Limitations of the Blog Format

We've only been doing this for two days and I have a few issues with the way Google Blogger works. Especially in the context of our normal interaction on Gmail, which is like a running conversation taking place in a series of email threads.

1. Regurgitation - we only post stuff to the blog that we've already posted on Gmail. The redundancy eliminates the thrill of new conversations, and reduces creativity in our thinking and posting. If the blog doesn't take on a character or a format of its own (i.e. having some longer, more well-thought out pieces, or having original content) then it probably won't have staying power in our daily discussion routines

2. Design and Format -
a. posts are always in chronological order of original post... unlike the discussion format of Gmail, which always pops up new comments to the top of the thread
b. new comments are hard to find, partially because of item A and partially because features like bolding the new comments (or titles of blogs with new comments) doesn't happen like it does in Gmail... a very satisfying feedback feature
c. blog comments and posts jump around several different windows, unlike the natural flow of opening new threads in Gmail, which always feels like one continuous format in which you're just shifting around discussions and customizing on the fly

3. Readership - in Gmail we throw stuff out there for a larger audience of acquaintances... should we get people to start commenting on here? The bigger discussion enriches the content by pulling in some passionate perspectives out of the blue, like Dan the Doctor getting fired up in the healthcare post

4. Community - if we want to make this more public, I can start getting involved in some like-minded community discussions and leading people back to the blog... let me know your thoughts

5 comments:

  1. Focusing on #3... I agree that the beauty of the threads comes from the variety of opinions coming from different backgrounds, but I don't think this blog is ready for that. There's no organization and nothing to keep people coming back to this blog.

    Additionally, Jessica mentioned that she and two friends maintained a private blog they used to communicate, but after a few months, simply hitting 'Reply All' on Gmail was significantly more effective. Her biggest observation was that Gmail was always opened anyways and automatically alerted you when a friend said something. This blog requires you to manually refresh and then check the number of comments to see if there has been an addition.

    That being said, this blog is only two days old and I don't think we need to market it yet. I think the four of us can find an appropriate flow if we are persistent, and once we have a regular structure, we can both invite more contributors AND begin to market and seek outside readership.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Additionally, Jessica mentioned that she and two friends maintained a private blog they used to communicate, but after a few months, simply hitting 'Reply All' on Gmail was significantly more effective. Her biggest observation was that Gmail was always opened anyways and automatically alerted you when a friend said something. This blog requires you to manually refresh and then check the number of comments to see if there has been an addition."

    That is a MUCH better articulation of the point I was trying to make in #2... the automation of updates is a huuuuuuge factor. Between the manual refreshes and the separate pages for each post and comment, the blog format is simply not easy enough to use.

    Can I submit these comments to Google somehow? I feel like they are missing a HUGE opportunity in usability here. Ironic because these cues for usability currently exist in their other products.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Although one item - apparently the comments section gets "shaded out" when you have already visited it (think of the purple of a hyperlink you've clicked), and then "refreshes" to blue when a new comment is up. So that is one visual cue, even if it is probably an accidental byproduct of their hyperlink system rather than an intentional update feature.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The blog is going to be different from our email threads. There's no reason to try and immediately copy the success of those.

    We need to figure out the structure, the flow, the HOW of this new format.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I never envisioned this being Gmail threads, part deux. This is party why I only had us 4 in here as I felt we generally added much of the consistent insights seen in all our Gmail convos. I kept it private for the time being to allow us to feel our way around the site and settle down enough; once there - I anticipate opening it up to the whole world to see us debate/discuss/talk our little hearts off.

    As this thing grows, I expect us to post something to incite conversation from everyone, not just us. We can use Gmail to talk about our own shit.

    ReplyDelete