Comments on: Are You a Jedi or a Sith Blogger?

By: Michael Martine, Blog Consultant

Michael Martine, Blog Consultant — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 06:49:04 +0000

@Reccemaster - I think that would reveal the motive behind creating a blog. Great observation! But then you can’t really turn the question around, because the blog is the product of the blogger. Jedi bloggers product Jedi blogs, Sith bloggers product Sith blogs.

By: Reccemaster

Reccemaster — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 20:19:34 +0000

Maybe the answer to the question is actually the REAL motive to starting the blog.

Jedi - “I started the blog because I loved the subject etc”

Sith - “I’ll pick a subject based on keyword values”

To me this makes sense, and will undoubtedly rule how you run things from that point on. I mean, why would you be a Jedi blogger if you own a sith blog? (only picked on keyword values etc) and why would you degrade a Jedi blog by blogging as a Sith?

Therefore to turn the question around. I think the real question is:

What type of Blog is your Blog; A Jedi Blog or a sith Blog?

By: 100th Post Extravaganza: You’re All Invited! | Hunter Nuttall . com

100th Post Extravaganza: You’re All Invited! | Hunter Nuttall . com — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 04:51:06 +0000

[...] Remarkablogger: Michael Martine wrote a post to respond to my question about Jedi and Sith blogging. [...]

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:26:39 +0000

I loved reading these comments. Those who get it can read btw the lines and know what names people aren’t naming.

It’s like the popular kid in high school:

everyone follows the illusion of their greatness because they’re aren’t smart enough to know better.

By: Should You Squidoo?

Should You Squidoo? — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:14:42 +0000

[...] Google is constantly improving in the fight against junk links and spam content. Remember: think Jedi blogger, not Sith. Think about what you want to achieve, not what you can get away [...]

By: Robert Shievley

Robert Shievley — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:52:42 +0000

The answer is obvious, Jedi. Admittedly, you can make a lot of money going the Sith route if you stick at it, but the same is true for Jedi, and in larger numbers. Plus, I just like being nice, I could never be a Sith!

By: Sheamus

Sheamus — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:49:41 +0000

@ James - I think every new blogger goes through that phase with John Chow when you first start blogging and signing up to other blogger’s feeds.

The same is true with Problogger, to some extent, and Darren Rowse has even said as much himself - that most of his new readers stick with him religiously for 3-6 months, learn as much as they can, then move on, only to be replaced by the endless wave after wave of other blog newcomers.

I personally think the only people who ‘get’ Chow - and this can be said for many of the MMO blogs, to be honest, as well as some of the other A-listers - is those that aspire to be like him. From what I’ve seen of Chow he seems an okay guy in ‘real life’ but as others have said above the content really isn’t there, certainly not when held up against his success.

But fair play to him. It’s easy to get too wrapped up in the ‘why?’ with a lot of the successful blogs; ‘why not?’ might be a better question, certainly given that many of them have been around for years, which gave them the opportunity to build a big user base when this was all brand new.

More importantly, they stuck with it, while many others did not (he says, bitter and annoyed at his own failure to keep his 2002 blog going. )

Good approach to a subject we all think long and hard about, Hunter. I think, as you yourself suggested, for most of us the true path lies somewhere down the middle. As it normally does.

By: In The Sphere: Step Away From the Computer | BlueFur.com

In The Sphere: Step Away From the Computer | BlueFur.com — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:29:05 +0000

[...] Martine answers the age old question: What’s the best way to make it as a blogger? The way of the Jedi or the way of the Sith? Both sides clearly have their strengths, but which school of thought will lead to your ultimate [...]

By: Vered

Vered — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:23:16 +0000

Well, I like to think about myself as a youngling.

I told Hunter on his site that the reason I like him so much is that he is a Jedi.

The basis needs to be Jedi, then you can add Sith and promote yourself.

Me? I just don’t feel like I have much choice. If I tried to write using the “right” keywords or writing what would bring me more readers, instead of writing about what I find interesting, I wouldn’t enjoy blogging anymore.

By: Marelisa

Marelisa — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:21:00 +0000

I would do a lot better in this discussion if the analogy were to “The Lord of the Rings” instead of “Star Wars”, but I remember enough of the three Star Wars films I watched to follow along with the comments to a certain extent. I think that value to your readers is what matters most, and what over the long run will be most rewarding. That being said, there’s nothing wrong with trying to attract more readership to your blogs through white hat tactics (and I think that Jedis would agree with me here). We should all try to stay away from black hat tactics (you can fool some of the people all of the time, you can fool all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time).