I don’t think there are an unlimited number of original topics a blogger can write about. At some point, all bloggers repeat something that has, in essence, been previously said. But the really great bloggers are the ones that are able to take a topic that has been previously discussed and recycle it in such a way that the delivery is entirely original.
There are an unlimited number of ways to deliver the same message repeatedly. For example, pick a topic that has been addressed before and head over to my list of 101 great posting ideas and go down the list. Just because a topic has been previously covered doesn’t mean we can’t add originality to it. After all, the whole Techmeme thing is all about what the main discussion points are in the blogosphere at any one point in time.
Of course, original idea/news plus original delivery is the lethal combination we are all striving for. Each one of those posts brands you as a thought leader and brings in scores of readers and admirers. But not all of us have the connections to be close to the people making the ideas/news or have the influence to make ideas/news ourselves. And, even if one did, it doesn’t happen all the time.
Instead of always trying to be the first to scoop an idea or story, perhaps we should focus some of our energy (or the majority of our energy) towards ways we can increase the penetration of an existing message. If your delivery of a message is clearer than others, you’re on your way to making a great blog post IMHO.
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Good thoughts. You can write a song and a thousand artists can sing it, and as long as each covers it in a unique way, it will never get old (okay, maybe if it’s all you listen to!).
Good analogy!
Ah yes, delivery. Now that almost everything has been discovered or said by people who went before us, the only thing left for us to do is to retell their stories in a different way. In our own way.
Agreed. A different perspective or a fresh delivery can go a long way toward making old news appear fresh.
Great blog! I’ll come back.
Very good point. In college, I had a prof who maintained that about half of all stories ever written where merely variations on “Cinderella.”
To me the key thing about a blog is that you can give your unique opinion about any topic. So even if you like to do a scoop on a new or news story, what makes it different is YOUR view.
Not just repeating the news story, but giving your view. With this there is an endless supply of ideas and inspiration as long as you can be creative and give a balanced argument. Ten people can read an article and there can be ten different perspectives. That’s great, because even if you don’t agree with them, you learn something new - and may even gain new readers.
This is what I do with news stories that interest me…in addition to to my original material. So now there are certain topics where my readers know I’ll have a perspective and will share it. Makes for some interesting conversations.
Hey great post… you can be unique as long as you know how to deliver it in a unique way..!
I don’t think there _IS_ an unlimited number of original topics
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