4 Falsehoods about Blogging Debunked

Published by Michael White on January 5, 2012 | 1 Comment

According to my grandad blogging is a waste of time. In our conversation 4 falsehoods were mentioned which I feel compelled to debunk.

Falsehood #1: Blogging can’t generate an income
Are you willing to sell your soul? If you do then you could get an organisation to sponsor a blog post. I have done. Companies have paid up to £50 for their content to dwell on this blog loaded with a couple of backlinks for promotion. If you generate enough traffic (I mean a lot of traffic) then online advertising may even work. The question every blogger has to ask is the relevancy of paid content. I matured; a quick buck was not in the long-term interest for this blog.

Falsehood #2: Blogging has no credibility
I tend to trust the authors of blogs. Not for their blog’s branding (which you may find with a national newspaper) but for who they are. Originality, transparency and frequency allows me to trust Callum Jones’ blog (check it out) on par with a broadsheet. Some blogs are managed badly but the biggies such as Chris Brogan, ProBlogger and CopyBlogger have thousands of subscribers for a reason, they are credible.

Falsehood #3: Blogging won’t get you a job
The public relations industry may be unique in this respect. Blogging has become a useful marketing tool for organisations allowing them to connect with their customers who are already online. To show public relations professionals, as a student, that you can manage your reputation online must be a good thing. Running this blog was one of the reasons why I landed my internship with Microsoft UK in 2010.

Falsehood #4: People don’t care about your opinions
The matter of accepting or disregarding opinion doesn’t matter; the debates do. This blog not only features my opinions but also demonstrates that I am informed and can tackle debate. Employers will want to see that potential employees are aware of the current issues the public relations industry is facing. Plus I thrive from debates (clearly like my grandad).
In order to lessen any suspected arrogance suggested by this falsehood I must add that I am nowhere near perfect. I learn something new each day.

I don’t blame my grandad for questioning blogging. Industry has revolutionised beyond comprehension since the 1940s. It is such a shame that he regards blogging as a suspicious activity that should be shunned.

Michael is a Consultant for Keene Communications where he devises and manages digital public relations campaigns. Keene Communications has been providing public affairs, public relations and representation services for over 25 years. Michael is a certified member (MCIPR) of the Chartered Institution of Public Relations (CIPR).

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Richard Bailey

You’ve addressed this one in #falsehood 4, but I remember a time when blogging was condemned because it was too quick and didn’t encourage proper thought and reflection.

This criticism seems ridiculous now that it’s clear that blogs are long, are hard and require perserverence.

What is increasingly hard is to speak collectively about a publishing form that has, at one extreme, millions of teenage tumblrs and, at the other, millions of people reading the Huffington Post.

You could have told your grandad that the most venerable newspapers started as coffee house pamphlets (the blogs of their day), and some went on to become profitable print publications.