Your Fellow Blogger IS a Competitor
November 5th, 2007 - Written by Gyutae Park in BloggingLearn more about Internet marketing strategy by subscribing to my RSS feed - free and updated daily!
Who are your competitors? Maki from the popular blog Dosh Dosh recently made a post stating that your fellow blogger is not a competitor and that the Internet is big enough for everyone. However, I think that this is naive thinking that should be reassessed with a more realistic point of view. Sure it would be great if all bloggers could be friends and make millions of dollars together. However, it just doesn’t work that way and there simply isn’t enough “pie” to go around to every blogger.
I agree that working together with other bloggers can be beneficial for both sides. However, in the end bloggers are still competitors. For example, think of 2 Iditarod dog sled contestants. The Alaskan race in bitter subzero conditions is long, arduous and physically taxing. This forces the racers to work together, to share food and supplies, and to form bonds to keep each other company and provide support. Despite the help and good will however, the racers are still competitors trying to beat each other out for the end goal of victory. Don’t let naive thinking set you up for betrayal.
As a blogger you are vying for readers’ attention and time. It is important to work with other bloggers in your niche to gain exposure and make a name for yourself starting off. However, this sort of tactic means the water level increases for everyone, and all boats rise. There is no real competitive advantage.
I’m not saying that that you should treat other bloggers maliciously or to completely ignore their acts of friendship or camaraderie. What I’m saying is that other bloggers are in fact competitors and should be treated as such. Work together and leverage other blogs, but don’t be naive in thinking that everyone loves you and wants to help you. The world would be a better place if things were that peachy. Just remember to be cautious when dealing with other bloggers and make sure you scope the competitive landscape so you can create the most unique and profitable blog in your field of interest.
How do you view other bloggers? More as friends or as competitors?
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8 Responses to “Your Fellow Blogger IS a Competitor”
@Gyutae
I don’t think we are disagreeing with anything actually. I do agree with that attention scarcity is a problem that all bloggers have to face and eventually overcome by producing relevant content which differentiates them from others in the same topical niche.
There is competition for attention but this is an inevitable result of all forms of media, online and offline. I’m not writing about the intrinsic nature of media as much so much so as competitive perspectives and mindsets, which are factors within each blogger’s volition.
Free content is never a conflict of interest. Reading and consuming information from another blog doesn’t reduce the value of your content or its ability to fulfill the consumer’s needs/desires, i.e. a reader can easily subscribe and follow Dosh Dosh and Problogger, and many do.
Funny, I just wrote a 3 part article on competition (not published yet) that talks about these issues.
I do think you are in competition with just about everything around you, but I think you can learn more from other bloggers that might be competing for traffic.
It is a huge network so one without the other may be far less valuable than just one single blog by itself with no competition. Scott
Thanks for the feedback. I’d be interested in reading your article on competition.
I agree with what you say that it is better to network with other bloggers - despite the fact that they’re competitors. The point of the article was to refute Maki’s claim that other bloggers are not competitors at all. Competitors can still help each other and network - but in the end they’re still competing.
I don’t see anyone as a competitor. Plenty of fish in the sea for all.
I like the word co-opertition. Warm and fuzzy word that says a lot!
Coopertition. I like it. I think that would be a better way to put it. Helping each other out, but competing in a way too. Nice!
I’ll add to the ‘coopertition thought using American Idol as a metaphor: The contestants all [seem to] get along and help each other out because they’re working together towards the same goal, but at the same time each contestant understands that the outcome is inevitable - there will be someone on the bottom and someone at the top. But it’s also the competition factor that keeps the whole show going. Hmm…this gives me an article idea.
American Idol is a great example. Probably better than my Iditarod example because it’s not really life threatening. Thanks for your thoughts!
I liked the Iditarod example. It got your point through very clearly. But like you said American Idol is not life threatening, so I though that might lighten the mood a bit. =)