Blog Species and Entry DNA

Many 2 Many sparks some conversation relating to Nico Macdonald's paper on the Future of Weblogging". The discussion is particularly interesting as it really deals with the domain the Thought Leaders.

As Seb takes note:

Macdonald’s considerations are interesting, but they reflect his conception of what blogs are about (journalism and serious thinking) and thus chiefly apply to those weblogs that aspire to public intellectual leadership. This space is actually large enough that the term itself is becoming highly ambiguous; I wouldn’t dream of asking LiveJournalers to write according to those standards - and nor should they strive to.

Some weblogs are in a fuzzy position, between the public and the personal, and I realize it is causing a tension. For instance, in my personal weblog I tend to use first names to refer to people with whom I have private exchanges and collaboration relationships - here for example. I count many of these people as friends even if I have yet to meet them.

Source: Many 2 Many, "Nico Macdonald on the Future of Weblogging"

Of course, the dilemma of dissecting the various Blog Species is somewhat more complicated and requires a bit broader analysis. I've only begun to arrange my thoughts on the specific issues, but I think there are some key points worth examining.

So what is a Blog Species? A Blog Species is the term I use to refer to the general behavior of a blog. I'm careful to use the term behavior here, as opposed to something that tends to describe the structure. Blogs, in their entirely, have their own character, personality and behavior. Although seeminly inanimate, the reality is that the blog serves as an extension of the author(s) and as such understanding and characterizing these blogs requires a look at those details as well.

This is not an exhaustive list of criterion, so expect expansion in this arena in the future. For now, though, I think there are three important areas to look at in terms of understanding the blog as a whole, Blog Entry DNA, Author Motive, Author Personality.

Blog Entry DNA is depiction of the composition of Entry Archetypes used in the site. Various blogs are composed of either pure archetypical entries or hybrids of one or many of the archetypes. Knowing that a blog is composed of 90% Reference Links provides a high-level indicator of the blog species.

Author Motive is another critical test of the blog species. The motivation that fules the maintenance of the blog is important in understanding what type of blog it is. Nico takes a somewhat narrow view and discusses the Thought Leadership species and the responsibilities of that group of individuals.

Naturally, it's not reasonable to subject other blogs, with different motives, to the requirements of this species' definition. For example, the PhotoBlog is extremely from a Thought Leadership Blog. Would we require all Thought Leaders to provide visual depictions of their ideas? Certainly not.

Author Personality is a third measure that should be considered. The tone that is set in a blog is very closely a reflection with the author's interpretation of the world around them. Given any subject matter and any two authors, the archetype chose, the line of reasoning taken, and the tone and personality imparted will widely vary. In many ways, this is the most important aspect. Blogs gain readership not just for the content, but for the way that information is relayed to the audience.

I hope to re-visit this topic in the next couple of weeks after releasing a tool to assist in the evaluation process.