Ever watched ants? They’re very interesting little insects. If you put a sugar cube a distance from their nest, one of them will go and find it. Then it’ll go back and tell the others, and then they’ll all swarm all over that sugar and take it back to the colony. It’s a very concerted effort, and it’s amazing to watch. However, they are ants. This kind of thing is their job. As a blogger, swarming for the same sugar cube is not your job.
Recently, WordPress 2.5 came out. Almost immediately, there were over 100 posts, if not more, announcing the release. When Entrecard changed their pricing system, the same thing happened. Those little nuggets of news were the sugar cubes and the bloggers rushed all over it. It’s great that you want people to know these things. It really is. But, and I’ll try and ask this as nicely as possible, don’t you think the people who read your blog that actually care about that information… don’t you think… they already know?! Heck, I got that neat little yellow stripe in my WordPress dashboard telling me to update. My price at Entrecard changed dramatically and the blog and forums told me all about it.
You want to know which blogs I read every day? The ones with original content. The ones that make me laugh (and not because they copied some comic strip from some other site.) The ones that make me have some form of emotions. The ones that tell me something I didn’t already know. If CNN already said it on their front page, it’s likely you don’t need to say it on yours.
Don’t get me wrong. When a celebrity dies and you want to pay tribute to them, that’s perfectly ok. If you want to do an opinion post on the latest headlines, I’ll be happy to read it. But if I see one more post that basically repeats what the news has been saying all day, I think I’ll… well… nothing too drastic… I’ll just stop reading that blog.
Now, see, snowflakes are awesome. Each and every one is different from all of the others in some way. That’s what you should be. In some small or big way, your posts need to be different than all the others. For example, if your blog is about WordPress and 2.5 has just launched, don’t tell me that it just launched, instead, tell me about the obscure new feature and the original way in which you managed to use it. Or another example, if the news announces that the world is about to be forced to go vegan, don’t tell me about the obvious stuff like food, tell me about the vegan shoes. That would be original, especially if you posted pictures of yourself standing on top of the bookshelf at the local library with a pair of them on. (No, I’m not trying to tell you that standing on top of a shelf at the local library is a good thing. I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m serious. Unless you’re changin’ a frickin’ lightbulb and have permission to do so, don’t go standing on the shelves at the library.)
Don’t be an ant. Be a snowflake… wearing vegan shoes and eating spaghetti with a spoon. Oh, and blogging about something original, which was the point of this post to begin with.
Related Posts:
By JoLynn Braley on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
Very very good point, and is also about just simply being yourself…there’s no one else like you out there!
JoLynn Braley’s last blog post..Shrink Yourself Emotional Eating Experiment - Week Six
By Wicca Warrior on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
Absolutely wnderful illustration of the “be yourself because you are the only expert on being you” concept, Saph
Wicca Warrior’s last blog post..Working with the Moon Phase: New Moon
By DineometerDeb on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
Excellent post. Sometimes though I think I am being a snowlake and later find out I was more of an ant.
DineometerDeb’s last blog post..Freshly Made Gelato
By krreyboo17 on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
See now that’s why I like your writing Saphrym! Always striking and going straight to your point. Even though ants are “meant” to be hardworking as many say, they really are just doing what they were “meant” to do - follow orders. But being a snowflake, you are always different - something unique. Simply put, be someone who makes a difference and not someone who just follows through. =)
krreyboo17’s last blog post..And the winner is…
By Turnip on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
On the other hand, when you come up with a great idea it doesn’t take long for the imitators to beat your ideas into the ground. Run a new and exciting contest or promo, then see 5 more the next week. Got a new feature? Soon the whole community has it. It’s great if they actually quote you, but imitators seldom do.
Turnip’s last blog post..A Common Sense Approach To Dropping Entrecards
By Kelly on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
It’s easier to be an ant than a snowflake.
(By the by, if you’re interested in vegan shoes, Earth Shoes makes some really nice ones. Remember Earth Shoes? They’ve grown up!)
Kelly’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday
By Drew on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
This is why I love coming to your blog Saphrym. Always something of interest.
Drew’s last blog post..Grateful? PAD #1097
By Sharon on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
You’ve done it again. Your writing style always makes me want to come back for more. KUDOS!
I know my life isn’t interesting, but like you say who knows - some quirky thing I do may be just the things someone else needs for a laugh. Blogging has become a kind of motivation for me as well. If by chance there is that one person that reads my posts every day they’ll be able to see whether or not I’m keeping up with my resolve to teach my baby Spanish or lose 60 pounds. And hopefully, they’ll leave me a comment one way or the other.
Sharon’s last blog post..Teach your child a second language
By Daily Tech Impressions on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
I agree with you, however I’m a blizzard in my subject.
Daily Tech Impressions’s last blog post..Autonet in car router
By Animemagnet on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
Yep.. though it wouldn’t hurt to be ants, it does make it more beautiful to be snowflakes, but the problem is it is hard to be original when it is easy lunch to enjoy the sweetness of sugar without much effort…
By asithi on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
I try to be a snowflake, but sometimes I feel more like an ant trying to be a snowflake. Original content makes me subscribe to a blog.
By Justin on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
I agree a lot with your idea of being a snowflake. The one thing about my blog is I have always tried to be as unique as I can with my content.
