Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Susan Mernit's quote of the day is right on...
...and I may send it to every client I have.
Susan's post.
And the quote from a much longer post by Mike Arrington on TechCrunch:
Now Mike is talking about beta releases of products, but I would apply this same advice to your blog, or in fact any idea you're thinking your favorite guru blogger may be interested in.
Bloggers need stuff to write about, no doubt about it, so most bloggers are happy to hear about cool (and RELEVANT) stuff going on. But they are just as likely to blog about a bad experience or impression as a good one. They are just as likely to warn away as they are to recommend. It's not just that they consider both functions to be a service for their readers. It's that negative posts get people's attention.
Last night at a dinner Jennifer Rice talked about the traffic she got and continues to get from a post she wrote in the heat of the moment entitled I Hate Comcast.
We theorized that a post about hating something is destined to get more traffic, and generate more buzz, than a post about loving something. It's human nature, and bloggers aren't immune to using this fact.
So, what your parents told you is true: you never get a second chance to make a first impression. With your pitch, your product, your post.
Am I trying to stifle spontaneity and speaking from your gut? Nope. But if you are doing business, then the same rules apply to business online in the social media world as anywhere else: be prepared; get it right; think it through...and if you still manage to mis-step? Apologize, fix it and try again.
Susan's post.
And the quote from a much longer post by Mike Arrington on TechCrunch:
The main thing to remember is that you generally only get one look from the early adopter crowd. There is just too much going on for them to give a flawed company multiple chances to get it right. You either grab their attention, or you lose their attention. If you grab ‘em, everything is easier from then on. If you bore them, you are facing an incredible uphill battle just to get them back to the site. So, basically, don’t blow your first impression.
Now Mike is talking about beta releases of products, but I would apply this same advice to your blog, or in fact any idea you're thinking your favorite guru blogger may be interested in.
Bloggers need stuff to write about, no doubt about it, so most bloggers are happy to hear about cool (and RELEVANT) stuff going on. But they are just as likely to blog about a bad experience or impression as a good one. They are just as likely to warn away as they are to recommend. It's not just that they consider both functions to be a service for their readers. It's that negative posts get people's attention.
Last night at a dinner Jennifer Rice talked about the traffic she got and continues to get from a post she wrote in the heat of the moment entitled I Hate Comcast.
We theorized that a post about hating something is destined to get more traffic, and generate more buzz, than a post about loving something. It's human nature, and bloggers aren't immune to using this fact.
So, what your parents told you is true: you never get a second chance to make a first impression. With your pitch, your product, your post.
Am I trying to stifle spontaneity and speaking from your gut? Nope. But if you are doing business, then the same rules apply to business online in the social media world as anywhere else: be prepared; get it right; think it through...and if you still manage to mis-step? Apologize, fix it and try again.
// posted by ElisaC @ 11:11 AM 
