Alright first and foremost let’s get some context.
When you make a blog post, they are generally at least a 1000 words, and more than 5 paragraphs. I think that is a good simple distinction, and I’ve certainly gone over that a number of times on the Omniblog after all. Then you have LONG form content. A book is an obviously example, but I think a more fitting one is a “blockbuster” post. Not my word/definition, but something thrown around the writing space. It is like a mega post, that encompasses all you can put about a topic.
If a blog post is an overview, then blockbuster is the deep dive. Then you have MICRO content, such as tweets or FB posts. I.e. Linkedin too. With the Social Blog Concept being that of a pre-cursor, and maybe suited towards getting the reader into the blog post or blockbuster post.
"In the end the formatting isn’t too crucial, and as long as the message is out. That is what these short written posts are for!"
This was one of my "social articles", an experiment to create medium sized blog posts, akin to newsletters. Across a variety of social blogging networking platforms. Such as Medium, Vocal Media, and Linkedin. Since it didn't quite land; I decided to take these posts and remake them into more full length creations. In this post in particular I reference the original social blog via quotes in this post.
This is one of the few posts I didn't keep the previous version, as I remade it fully for this longer length. Meaning this post is a bit meta, in the fact that it USED to be a social blog post, and I originally posted it to Substack. However ever since moving those posts to this site, the OG version is no longer up.
Why would you MAKE a Social Blog?
Take this with a grain of salt, as of right now they aren't "really a thing". However as I'll mention later in this post... they will be again one day.
Let's get to the reason why I think they are important. Let's say you write a regular post about Self-Education, and in particular about the Modular Degree. Maybe I'm projecting here ;) haha, but the point is that there is a specific niche.
One that layers down into my own Modegree concept, which I want to teach the reader about. Let alone expose that it exists.
The social blog could then be about being an autodidact, and why you should be a self-learner. Drawing in the attention of someone who likes to learn, or is primed to learn more because of their circumstances.
They like how how the social blog is written, and at the end you lead into the more descriptive blog post about self-education with the Modegree.
After that it leads into maybe a "pillar post" as they're called, or blockbuster post, which is much larger. Links out to your other self-education, and related posts on your blog. Making the funnel come full circle.
How do they fit into the Content Ecosystem?
I see them as points of entry into your system, akin to the micro-content (tweets and tiktoks, etc). As they are early in the funnel, and often put onto blogging social networks.
"The 'social blogs', the 'newsletters', the 'mini posts'. They are all equivalent in my view."
Conceptually they fit pretty well into the system, although I was talking with Khe Hy, and he came to the same conclusion as me... that the social blogs are rather dead right now. Newsletters have sort of reclaimed that space, but they are inherently different. While Substack does have it's Network, it doesn't act like a social community, akin to what Medium used to be.
Medium also has gone supremely downhill, and hasn't been the same since 2018 (2019 at the latest).
"I loathe Medium, but it is probably the best example. The problem is there that they force the monetization so hard, that writers are sharing ANYTHING as “members only” posts. Thus even the short “social blogs”, which shouldn’t be put behind a paywall, are being shared there. Think like when you’re scrolling you see “2 min read” or “4 min read”, and the post is disappointing."
While in theory they fit well into the ecosystem, in practice these social blogs won't really kick into effect again until platforms like Web3 ones or some new Medium competitor come out.
What is the point of making this post then?
Not only on the online world as a creator, but just humanity itself. Events often happen again and again. We once thought podcasts were "dying" in the late 2010's, but due to quarantine they had a resurgence.
Blogging had a resurgence with the rise of Beehiiv, Paragraph, and especially Substack. While they tend to be more akin to newsletters, the social blog style does live on there. I tried to recreate my social blogs onto Substack, but it didn't work.
"Hence why I brought this series forth onto Substack. As I couldn’t actually find a current platform for them."
My hope is that in the future another platform will come out, and make waves like how Medium did back in the day. Resurfacing this social blogging concept once more!
Once last quote:
"Now I’m not saying don’t monetize, and if you have a very niche or specific newsletter, then feel free. Just saying the generic social blogs, shouldn’t be put behind a paywall. Leave that to the normal blog posts, or better yet (like me) the blockbuster posts."
