Recently Amy and I revealed stuff about ourselves on our personal/business blogs. Amy and I both caught some flak for it. Which got Amy and I to talking about the issue of personal info on "business blogs". When is it okay to post personal information on your business blog? Or is it okay at all? Amy and I talked about stuff that was once only whispered or just not talked about. I think we both feel good about what we wrote, I know I do. But how do you feel about it? Well, Amy wants to find out! She wrote a great survey and talked about the details on her blog—Contentious » Survey- Online Professional-Personal. So, take a gander.
This is another one of the transition
points in blogging and business blogging. We’re looking at tough
questions. This goes beyond getting fired. It goes beyond posting
frequencies. It gets to social and business norms. It gets down to,
how many blogs do I need to write about all that I want to write
about. Do I have one blog with a category called personal stuff? Do I
have six personal blogs to cover ranges of topics (the answer to your
question is, yes I do)? This kind of questioning is good and really
helps all of us be better bloggers, IMHO. I can’t wait to see the
results.
points in blogging and business blogging. We’re looking at tough
questions. This goes beyond getting fired. It goes beyond posting
frequencies. It gets to social and business norms. It gets down to,
how many blogs do I need to write about all that I want to write
about. Do I have one blog with a category called personal stuff? Do I
have six personal blogs to cover ranges of topics (the answer to your
question is, yes I do)? This kind of questioning is good and really
helps all of us be better bloggers, IMHO. I can’t wait to see the
results.
Why now? Why should we care? The
problem is, I think, that blogs started off as very personal efforts.
We knew about peoples’ struggles. We knew about their lives. Then as
business blogging grew
people started setting up rules for themselves, and others. Is that
limiting? Are there rules. What about when something great happens in
your life? Or bad? It’s obvious from this blog and my others that I
have rules. Sometimes I break or bend them. Some rules aren’t ever
broken. Amy, and I, really want to know … please fill out the
survey. Hey it’s only 10 questions. Go on, it’s easy.
problem is, I think, that blogs started off as very personal efforts.
We knew about peoples’ struggles. We knew about their lives. Then as
business blogging grew
people started setting up rules for themselves, and others. Is that
limiting? Are there rules. What about when something great happens in
your life? Or bad? It’s obvious from this blog and my others that I
have rules. Sometimes I break or bend them. Some rules aren’t ever
broken. Amy, and I, really want to know … please fill out the
survey. Hey it’s only 10 questions. Go on, it’s easy.
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Took the survey, and posted a little.
It’s an interesting question, indeed. Like you, I multiblog in order to keep things seperate. And like you, I have some rules. Basic personal information (age, relevent anecdotes) may show up in a “business” blog, but people who are reading one of them care about the subject matter, not about who just contacted me out of the blue, or what music I’m listening to. Categories don’t really help on this one – the subject matter blogs each cover a range of material, and the categories work for that.
I guess it’s an editorial stance, really. Since we become our own editors, we need to make the kinds of decisions editors make, including “is this piece appropriate for this audience?” We can do that sub/un consciously, or we can do it conciously. What we can’t avoid is making the decision.
Comment by Greg Burton — August 9, 2005 @ 3:07 pm
Generally, I oppose or caution against personal trivia in business blogs.
But then again, a blog can be a very warm, personalized, relaxed, unpretentious setting that makes users feel comfortable and welcome.
I object to having to slog through tons of personal posts in a search to find some meat, some value, some practical advice or facts that I can use to improve my own blogging and marketing savvy.
An occassional mention of private tastes in music, food, films, a slight touch of the Personal Journal is okay in most cases.
But blabbering on like a frivolous mommy blogger, or teenage chatterbox is a turn off, since it’s not professional.
A blogger must ask, “Why am I revealing this? To set up an anecdote of relevance to my audience? Or just to recklessly express myself in a show of vanity or assumption of avid interest on the part of my audience? Do they really give a hoot? Is the minutae of my life a good thing to blog about? What would clients think, and how might others mis-interpret, drawn faulty conclusions about me?”
Comment by Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate — August 9, 2005 @ 4:20 pm
I think it’s helpful to include personal info as long as you don’t overdo it. I like to get to know the writer behind the info.
I try to avoid completely personal posts on my blog that aren’t relevant to my readers, but I do weave personal stories into posts that relate to the topic of the post. My most popular post of all began with a personal story about my struggle to become an early riser, and then that story lead into a lesson/advice for the reader:
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-early-riser/
Comment by Steve Pavlina — August 9, 2005 @ 5:07 pm
I think it’s the very nature of blogging to include personal information. That’s the main appeal of blogs to me anyway. I like to read more about the person behind the blog. As a blogger myself, I like to know who my readers are. I think that people will naturally gravitate to your blog if they like what you write and others who don’t… well, they’ll simply stay away.
