Canuckflack

Davies: blogging killed the lunchtime seminar star

// September 20th, 2006 //

From Russell Davies, a comment that touches upon the headlong and quickening rush to develop a rep as a “social media guru”:

” … Blogging is doing to planning what television did to variety/music-hall.

I’ve always thought that a planning career is very like a stand-up comedy career. You spend a couple of years getting a decent 40 minutes together (act/presentation). That means you can go on the circuit and do presentations, meetings, pitches. Then if you’re good/lucky you get a few more bits and stretch it out to an hour, maybe 90 minutes, and that means you can be a consultant, doing the same old schtick to a new audience every engagement.

Television killed variety because it quickly consumed everyone’s act and the jugglers and novelty seal-balancers couldn’t delight a new audience every night, because everyone had already seen it on TV. And blogging’s doing the same for planning. …” (Russell Davies)

I think there’s plenty of space on line for jugglers, balancers, and pitchmen as well as considered and thoughtful authors.

If anything, the blogosphere is short of authors who can synthesize thoughts and themes into a clear-headed and convincing argument. (Putting all conspiracy theorists and rabid political bloggers aside, of course)