louisgray.com - Latest Comments in louisgray.com: The Best Solution to Embargo Angst? Write Something Else.

Re: louisgray.com: The Best Solution to Embargo Angst? Write Something Else.

Louis Gray — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 02:29:09 -0000

Your comment about there being a long tail of Web sites is very much
true. There aren't "three major networks" from which to get your tech
news. I could easily go without TechCrunch, Mashable and ReadWriteWeb
if I were asked to. I would get plenty of good content from everywhere
else. But as there is competition for stories and placement among
social media sites, some are not playing by the same rules, which has
people up in arms around embargoes and other traditional rules of
respect and doing business.

Re: louisgray.com: The Best Solution to Embargo Angst? Write Something Else.

ChangeForge | Ken Stewart — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 23:05:57 -0000

Wow, it's so amazing to see glimpses of this whole other world. I am so very thankful I can simply focus on writing what I want to write and when I want to write it. As you say, it is all about fresh angles.

I think what is perhaps the most amazing is that we are in the midst of a seed change - that of the demise of millions of viewers visiting dozens of sites in favor of dozens of viewers visiting millions of sites. That is truly amazing!

Re: louisgray.com: The Best Solution to Embargo Angst? Write Something Else.

RamenJunkie — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:38:04 -0000

I've found in the past thatI end up dropping blogs that are simply regurgitating stories from elsewhere anyway. It may seem like a good short term tactic but long term it gets annoying.

On the other hand, I often pick up the sources most commonly used by these large regurgitation blogs.

The biggest examples I can think of are Joystiq and Kotaku, both gaming blogs I used to read heavily but ultimately dropped both because it was the same stories I'd read elsewhere.

Re: louisgray.com: The Best Solution to Embargo Angst? Write Something Else.

Wayne Sutton — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:46:32 -0000

Great points Louis as usual, we'll see what happens in the next 3 months from this "Embargo" The entire media, pr, blogging world is changing right before our eyes and some are trying to control the echo chambers. I like the way you are thinking and keep posting great original content.

Wayne

Re: louisgray.com: The Best Solution to Embargo Angst? Write Something Else.

Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:02:28 -0000

I'd disagree with your assessment that the majors shouldn't cover a story if another outlet broke it.

There certainly is a fair amount of overlap in subscribership with early adopters and tech-heads, but by and large, there's a lot of differentiation in the audience. As someone who's seen the traffic numbers for this strategy, I can tell you that assessment is backed up by the rewarding traffic one gets by following the news that closely.

Re: louisgray.com: The Best Solution to Embargo Angst? Write Something Else.

Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:00:16 -0000

You're right, though, as someone who (like you) consumes all the majors, i
can agree that it's annoying. Ultimately, I think it's an affliction
suffered by a minority.

OTOH, I think that this wouldn't be a bad thing if there were more
conversation between the majors. Something that annoyed me was the lack of
back and forth between them - there were obviously differences of opinion,
but petty politics prevents the naming of names of 'competitors,' too often.

Re: louisgray.com: The Best Solution to Embargo Angst? Write Something Else.

Louis Gray — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:33:12 -0000

Allen, you're one of the best examples of somebody who has this
intersection of being very popular, well read, and also offering
something unique. I don't think it is worth it to cover stories
everyone else is covering, like you say. (Of course, there is some
irony in that I wrote about this post and Steve Jobs pulling out of
Macworld, but I think readers can tell the difference)

LouisGray.com is not a pro blog. We have elements that are similar to
some pro blogs, but ads and revenue are not a target here. That's part
of why I see the world a bit differently than the post machines that
need to cover every story. I'm glad you're a little off-center as well.

Re: louisgray.com: The Best Solution to Embargo Angst? Write Something Else.

Louis Gray — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:28:12 -0000

Mark, I've never worked for one of the "majors", as you have, so you
definitely have more insight here, regarding traffic. There is a
differentiation in the audiences, no doubt due to differentiation in
subject matter, tone and the authors. I just know that as a consumer
of tech news I didn't, for example, need 15 different stories on the
LinkedIn CEO change. Time could be better spent covering something
nobody else has.

Re: louisgray.com: The Best Solution to Embargo Angst? Write Something Else.

laptapos — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:26:54 -0000

Can you clarify something? What is Embargo Angst? I don't know about it.

Re: louisgray.com: The Best Solution to Embargo Angst? Write Something Else.

centernetworks — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:18:12 -0000

I generally agree with this post - just one note, I try VERY hard to bring new and original content every day - I rarely ever will write about something that 50 others have already. It's just not worth it - from any angle.

There is one interesting aspect I think worth discussing - you've said many times that LG.com isn't a blog looking to earn a living so to speak. This I think plays a role in some of the blogs you mentioned and why they cover certain stories perhaps.

In any case, it's good to see even more discussion about this. Although I would SO prefer to write about companies and working on my own freaking startup than deal with more drama.