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Mike Templeton is an experienced marketer with a history in building community on the web.

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Don't Let Microblogging Kill Macroblogging

January 30, 2009 in Daily Musings | 4 Comments »

If you’re here reading this post I’ll be very surprised, as this is the first new entry since mid-December. The reason I’m posting today is because I got a prod from a friend of mine on Twitter encouraging me not to make January 2009 the first month without a post in the 10 months that I’ve been doing this. So, here I am.

A Resolution

As the new year rolled in 30 days ago, I started a list of goals for 2009. One of those goals was to post more often on my blog, as I’ve become a bit sidetracked lately with all of the other projects and activities going on. Aside from writing ten articles per month for Generation Iowa over the past six months and blogging at least twice a week for Microblink, Twitter has been the main cause for my lack of macroblogging.

140 Characters is Easier than 140 Words

In a medium where a post must be 140 characters or less, it’s very easy to share with my audience what I am doing or what I am reading. It’s essentially just a sentence or two and it flows easily due to the applications I use to access Twitter. I can tweet from my iPhone, on the web, from my computer’s desktop or via SMS. To sit down and write a blog post, I’ve either got to be at my laptop or desktop computer, or feel like giving my thumbs a real workout.

Longer Posts Allow for Longer Interactions

Though it’s easier to snap out tiny bits of information, I feel it’s also good practice to engage in longer blog posts from time to time, as it keeps my writing skills honed and allows for deeper, more thoughtful and more complete interaction with an audience. Too many times I’ve seen good discussion topics go to waste because they are limited to a flurry of 140-character tweets back and forth between individuals. If they’d taken that conversation into a larger format, like a blog, the participation and capability for a thoughtful interaction to take place climb immensely.

Also, based on how quickly discussion topics rise and fall in a 140-character world, taking things back to a blog give people a chance to read, digest and form valuable responses.

My Promise to You: the Reader and the Audience

Going forward in 2009, I intend to post more of my thoughts on this blog. My goal is to have at least one new post per week. And if I haven’t lost your attention yet (I passed 140 characters some time ago), please subscribe to my RSS feed and check in from time to time. I love engaging with readers and getting feedback on the thoughts I throw out into this world.