However there is always a few times I use other sources and sort of spin it into my own opinions but it helps come up with some good content.
Justin’s last blog post..5 Reasons I Hate Technical Support Jobs
By Saphrym on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
Thanks for all of the great comments. I’m glad everyone is getting their own “thing” out of this post. And yeah, Turnip, that’s one I forgot to mention.
And I know being an “Ant” is easier. It takes me time to come up with posts that I hope are original.
By StanHayes on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
I think the larger issue is most people have nothing to say, but they have a blog and feel like they have to write about something.
StanHayes’s last blog post..Trade Away Your Closers
By Ella on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
Very good point and I agree with the other bloggers comments, mebe i’m just a snowant or an antflake. I try to keep my blogs as original as I possibly can but occassionally it is nice to let those who dont know the latest news,know whats going on in the world,great blog btw x
Ella’s last blog post..April Flurries
By john on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
I already know 2.5 is out, why write another post about it? Unsubscribed.
jk
john’s last blog post..Back No Worse For The Wear
By Teasas Tips on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
Yeah, it’s funny I saw so many posts about the EC pricing change…some were curious about the changes and how it would affect them, but many were just downright trumpeting the news…I guess as bloggers it’s hard to find something original to write about sometimes eh?
Anyway, I try reading magazines, anything that has to do with business and home based business trends, and try to relate some of those concepts to the life of a blogger…quite a stretch sometimes, but hey it’s blogging. Great post Saphyrm.
Teasas Tips’s last blog post..Blogging Is So Addictive
By Gary R. Hess on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
Agreed. But be a large snowflake, not a smaller one
>> (broken on purpose) its.caltech.edu / ~atomic / snowcrystals / alike / alike.htm
Gary R. Hess’s last blog post..SEO : Building Links - The Where and How
By Saphrym on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
@Stan - I agree. That does sometimes happen. And something I’ve learned while watching how people react to each post on my blog is that the original posts get much more traffic. The ones I just throw up because I “have to” don’t get much of anything.
@John - Very funny.
@Gary - Why did you break up that link? I tried copying and pasting it and getting rid of the spaces, but it still wouldn’t work for me.
By Tammy on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
Great post!
By Patricia Sawyer on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
I have always liked to watch ants work together. I admire that they can mindlessly do that. I couldn’t. I have my own way of doing things and they normally aren’t quiet like any one elses way. I don’t pretend to be an unusual and beautiful snowflake now. I know better than that.. I just don’t play well with others some times. Unless they are quiet willing to let me word things my way that is. But I do understand exactly what you are saying. I have been doing a lot of blog hopping around for the last few weeks. Some I actually read. They are always interesting to me because they don’t say what I read a dozen times that day. I was at first afraid that I was doing it all wrong.. I had posted my little blog that day and then the next three I read told about something that was on the news that morning and I almost, Mind you I said almost, Erased mine and started over. But I type slow and I wasn’t really interested in writing about what they had so I left minelike it was. I don’t get a lot of comments yet. But the ones I get are always about something that I wrote. something that I told my way. I think I would maybe have NO readers if I told yall the morning news. I mean the reason those folks are on my TV is bacause they are good at what they do.. They don’t really have room for me.. So I make my own space. My own stories. Have a good day!
Patsy
Patricia Sawyer’s last blog post..Under the Quilt
By Canucklehead on Apr 11, 2008 | Reply
I understand that you may be a little biased and as a result this may not be the correct forum, but, it has to be said. I’m getting pretty sick of the EC related posts, I mean, I understand that it is foremost in blogger’s minds and therefore may work its way into the blog often - heck, I’ve been guilty of it myself. I will say that I for one LOVE the new system and well, leave it at that. Great post!
By Craig on Apr 13, 2008 | Reply
I agree with asithi! I feel like and ant trying to be a snow flake! Myself, I am new to blogging. I took the last two months trying to figure out the “personality” of my blog and now I am trying to find my style. So I know occasionally I know I will be working like an ant until I figure out what kinda snow flake I will end up!
I really enjoy your writing and will make you a regular stop in my web wanderings.
Thanks!
By BK on Apr 15, 2008 | Reply
Thank you for the enlightening post. It helps me to bring back my focus of why I started my website and blog in the first place. In fact I have been thinking about this point quite a lot recently. At one point of time, my focus was shifted and shaken. And now it’s getting back.
BK’s last blog post..Virgin Look at Fear
By Saphrym on Apr 15, 2008 | Reply
Thanks for the great comments.
@Patsy - Being yourself is always best.
@Canucklehead - I’m a little tired of them too. But it comes with the territory I guess.
@Craig and BK - Thanks.
By Chelle on Apr 15, 2008 | Reply
This is so very true…I am so tired to pieces of all these “make money blogging” sites - everyday it is the same thing day in and day out. This is why my 2 blogs have nothing to with either. I really like the snowflake vs. ant comparison.
Chelle’s last blog post..10 Tricks So Your Wife Will Let You Go Fishing
By Robert | reason4smile on Apr 17, 2008 | Reply
Interesting article on writing. Great metaphor!
Robert
Robert | reason4smile’s last blog post..The introvert’s way to networking