I have been thinking a little bit about the personal repetition of content topics on my Hive blog, as I generally talk about a handful of things and although relatively wide in respects to what is possible, there is of course going to be overlap. Some people seem to think of this as an issue, as if every piece of content has to broach a different topic, but i tend to disagree, but I do think there has to be some development of thought process and perspective over time.
Since I think in stories and generally use analogies to exemplify my points, I was trying to think of how I could explain this and I have two similar scenarios that are likely familiar to most people.
The first is using sports where we watch professionals play their game knowing what they are going to deliver. While their gameplay might vary, we don't watch the basketball to see how good the players are at ice hockey. Yes, we want to see a great game out of the stars and sometimes they have shockers - but they are still playing basketball.
The second example is similar but uses music as the base,where we listen to a preferred artist with a certain amount of expectation of what they are going to deliver. Fans of Adele don't expect her to put out a dubstep album and the Rolling Stones aren't expected to do a Spanish language album - we go into our listening experience primed for some level of certainty - Familiar.
As said, I write quite a lot of variation considering I am just one person, because I both like to write and explore, as well as having quite an eclectic background of experience personally and professionally. And yes, it might get repetitive at times, but I never write the same thing (knowingly) twice, although there is a high degree of consistency in a lot of my thinking, but some portion of it is also dynamic, as I am not unchanging. This means that there is a progression of thought and approach that could potentially be tracked across time that could even inform about particular life conditions at a point in time.
Because I use my own experiences and thinking as the basis of all of my content (rather than topical news), there is always some kind of subtext that informs the top layer, with those who know me well enough being able to connect dots that a single reader might not. In some way, blogging then becomes like a sport or artist, where "consumers" start track the content, events and look to extract the subtext, to add depth to what they are reading. I believe that what this does is starts to build a fanbase of sorts that will consume content at different levels, which is a valuable addition to repeat business.
I think that there are a couple of characters on Hive that do similarly to me in this regard, where they have branded themselves in a particular frame and although they are delivering different kinds of content, they give their fans a dose of familiarity with which they enter the viewing experience. This means that a regular reader is never starting at zero, nor are they judging the author on an individual piece of work, they are looking at each as a game or song in the lifecycle of a career playing and performing.
A lot of people think that the value of one article should be based on the individual article, not the person - but what would that do to the careers of any athlete or musician? How do you build a team - on their best game or their worst? Have you ever been the fan of a musician and they released one bad song that made you say - "I will never listen to them again"? Probably not.
In the space of a career, a professional athlete is going to have what in their terms will be great games and terrible games and a professional musician will have hits and misses. Not every shot Jordan took went in and not every Beatles song is a masterpiece. The thing that makes them unique is that they were able to deliver familiarity consistently - they were able to meet or exceed expectations again and again - which meant that while they were repeating themselves, they were also bringing in repeat business that appreciated what they offer. This makes them marketable.
You can't build a brand or market inconsistency. What is marketable is reliability. Even if it is reliable inconsistency - like some celebrities offer - and some presidents. I think that from a content perspective on Hive, there is a massive amount of potential for creators to earn, but the ones who will do the best are those who will be able to consistently offer something that is both familiar, yet also brings in new experiences for the audience, new information, new jokes, new perspectives. I think that two people who do this well are @meesterboom and @nonameslefttouse - consistent content - always something interesting added in to toy with. My brother @galenkp is another one who writes wide, but always offers something his audience can engage with.
It is interesting in many ways that people see repetition as a bad thing on Hive, including that of support for content creators, yet fail to see that it is exactly this consistency of experience that builds fan bases in all areas of entertainment, whether it be sports, music, social media or news. Consistency build value. This is also why businesses have standards in place to try to ensure that the product or service they offer meets the expectations of their target market - that it is connected to their familiar.
Maybe you have heard all this before.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
I don't think familiarity is a bad thing. I think it's part of the connection I make with the people that regularly read my stuff.
For another thing, I am just not capable of original thought everyday. Not going to happen and I know it.
Why do I read certain authors? Because I may not know the what of the piece, but I certainly know and expect the how to be in a form I like.
Even meesterboom is familiar in his way. If familiarity can be the expectation of a new and hilarious outrage...
This is the thing - there is always something familiar, a style or voice, a tenacity or the way a person can make you feel. Part of the appeal is the same as the connection to the feeling of home - there is a comfort.
I imagine Boomy sitting at his desk, fingers steepled at his lips, watching life in the office go by, quietly chuckling to himself.
!ENGAGE 20
ENGAGEtokens.Nothing wrong with things that are similar but they are never the same. Our thought processes change and the topic may be the same or similar to before but there is always something different as in another angle or perspective.
Many of us have been locked up at home so really how many different things are you going to come up with as everyday is very similar to the next. I have impressed myself lately as one tries to not be boring. Sometimes the problem is the topic as once you decide on that the rest is easy. Many of our posts overlap our real lives and it is also a way whilst doing the post we are problem solving. When you are not sure about something writing a post does clarify things normally in my case anyway.
I think the problem solving process inherent in personal writing is also a driver of the evolution of the content - it is a learning process that changes perspective and over time, a lot can change. A lot can stay the same too and even be strengthened by the new view. It is a fascinating process to watch of what is actually going on.
!ENGAGE 20
ENGAGEtokens.Far more value in a brand or personality. All of the professionals know that little trick. Thousands of people can write about a tree, but you can't follow a tree. Thousands of people can strap a camera to their helmet, then drive around on a motorcycle. People will only follow the personalities that entertain them along the way.
