Dave Pollard's Blog -- How to Save the World -- contains some of the most insightful writing online. Here's a list he has posted about what blog readers want to see more of. Several of these items make sense for any communication, such as a web site, user guide, marketing brochure, or sales conversation.
Take point #13, "relevant aha graphics" for example. Don't you wish everyone used more of these, especially in user manuals? [I try. And so should we all.]
Point #6 refers to political opinion, but many of us would appreciate clever concise opinion in other places, like from our broker or our IT supplier.
Point #8, personal stories resonate through so much of human experience. Stories are better than explanations, anytime. Plus they are more fun, more interesting and more likely to be shared.
Dave's List
- original research, surveys etc.
- original, well-crafted fiction
- great finds: resources, blogs, essays, artistic works
- news not found anywhere else
- category killers: aggregators that capture the best of many blogs/feeds, so they need not be read individually
- clever, concise political opinion (most readers prefer these consistent with their own views)
- benchmarks, quantitative analysis
- personal stories, experiences, lessons learned
- first-hand accounts
- live reports from events
- insight: leading-edge thinking & novel perspectives
- short educational pieces
- relevant "aha" graphics
- great photos
- useful tools and checklists
Cautionary note: Dave's blog has a tendency to draw you in and keep you reading, with his mix of the highly personal, spiritual, theoretical as well as practical stuff.