Comment by Hock — August 9, 2005 @ 5:58 pm
Molly Holzschlag (very well known professional in the Web Standards and Web Design areas of IT) also got flak and yet more flak for not separating her professional and personal life on her blog. She explained that her professional life *is* her personal life, that one is part of the other and that’s the way she is, and that’s the way her blog is, and that she got where she is today precisely because she is passionate and open about things.
Diff’rent strokes and all that… but IMO it’s wrong to judge. Just cos (whatever) might not be one person’s choice doesn’t make another’s wrong.
Comment by Vicki — August 9, 2005 @ 7:30 pm
“frivolous mommy blogger”
How condescending can Steven possibly get?
I read blogs for the personal/personality aspects. Otherwise, I could just go to any website. That said, if it’s a business/professional blog, I’d prefer they weave their personal experience into on-topic posts.
Comment by Lei — August 9, 2005 @ 8:10 pm
Well, it’s more than condescending, Lei. Some of the women writing parenting blogs have pretty substantial readership – they can tend to be opinion molders and thought leaders in their spheres. Smart businesspeople would understand that, I should think. One of these people mentions a cool product, and the ripples can get pretty large… but if you think of them as frivolous, you aren’t going to be seeing the potential market.
And from another perspective, there’s a business adage about noticing how someone treats the “little people”. If he or she treats them badly, that’s not someone you want to do business with. Just saying…
Comment by Greg Burton — August 9, 2005 @ 8:47 pm
What a great post, and comments. I would argue that if you don’t understand that a personal connection with your client is what makes a business successful, then you really don’t understand business.
Of course, anything can be taken too far, but if a blog doesn’t allow for some meaningful personal detail, it’s certainly not going to be something I keep coming back to.
I’ve got the MSM for that.
Comment by Cary — August 9, 2005 @ 10:23 pm
This is something that I’ve recently made what is, for me, a momentous decision. I began my blog focusing on blog consulting and helping people to learn about business blogging in specialty markets. By really diving into and owning a niche, you can take advantage of the “long tail” effects and establish yourself.
But blogging is about people. In fact, blogs are people – people online. Web sites are not PR/marketing facades any longer. They are authentic representations of a person or a company engaged in the Conversation of the Market (cluetrain, etc.).
The blogs I enjoy the most seem to be the ones that really allow the person behind them to come through. Everybody has to make decisions about what they’re going to post about. Hugh MacLeod of gapingvoid.com has his cartoons on the back of business cards thing. If that wasn’t there, it would still be a decent blog, but it’s a great blog. He’s got something extra that totally comes from being himself. He doesn’t tell us what he had for breakfast, but he’s not as locked down as many business blogs are. Jeff Jarvis, Evan Williams, Scoble, Heather Armstrong (you know, one of them frivolous mommy bloggers… really, Steven!) and The Head Lemur also come to mind (Evan being King of the Minimal Post).
I read plenty of blogs that are quite business-like and specific out of a sense of responsibility to stay abreast of the industry, but I love to read Hugh and Heather and the others no matter what. That difference, as soon as I realized it, became so important that I’ve broadened my blog to include more of me as a person: business blogging, writing, illustration… but not what I had for breakfast. If Bloglines only let me have 5 feeds, the person-blogs would stay and everything else would go. And I want my blog to be that in my own way. Is it business? You bet it is. The new kind.
Comment by Michael Martine — August 10, 2005 @ 4:02 am
The best business blogs are those that give you a sense of the person behind the posting. I think it’s almost the whole point — a new “kind” of business language that allows “identification” with the individual writer. (It’s why anonymous corporate blogs seem almost instinctively such a bad idea.)
I think the question Tris and Amy raise is, is there a difference between someone sharing their personal stories about family, television tastes, hobbies, etc., and someone sharing truths about themselves that might make others uncomfortable.
I don’t think it’s a question that anyone can answer except the blogger involved. It doesn’t really matter what I or anyone else thinks of Tris or Amy’s postings. These are “business blogs” we’re talking about — it’s up to the business involved to decide (and learn) if these types of topics help or hurt its business.
While we can all salute bloggers who delve into these more borderline areas for their courage — in the end, it only matters what their target market thinks of it.
Comment by Kevin Holland — August 10, 2005 @ 7:53 am
Wow! I think Amy and I really touched a chord here! Thank you all for continuing this great discussion.
