(NOTE: This is part 6 of a series exploring the results of the 2004 CONTENTIOUS Reader Survey, which was completed by 157 respondents as of Aug. 18, 2004. See the complete index for more survey results. Additional results will be published in future entries.)
Question 6 on the CONTENTIOUS Reader Survey was:
Over time, CONTENTIOUS has shifted its main editorial focus from the craft and business of online content to a broader range of communication topics (such as webfeeds, journalism, blogs, notetaking, and wikis). Do you like our current direction?
Here’s how the 157 respondents to this question answered:
- 35.7%: Somewhat like
- 30.6%: Strongly like
- 20.4%: No effect on my opinion
- 12.7%: Somewhat dislike
- 0.6%: Strongly dislike
Here’s what these numbers mean…
Sounds like this publication’s expansion of editorial focus is generally succeeding with CONTENTIOUS readers. About two-thirds (66.3% total) of respondents reported a specifically positive reaction to it. A further fifth (20.4%) reported a neutral reaction to the shift.
Less than one-sixth (12.7%) of repsondents reported a mild dislike of the expanded focus, and only one individual reported a strong dislike. Obviously, it’s impossible to please everyone with any major shift in editorial focus. However, I was surprised and pleased to see such a markedly mild and small negative reaction, given the substantial nature of this shift. I was relieved by this, too, because I get little direct feedback from readers by e-mail on this point. It’s been a nagging concern of mine over the past year.
See, when I first launched CONTENTIOUS back in 1998 as a web-zine, I focused almost totally on writing/editing tips and the style and business of online content. That sounds like a huge topic area, and it is – but over the course of a few years I ran out of steam on that sole focus. My interests evolved and expanded, and so did my career.
From 2001-2003 CONTENTIOUS was mostly on hiatus because of this. As a publisher, I just felt used up. I craved to write about a wider range of topics, but I assumed that these topics would bore or alienate my longtime readers. Also, I hadn’t yet experimented with blogging software so I didn’t know how much switching to a blog format could simplify and enhance the online publishing process.
In late 2003, I missed CONTENTIOUS so much that I decided to take the plunge, relaunch as a blog, and expand the focus to “news and musings on how we communicate in the online age.” I was nervous. Did I still have an audience? Were my comments still relevant? Things move fast in the online world, after all.
Looks like this gamble was worth it for most of my readers and for myself.
This is reflected in the responses to question 5, where I asked which CONTENTIOUS topics are most popular. The ones which most closely reflect the original focus of CONTENTIOUS (writing/editing tips and online content style and business) still hold the widest appeal, but a new topic (content management) tied for second place. Also, respondents reported at least some significant level of interest (13-38%) in every other topic I’m currently covering. I was expecting some to be total duds due to the lack of reader feedback.
As I’ll discuss in more detail in future installments of this series, several readers reported that this publication’s expanded editorial focus has actually provided significant benefits to them – largely by keeping them aware of new developments and concepts which are useful to them, especially at work. Again, this reflects the unique “bridging” position CONTENTIOUS occupies between the world of the geeks and the world of content professionals.
Bridges are valuable. As far as the geeks of the world are concerned, I am often behind the curve in discussing tools such as wikis and webfeeds. But for many content professionals, I am introducing new concepts and tools in a manner which is relevant to their needs. Geeks are not my primary audience; content professionals are. So I’m doing my job. That’s good.
To demonstrate this, here are a few comments offered by readers on how CONTENTIOUS has affected them:
- “I share items with colleagues from EVERY edition. We’re in the midst of a intranet redesign and your thoughts are so timely.”
- “CONTENTIOUS has opened the door to new subjects for me, mainly blogs. I enjoy reading the newsletter to educate myself on the newest forms of Internet communication and how it fits into the business world as a whole.”
- “It’s sharpened my interest in understanding XML, keeping up with industry trends.”
- “As a person with a non-techie slant but the desire to learn more, I feel as though the information you generate really keeps me ahead of the curve.”
- “CONTENTIOUS raises my awareness of issues outside my current immediate activities and stretches my mind to new and interesting fields. Because I respect the source, I’m more likely to track down further information. I’m always busy and always under deadline pressure of one sort or another. It’s too easy to become narrowly focussed on the issues you need to resolve today. But I pride myself on being aware of new trends and techniques. Contentious is like a respected colleague that taps me on the shoulder and says ‘Hey check this out.’”
Well, I’m glad to have some direct confirmation that my expanded focus is working for most of my readers. Still, I will never completely abandon this blog’s coverage of core content matters such as writing and editing. That information is too popular, and too valuable, to let slip. Also, much of the “basic” writing-oriented information I offer is actually news to a growing part of my audience – geeks who are becoming more interested in qulaity communication.
(NEXT: My e-mail alerts are more popular than my webfeed…)
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