Sunday, May 10, 2009

Key ingredient for a successful blog

Successful blogs have a narrow focus. They cover one thing obsessively, be it from pop culture, technology, business, sports, etc.
By that standard, Tech-Media-Tainment is a total failure.
TMT reflects me. As such, topics for posts are all over the map. I’ve got a lot of interests, mostly of the high-school-boy-who-never-grew-up variety. Movies, TV, music, pop culture, sports, tech, news media, business, wacky stuff, libertarian rants, I like to talk about them all.
Maybe that’s why I became a journalist. Journalists know a little bit about a lot of things, generally speaking. “Jack of all trades, master of none,” as the expression goes.
For now, I’m comfortable with what I’m doing on Tech-Media-Tainment. I started it as a goof, a creative outlet, and a way for me to gain a greater understanding and appreciation for new media.
I love the fact that there are experts on the Web about subjects as specific as antique radios or television commercials.
The recent Webby Awards provided some good examples of niche blogging. Winners included My Star Wars Collection by Joshua Budich and 1000 Awesome Things. The former lovingly details Budich’s large collection of “Star Wars” action figures and collectables. The latter contains musings about life’s simple pleasures.
The Web site Sandrific has photos and descriptions of sand from beaches around the world. It was a Webby nominee in the personal interests and hobbies category.
Another Webby nominee was Sad Guys on Trading Floors. It features photos of traders on the NYSE and other financial exchanges with funny cutlines.
Just look at TV and entertainment Web sites and you’ll find many with a very specific focus.
There’s TV Series Finale, a Web site “devoted to the last episodes of your favorite shows … and beyond.” Or look at TVShowsOnDVD.com, which meticulously documents which shows are and aren’t available on DVD. Then there’s Jump the Shark, which chronicles when good TV shows turn bad.

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