Time to Subscribe

Let’s go back over the last few posts here at Ronin Marketeer and comment…

Starting two posts ago, Blogging and all the snack media tools might be worth less than other forms of media right now, but that doesn’t make them worthless. There are people who increasingly are enjoying success in providing services, eyeballs and results using these tools/products. And the best thing about it is that the majority of these things are still flying well below the radar.

Podcast? What’s that? How many times in the past two years of doing Bowl of Cheese and A Life of Play have I heard that? Oh, only EVERY SINGLE TIME I use the word podcast. And I know a few pretty smart people.

But our task – if we’re going to accept it – is to soldier on and keep creating stuff that’s fun for people to read and listen to and watch.

John, you know I’m a professional writer. That’s how I make money. But my journey isn’t akin to the DPW guy who collects a check and then goes to do the stuff her really likes. I really like writing (see how long a comment your blog software will accept??!!).

And to that end, my livelihood is going to depend more on how messages are delivered than the actual messages themselves. I believe in Twitter as a waste of time AND as a way to connect with people. Each time I mention I have a new blog post via a tweet, the hits skyrocket. Which brings me to this current post (then we’ll go back to the middle post about bests of 2007).

If people don’t understand that they can get free recordings of talk shows via the Internet and iTunes, they are woefully unprepared to understand Google Reader. Your consumer at Ronin is far more sophisticated and I bet many of us are not using the reader yet either.

I signed up today at the behest of Chris’ words and your writing. But I get RSS feeds right in MAIL on my Macintosh. Why do I need another aggregator when I’m feeling so time crunched already?

My pattern lately – and I harbor some guilt about it – is to jump on Twitter for nine minutes, post 15 tweets of all the relevant thoughts I can share in that time, and then dash off to update my Facebook, LinkedIn and other Web presences.

In a WAY rounadabout way, I want to know how to make some green from my words using the tools that are only making it easier for more garbage to be shared. Like anything else, separating the value from the vacuous is a challenge.

And that brings me to the awards. There are PLENTY of great sites out there that provide just what they advertise. When you want to read about bad parking, there’s a blog for that. When you want to share someone’s anguish at being diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease or other ailment, there are blogs for that.

The only issue I have with your awards is that it’s not subjective and specific enough. You admit to putting in less effort (as does everyone) than you should, and that’s what leaves your long post still feeling a little light.

I love your shows and your sites and will keep reading. But I think it’s important for all of us to understand that we are niche and to embrace that…for now.

Because if we do that and continue to stay plugged in to our brethren, we’ll be the first to know when XYZ Widget Company finally decides that a corporate podcast makes sense for their employees. Then, writers like me and marketing pros like you will be able to validate our existence with products and consulting that pays real money.

Instead of writing a blog post comment that only results in a hand cramp.

Later,

Jeff