The preliminary data is up on Amy’s blog (go to the survey post referenced above). It looks pretty interesting. I have to admit that I did help her with the survey. I have to use those market research skills for the power of good sometime!
I think my own feelings on this are pretty clear, since I have an do reveal some personal info and political views on my blog. But I also have a personal blogs about non-professional stuff (coffee, cooking, pens, being a single dad). So there is always a balance I think.
I’m really looking forward to the completed survey (I actually don’t know how long this is going to run).
Comment by Tris Hussey — August 10, 2005 @ 8:15 am
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Trackback by Ed Batista — August 10, 2005 @ 9:19 am
I think the main point is being missed here.
The question is not “should a blogger’s unique voice and personality shine through her or his blog?”
The question, as I understand it, is “should a business blogger include personal details in their blog?”
Of course your personality should sparkle in your business blog…but not irrelevant trivia that slows down the search for useful information.
When a user visits a business blog, it generally is not to find out what movies are hot, or what music CDs to buy, or what the blogger ate for dinner.
The reason I rarely visit any marketing or business blogs anymore is primarily due to the overloading of trivia.
It’s even worse when there is no Search Site function to help me find relevant articles.
A good example of a useful blog is Evhead. I usually find some new thing that is relevant to my interests on his blog every time I visit it.
If Evan does post any personal details or private material, it’s generally very brief, and often related to a more significant issue.
Again, a good strategy is to ask yourself, “why am do I feel a need to share this with my readers? how can it benefit them in the contxt of the professional focus of my blog?”
The danger in private, personal details in a business blog is adding extraneous “noise” to the information. Our signal to noise ratio must be watched closely.
Blog users, of business/marcom blogs are looking for meat, not fluff.
By “frivolous mommy blogger” I refer to the insanely risky habit of blabbering on and on about a baby, showing questionable photos of it (might be considered porn), and providing such details that a child predator, infertile mother, molester, etc., would cherish.
:^)
Comment by Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate — August 11, 2005 @ 12:13 am
P.S. Tris: you have my deepest sympathy about the loss of your dad. Similar thing happened in my life. It ripped me up real bad, and still does. I miss my dad very much. Too much.
:^(
Comment by Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate — August 11, 2005 @ 9:24 am
Thanks Steven. I appreciate it.
Comment by Tris Hussey — August 11, 2005 @ 11:00 am
I tell people, if you really want to get to know me, read my blog. While I try not to interject too much extraneous stuff, from time to time I think it’s warranted.
Of course, it’s your blog. You’re paying for the hosting. Post what you want.
Comment by Paul Chaney — August 11, 2005 @ 3:52 pm
Thanks, Tris and all, for having this conversation! Sorry I’m so late jumping in, but I’ve been a bit busy. In addition to trying to stay on top of the oh-so-intriguing survey results, I’ve got a slew of client work happening right now and several speaking gigs to prepare for.
The main take-away lessons I’ve gotten from this survey so far are:
1) It appears that only a very small minority of the audience for business blogs finds occasional personal tidbits from bloggers offensive, annoying, or uncomfortable.
2) Relevence is key. Most people don’t have a problem encountering personal info on a business blog as long as it’s presented in a relevent context. That is: Weave it in to your primary professional themes; don’t just drop it like a brick. Usually this can be accomplished easily, since life and work resonate so readily with each other.
3) “Personal” isn’t really the issue. The actual point of concern appears to be information about any aspect of a person that is taboo, not mainstream, or related to a social hot-button issue. Based on the numbers I’m seeing, the vast majority of respondents report a positive or neutral reaction to personal tidbits of a tame, mainstream nature (such as being married, or having a hobby like stamp collecting). Even the “tangentially sexual” connotations of traditional marriage raise hardly an eyebrow. However, mentioning that you’re gay, or religious/spiritual, or that you have a mental illness appears a bit more risky — yet not nearly as risky as you might think! I’d hope we all consider that angle more carefully.
4) Talking about disclosing personal info online definitely seems to be more controversial than actually doing it. 🙂
Again, if you haven’t yet done so, I invite you to please take my survey. I’ve already gotten nearly 100 responses. I’m hoping that a broad specturm of opinions will be represented. Please tell your friends and colleagues.
More later, I’m sure…
– Amy Gahran
Editor, CONTENTIOUS
Comment by Amy Gahran — August 11, 2005 @ 4:11 pm
Like the other side of many issues are on the web yet still not seen by the majority. http://www.meramail.com
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413002: Hey, does anyone know where I can find a list of gas stations with low prices in my area?
Comment by Debra Riley — October 18, 2005 @ 11:02 am
Hello
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