You nailed it! Especially this,

The blogging platform is too saturated. [...] All this advice on how to make money online, create location independent income, and on and on and on…. It’s been heavily written about already- the noise of the internet at its finest.

There’s enough garbage out there, we don’t need anyone piling more into the mess. Thanks for the reminder, and the challenge to become greater!

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. This is spot on! Finding something unique to say is virtually impossible. The leaders are those who say it in the most compelling way. The way in which the readers will be forced to stand up and take notice. It doesn’t matter who says it first, it’s who says it loudest and most interestingly that seems to be the point these days.

I’ve been reading Seth Godin’s stuff lately as well.
I also read recently a quote that basically states that unused creativity is not benign. It is essential that we use our creativity, go with our gut feelings and find our unique voice.

Hey David,

Its a great article and made me want to share my thoughts here as well.

I believe blogging if far from dead – in fact it is not even grown up – and I can’t see paid access to be the future.

There are millions of blog and it is hard to find the really good ones but take a look at how many bloggers actually stick around. The first excitement fades, people notice that blogging is work (not a free income stream – there is a lot of investment on the authors part before you can think about starting to earn the first dollar) and they abandon their sites. So, that rules itself out pretty soon.

Paid access will work for the top bloggers like Gary V, Tim Ferris etc. They have a hugh number of followers and will most certainly be able to find a decent number of fans willing to pay for their content.

For the average blogger with a couple of hundred reagular readers this will not be the future. If we all jump on that wagon we’d just be in another rat race. We’D all be competing against each other over readers’ dollars. Readers won’t be willing to spend money on multiple paid subscriptions a month. Therefore to have a chance bloggers will start spreading what people want to read (writing on demand) instead of creating genuine value and sharing their insight and believes. Bloggers would always fear that if they post this or that people will not like t and leave.

The future lies in two things (that is judging from what I can see today):

1) We need to find out how to authentically scale our communication so that we can connect with our growing audience.

2) We need better filters to find valuable information hidden in the mass of noise. Those can be software or technology but the best filter is still WOM. I like your post and pass it on to others. If you’d write stuff not worthy of my time and the time of my network than I won’t be back and certainly won’t pass it on.

Well, there are too many people trying to make a living by blogging. They just don’t see it right. This is not meant to be an easy income supporting you while you are out surfing. It is hard work! It is different then a 9-5 job but you have to do none less. You can put all the “How to monetize…” tips aside. It just won’t work if you are not changing your lifestyle to align with what you do.

Just one more thing: It appears to me that a lot of bloggers start with content on a topic (lets say finishing) and after a little while they change to blog about how to make a living as a blogger. They have read tons of articles on that matter because that is what they had in mind. But they are leaving their tracks of living off their finishing blogs and start adding to the noise in an already crowded niche. If they simply acted out what they learned on their finishing blogs they might end up making good money being an expert in that field.

Well, David, sorry for that long comment. I hope you and the other readers find some value in it!

David,
I’m not sure what the future of blogging is.
But, I completely agree that there is a lot of noise out there and it’s hard to filter it out to find the real nuggets.

Thanks for motivating me to stray true and authentic to me and my values. I don’t want to be part of the noise.

I like what you’ve said throughout your whole series. No matter what you’re doing on your blog, there’s always room for unique voices to rise to the top.

“Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong.
There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right.
To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Cheers.