Need for authority?
As information consumers, it used to be fairly easy to identify authoritative resources. If it was printed in the New York Times or Encyclopedia Britannica, we could trust the information. We counted on the publishers who, by reputation, delivered accurate and authoritative content.
These days, the internet, as with all things open to everyone and without oversight, is filled with much content of questionable quality. And, like with most things human, we seek ways to categorize and to trust. Sites like Technorati allow users to categorize content and provide authority by dint of a large number of people agreeing that a site is worthwhile. Bloggers like Seth Godin and Michael Stelzner are trusted because of the expertise and reputution of the bloggers themselves. And groups like the open-source Trusted Travel Blogs Network are created as a way to provide industry specific, independent validation.
Of course, this primarily deals with sites that are free and open to everyone. Traditional publishers who’ve adapted to the new media model are still out there, and still authoritative. And like before, still not free.
What do you think about all this validation and classification? Does it help you understand more about the information you get from a site?
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Hi Manya - I am not sure I belong in the company of Seth. He is a real big authority.
I think blogs help establish authority.
However, it seems that the act of being published or writing for another publication adds even more authority.
Mike
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Mike,
Thanks for the feedback. And thanks for the blog post today about your listing in the top content marketing blogs.
It’s great to have what I knew confirmed by others!
Manya
February 6th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
I like your blog. I also do marketing and public relations. Sometimes I write for local papers and trade publications.
I’m thinking of starting a marketing blog for myself, as I have done for clients. Do you get any business as a result of your blog?
Arlene Hauben
February 6th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Arlene,
Thank you for the kind words! At the moment, I haven’t gotten any business I can directly attribute to the blog.
Although that would be nice (business coming in is always good), that’s not how I measure its worth. I think about it more as an information-sharing device. So, for me, getting responses and knowing people are reading it and getting something from it is how I know it’s successful.
Eventually, I expect and hope that people will want to work with me from getting to know me this way.
Am I giving away my age or naivete by sharing that this is how I think of blogs?!