I've personally witnessed hundreds (probably more but I stopped counting years ago) of folks show up to this community/platform to provide potential readers/viewers with a bland experience. They typically struggled to get noticed, not realizing that generic brand style content is rarely sought out and when it is, the consumer typically spends only a few minutes skimming, seeking keywords, then hitting the back button to see what else the search is offering. The author means nothing to that breed of consumer. In this setting, some measure of success requires repeat customers. Every offering must somehow build on the previous, but the content itself doesn't have to connect, it just needs to connect with people, consistently.
This is where you spend a lot of time, isn't it?
I think that this is part of the Instagram life - where everything is a repetition of popular to the point that nothing stands out. I do not expect that 40 years from now, anyone will still be listening to many of the artists of today.
Markku mentioned this also - where the consistent connection can be the personality behind the content.
Sometimes I wonder what goes through people's heads when they create the content they do, in the way they do. It would be more interesting perhaps if they presented that view instead :)
I probably spent too much time on that bike this year. Snow gods made sure to put a stop to it though.
Instagram content is awkward; hollow. Popularized facial expressions? Weird. And what kind of perv sifts through selfies all day? You know, if you go stare at these people in public you'll quickly find out they don't actually enjoy being looked at, so I'm not sure who they're trying to impress, other than themselves.
And I honestly don't know why people do the things they do. If I did, I'd have all the answers.
!ENGAGE 20
ENGAGEtokens.It is a very good way to put it. People do tend to gravitate to the familiar which is the perfect avenue to shoe something new in. Of course in my case that's usually something rude :OD
As we have cum to love and expect.
Wahaha, nicely done!!!
I was going to say that first we have to get boom to start posting again and then he just shows up.
I'm always lurking about!
Haha!! Yes. You lurkerer. :))
:0p
Good points. Offer something familiar but with sufficient variety to keep your consumers interested. Also, if you offer a wide range of topics and perspectives, remember the value of engagement. In that case, what is constant is you.
These days, I make photography posts and crypto/economics content on LeoFinance. The photography posts don't attract a lot of engagement although they do attract valuable votes. On LeoFinance, engagement is through the roof. The rewards aren't that bad, either.
Yeah precisely. The focus on content seems to forget that people are also interested in personality. This is the case in sports and music too, where people follow the "real life" of their stars.
LEO seem to have some pretty chatty users - which is nice to see finally :)
!ENGAGE 20
ENGAGEtokens.I believe in specialization! In the perfection of skills. So I find it hard to believe that one person can speak well, and properly, about everything. We have been taught that we should cover all kinds of knowledge or subjects. But personally, I think we may have a superficial idea of many things, but we only manage to be an expert in two or three of them. Any writer, player or singer, as you said, has his style, his brand and although he can experiment with other things, I wonder: why would he change if that touch has worked for him? You walk through your family life, as a father, husband and friend; through your professional life and sometimes you even write very good poems with narrative touches. I think there are different ranges to address. Sometimes we don't need the expert's vision, but that of the simple mortal who has doubts like any other person in the world. Hugs, @tarazp
(What I have always wondered is why you don't have as many female readers)
I agree, but exploring wider can bring value to the specializations too - which is why I encourage dabbling, as it is like cross-training for a sport.
I believe that when it comes to community and social consideration, this has more value than the clinical thoughts of experts.
I have no idea. Most of my friends throughout my life are women by about 10:1 :)
!ENGAGE 20
ENGAGEtokens.That is exactly why I don't like, never have liked, nor will ever support any scheme that makes me vote for content I don't like, or will decrease the value of my vote on content I like.
I am first and foremost a consumer on Hive. I use Hive as an entertainment source. I have people and content I like, they get most of my votes. I also see myself as an informed Hive consumer, I know that new user/creators need to get exposure and get votes, so I do a lot of channel/community surfing.
Hive is also not only an entertainment source, it is an interactive social space, a space where people can share things they like and enjoy with other people. There really are a lot of uses for Hive.
Half the people on my favorites list I see as creators, the entertainment side. The next largest portion of my favorites list are social followed by the builders and tool makers. There is over lap among all of them, that is what makes Hive unique for me.
repetition - familiarity - consistency, all things that help build a brand, it does not mean the person can not experiment with their brand but they need to know what happens and learn when they hit a sour note.
Have you found that having communities has made your process easier?
Maybe there are too many uses for some people - they don't know where to turn their attention - so they dart their eyes all over the place.
I like this overlap - it is a personality thing when people have their "career" but give more of themselves.
Yes for me communities has made it easier to find new content/people. I don't visit the ocd or gems community very much, but lately as my interest are shifting for winter I spend a little time over at the StemGeeks community, come spring it will be the garden communities. They provide a much cleaner set of post than searching via tags ever did for me.
Too many uses for some could be a problem I guess, but I kind of like having this huge library of resources available, I may never use much of it, and we need a Dewey decimal system in place that works to find things, but sometimes the hunt is fun.
!ENGAGE 20
ENGAGEtokens.Thought may be the similar it's never the same, told in a different way a couple of days later reminds one of the first time you heard it, reinforcing the point no matter, people do enjoy a good line of detail.
Those consuming the story enjoy the manner in which it is told, so keep your readers happy!
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 92/138) Liquid rewards.
I feel it kind of like a friendship that develops over time - it moves in and out of topics and covers changes in conditions, it matures. If there is no evolution of thought, what are we doing?
One day something may influences us one way, the next with slight change moves to another, we are in constant flux of change.
Here I think of the Johnny Walker advertisement, be it the highlands, the scenery or the story people enjoyed it, many viewers more than likely never sipped the alcohol. Clever story telling on the move, more were made but this one was a hit.
Consequently changing ones mind at a whim leads to questioning, hopefully leading to future development in oneself.
Building blocks of friendship normally arrives out of common respect.