I am lucky this time but I really thing that every thing needs conviction & every thing else follows:) I have seen bad times (0 readers) & now I have some thing much better, so over & all I am happy. That's what is important :)
Follow the herd? Set trends? Are these the only options? I'm certainly not interested in setting trends, although I do have at least one feature on my blog that I've not seen anywhere else. As for copying what everyone else is doing: I can't see the point of that. Blogging should be a personal statement by the individual blogger.
