Adrian Trenholm

Hugh and Tom blow the blogwhistle

According to The Week , the definition of dog whistle politics , like that being practised in the UK by the Conservatives on the immigration issue, is to:

sieze on issues that send a sharp message that, like a dog whistle, is only audible to the listeners it is aimed at

I was reminded of the phrase when I saw big name bloggers’ reactions to the new Gourmet Station blog . Gourmet Station is blogshit said Tom from True Talk. Beyond lame said Hugh from Gaping Void. Gourmet Station’s crime? To start a marketing blog authored by a fictious character .

Hugh and Tom are not wrong. In my five minutes as a blogger, and in my extended time as a lurker, I know that the personal connection between blogger and audience is where the magic lies. But isn’t there something bloggers could say to Gourmet Station other than simply you’re lame ?

Cathy at Authentic Voice nails it , in a post which is full of provocative questions, before sending us on to Paul at Radiant. Paul defends the blog marketer behind Gourmet Station, before opening it up to comments. And, boy, have you commented. That’s more like it. Paul’s follow up post contains this absolute gem:

there is something else at stake here, and it’s that “something else” that complicates matters tremendously and causes the controversy. There is a “spirit” of blogging that transcends the technology and gives blogging its greatest power. It is the purity of intention with which bloggers approach their craft that sets blogging apart from any other form of web publishing.

Blogging is honest and from the heart.

If I was advising Gourmet Station right now, I would refer them to Hugh’s work on the English Cut blog, and to True Talk’s ongoing analysis of GM Fastlane . I would send them to some of the great food blogs like Elise’s Simply Recipes and Clotilde’s Chocolate and Zucchini . And I would advise them to drop T. Alexander and start again with a real person at the helm.

But this post is not about Gourmet Station. It’s about how a blogger can choose to speak to everyone, or just to a select few.

Hugh and Tom blew the blogwhistle. As a rallying cry to bloggers - Let’s protect the blogosphere from those who don’t ‘get it’ - their posts where most effective. But if Hugh and Tom hope to reach marketers who are thinking of setting up a lame blog, then on this occasion, they have missed the mark.

Blogs need not be exclusive. Honesty and authenticity need not preclude debate. By all means, blow your blogwhistles from time to time - say the things you know your friends will love and to hell with everyone else - but when you want to reach a wider audience, remember to speak in a language everyone can understand.

1 comment April 7th, 2005

Teach what you learn: a virtuous cycle

Rosa Say has very graciously linked to The Fabulous Baker Boy on 173 Drury Lane , a blog I guest author with Johnnie Moore , Freddie Daniels and Max Blumberg . I had drawn my own conclusions about the meaning of my story - that new skills, pride in one’s work, and ownership trump any amount of customer service training - but Rosa highlights another important lesson:

For me the story also perfectly illustrates how empowering new knowledge is for people, and how learning that is internalized just must be shared.

Of course! And what’s really exciting is that being a teacher also makes you a better learner . I find Stephen Covey a little preachy, but this line from really hits home:

I suggest you shift your own involvement in this material from the role of learner to that of teacher… read with the purpose in mind of sharing or discussing what you learn with someone else within 48 hours after you learn it.

I guarantee that if you approach the material in this way, you will not only better remember what you read, but your perspective will be expanded, your understanding deepened, and your motivation to apply the material increased.

Years ago, as a postgraduate student, I used to tutor small groups of undergrads. Often during tutorials, they would ask me questions to which I didn’t know the answer. A more experienced tutor had told me that the best technique for dealing with that situation is to say: Let’s explore that issue together… . At the time I thought what a terrible cop out: how would my students learn if I couldn’t teach them what they needed to know? I now realise that the explorations we had when I didn’t know the answer - and we all had to teach one another - were really my students’ most valuable learning experiences.

Blogging is fantastic for this: learn something new, add your own thoughts, pass it on. It’s a virtuous cycle.

1 comment April 7th, 2005