Thanks for all the comments on my A-list bloggers post. I’m going to wrap up my comments here in this new entry. Then I’m moving on.
First, as I have said before, I don’t actually care about the A-list too terribly much. I think it is a bit silly, and have mostly been trying to ignore the whole thing.
However, I have a personal, deeply held belief that if you make it to the top (the top of whatever, mind you, not just blogs) you have a responsibility to your constituents/audience — the ones that helped you get (and keep you) there. Like it or not (and most do), you stand for something and you have to make it count. Perhaps that makes me an idealist. Oh well.
In the case of blogging, I think it means keeping your listening ears on, and the lines of communication open. Especially if you are a communications professional. Yes, it’s a lot of work responding to tons of email, which is why it is always smart to be careful what you wish for.
And I wholeheartedly agree that asking for links is bad practice. The person sending the email has an equal responsibility to provide good information that will be of interest to the recipient.
But don’t shut people down. And regardless of the intent, that is how Steve’s post came across.
It is because Micro Persuasion has such a huge audience — it is often a "first stop" for new bloggers — that I posted. And I’m glad that Steve posted today that he is open to receiving emails. Shows he is listening, and that is a very good thing.
And on a far more humourous note, Hugh over at gapingvoid has neatly summarized this whole conversation in a new cartoon. Just my .02, but I think that should be one of the next t-shirts. I’ll put my order in today if you’ll do it!
Yes, Hugh nailed it didn’t he? We sometimes need to prick our own grandiosity. I strongly believe that blogging is fundamentally all about making personal connections, with all types of people – A list on down. That helps all of us stay open to new ideas,learn new things and appreciate others’ perspective, even when we disagree. So, we have to keep up the (civil) communications, both ways (I also don’t understand people that blog and don’t allow comments, yet espouse the wonders of web interaction – and that includes several A-listers.)
These “A-lister attention/A-listers are too busy” comments are starting to sound incredibly like many articles on the “current state” of marketing and PR.
None are reasons not to buy an ad, write a press release, or mail an A-lister. It just that none of those things matter unless your product, announcement, or content/editorial is already taller than the spam-heap it’s standing in. I think that’s why Rubel, Scoble, and Hugh are A-listers; whether their stuff has more fans or detractors is irrelevant so long as it’s consistently worth commenting on.
If what you’re selling is good – dive in.
Burn More Soapboxes!
A new media blogger, Chartreuse just published a post about the absolute lack of support between old bloggers and new bloggers. The post gave my Burn the Soapboxes post a nod at the height of the rant, and I appreciated…
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