There has been a great debate going on back and forth over the last few days between two of my favorite Gen-Y bloggers. It is a perfect example of why I (finally) started blogging.
The Initiator
It started last week when Monica O'Brien over at Twenty Set authored the post 'Exposing the Hidden Truths and Empty Promises of Blog Networks.' This post struck me on a personal note, because I was inspired to get into blogging by the people over at Brazen Careerist and envisioned that in the near future I would (will?) apply to the network. I don't know exactly what I would hope to get by joining the network, but I do (did?) want to explore what a blog network geared towards a person like me has to offer. As an admitted blog lurker (hat tip to Nisha Chittal), I was under the impression that Monica was employed with Brazen Careerist, so was intrigued to say the least by what looked like a sudden change of heart.
I don't feel that it is necessary to get into a full analysis of Monica's post (you can read it here), but I do want to point out how a great discussion was started by taking a controversial position on a topic that hit home with a lot of people. As of now, Brazen Careerist has hundreds of bloggers and what I would guess are thousands of readers. Regardless, something obviously rubbed her the wrong way for her to swear off of all blog networks, especially when I was under the impression that she was an employee.
The Response
The great thing about Monica's post is that it garnered a huge response (see her comments section) and inspired a counter-argument post by another favorite blogger, Rebecca Thorman, over at Modite. Rebecca's post (here) doesn't discredit anything Monica said, but also was not shy about pointing out the benefits of blog networks in a very contradictory way. Rebecca's post also generated some nice comments, both on her own blog as well as on the argued upon blog network. The point of all of this is that it is possible to have an intelligent conversation with two well-thought-out, yet differing viewpoints that inspired a great discussion among many people.
The Outcome
I have since commented on both posts at Twenty Set and Modite, where I never would have in the past. Great discussion on an interesting topic intrigues me and was a main reason for starting this blog. I only hope to take the lead of those before me and get my thoughts and ideas, controversial or not, out in the open.
So a big thank you to Monica and Rebecca and everyone else out there that is courageous enough to get the discussion ball rolling!
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4 comments:
Patrick, This is a great analysis of both Monica's post and my own, and I am thrilled that you see it like this. Intelligent dialogue is a big reason I got into blogging as well. I wanted to talk about things that matter. Looking forward to reading more from you!
- Rebecca
Hey Patrick,
Great post man!
This is what the blogosphere is all about. And as a community manager it was really cool to see both sides of the argument debated so fairly.
Hope to see you on Brazen in the near future!
-RP
Hey Patrick, I'm glad to have helped inspire you to start blogging and commenting.
I guess the clarification you may be looking for is that I don't work for Brazen Careerist anymore. That doesn't change my viewpoints, really, as I have always been critical of blog networks, and when I worked at BC I made my opinions very clear about how I wanted to make the network more about the bloggers. Unfortunately, I am privy to a lot of insider information about a lot of different blog networks (not just Brazen Careerist) and, as a whole, cannot continue to support most of them.
I certainly wasn't aiming to attack Brazen Careerist, though a lot of people took it that way and led the discussion that direction in the comments section. I would encourage you to join whatever blog networks you want in order to see what they are about and see if they're right for you. The only way to figure out what you want in life is to try lots of different things and then narrow down your options.
Good luck!
Congrats on starting a blog! You won't regret it. And despite all the talk about the ups and downs of blog networks, I would still really encourage you to join Brazen Careerist -- you'll love it! The discussion and dialogue definitely makes it interesting.
Nisha
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