I have a list of around 75-100 blogs that I try to read daily. Around 30-40 of them I get to most days, the rest I will read probably 2-3 times a week. Advertising.....marketing.....pr.....Web 2.0(Can I still say that?)....building communities....embracing communities....all that good stuff.But once every week or so, I completely change gears. I read about....potty-training.....septic-tank replacement.....Mormons enamored with flatulence.....yard-selling while constipated, and I do it with a sense of total involvement and concentration as if I were trying to mentally determine the square root 3,245.57, while naming the states in reverse-alphabetical order.
And it's all Heather Armstrong's fault.
Heather has the very rare ability to make any topic she writes about, interesting as hell. I read Seth, Jordan, Ryan, Chris, Hugh, Tara, Guy, and I know I am going to read about marketing topics I am interested in, and want to learn more about.
But septic tank disasters? Potty nightmares? I couldn't care less, yet everytime I read Heather blogging about these subjects, time literally disappears. I become drawn closer and closer to the screen as if Captain Kirk had just told Chekov to activate the Dell Monitor Tractor Beam.
Heather is a stay-at-home-mom, writing for (mostly) stay-at-home-moms. Her blog has a very specific target market, and her readers are fanatical in their support for her. I have literally seen her get over 100 comments for an entry in the first HOUR after posting it.
So while Heather could likely make VCs and Squidoo fascinating blog topics, I'm not sure that Guy and Seth could handle showing up for work drunk, and beach towels flushed down the toilet, as deftly as Ms. Dooce does. Heather is IMO the best writer in the blogosphere, and she may be the best marketer as well.
8 comments:
I think that the Mommy Bloggers are some of the best writers out there. I checked out Heather's stuff...sounds good.
You'd probably like my friend Kristin. Her blog is absolutely hilarious and a lot like Heather's. And she has this annoying knack for getting 60 comments per post.
Wait a sec....273 comments on one of Heather's pieces? So THIS is where all the women are...!
Makes me feel like I should just chuck the whole marketing biz and start writing about my dogs, my kids, and the mice that live in my basement crawl space.
I agree that Heather is a great writer, as is Kristin, JD. Thanks for showing me the light~!
Toldja Ms. Community. I've seen several of Heather's posts get over 400 comments. And she usually TURNS OFF COMMENTS after a DAY OR TWO.
It's amazing because the comments take on a life of their own.
Kristin is pretty funny too. And Jaynie's post about the offspring of Larry Bird and Paul Bunyan was classic!
Dude you seriously need to get plugged into RSS. I have 330 feeds from blogs/news sites/searches that I throughout the day. You'll never go back to straight surfing or adding things to your Favorites menu.
Chris find me one that also includes comments on the posts, and I'll be all over it. I've got a Bloglines account, but I never use it because I can't read the comments.
Mack- Heather's popularity is greatly linked to her past before she was a SAHM. If you don't know about it, check her very old posts when she became famous for getting fired for blogging and bitching about her colleagues....She has also been blogging since 2001 which is amazing
Eric
Eric one night I spent hours going through her pre-Dooced posts. Absolutely hilarious, her coming into work and walking up to her boss and telling her to 'smack my ass, bitch'! LMAO! Then her being called into the boss' office to explain 'sheet after sheet' of posts from her blog.
She got canned, and now has to spend her days as a SAHM(she has a more colorful description of the acronym), while she blogs and rakes in about 70K a year from advertising on Dooce.
Tough life.
You know, Heather's early days sounds a lot like David Armano these days. David: Make sure you continue to write those posts ONLY on your lunch hour, 'k?
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