People make things grow not SEO

In recent times there has been a spate of articles floating around the blogosphere about how to grow a blog. I think there is a real need to draw a distinction between what makes things work and what doesn’t in social circles. There is a sad misconception out there that the right technology, software or scheme is what makes for a popular blog. I would argue that things grow based on the underlying social network NOT some fancy SEO technology.

Clearly SEO is important I am not denying that. But consider for a moment why things are popular through the following examples of movies. Cutthroat Island flopped terribly whereas Pirates of the Caribbean was a huge hit. The reasons things fail are often blamed on poor promotion or bad marketing. The reality is, the social climate at the time rejected the idea. In the case of Cutthroat Island the reception destroyed the company that made it!

Things like SEO, linkbaiting and the like are only good if the content is what people want to read. If you are a successful blogger, then sure everyone is going to want to read your article on, ‘how to build a successful blog’. Why wouldn’t they? If I wrote an article on it… it would be dubious! That is really a question of authority in this new web 2.0 environment we find ourselves in. Who do we trust… those that appear to be authority figures? Surely not.

I would like to see more in the blogosphere about how social networks can be leveraged and tapped into rather than more technical information about SEO and the like. There are always underlying perceptions and ideas that grow and shape the way things emerge in social systems. You cannot nail everything down to a technical point of view which (though relevant) ultimately obscures us from the reality of networks of people sharing what is thought to be relevant. The question for me is: why do we think technology is more important the social systems?

Technorati Tags: blogosphere, blog, social network, linkbaiting, blogger

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