Take Your Disney Blog Ballistic, Part 1

Spit not forth just the facts

- by Bob McLain, February 2, 2011

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Sites vs Blogs

A blog is not the same as a site. A site presents information; a blog presents commentary. Of course, it's a bit more complicated than that, but for a working definition it'll do.

AllEars, for example, is a site. There are blogs on AllEars written by Disney 'experts' who share stories, tips, and other information. But mostly, it's a big, fat dump of Disney data, with blogs on the side.

DisneyShawn is a blog. It's written by one person (Shawn) who comments on various aspects of Disney. You wouldn't go to DisneyShawn for a menu or for the latest Disney news. That's what sites are for.

Introducing the Dinky Disney Blog

Some bloggers forget their mission. It's becoming more common these days to visit a 'blog' and find that the 'blogger' has posted a fact dump, not a meaningful article.

Why would I go to the Dinky Disney Blog to read a copy 'n paste replica of an announcement that Disney just published on its official site?

• If the Dinky Disney Blog wants to help, it can post a link, period.

• If the Dinky Disney Blog wants to inform, it can summarize and then editorialize.

• If the Dinky Disney Blog wants to entertain, it can editorialize - with style!

I'm reading the Dinky Disney Blog (there isn't such a thing, you know, but the domain name is available!) because I'm interested in what the guy who writes it has to say - not because I'm relying upon him to duplicate information from better sources.

Who Gets It, Who Doesn't

A good example of a blogger who 'gets it' is John Frost. In his blog, called simply The Disney Blog, John reports important Disney news, but he also (most of the time) gives his opinion about that news. At the end of each post, he includes a link to his source so I can read the news for myself and decide whether I agree with John. That's exactly what makes The Disney Blog - and other blogs like it - valuable.

I could (but won't) give examples of bloggers who rip entire posts from the Disney Parks Blog (and from other mainstream outlets for Disney news and content) and then 'credit' their source at the bottom. That's not blogging. That's pageview building.

In the long-run, this strategy will fail.

You can't build a brand (let alone a personality or a rapt audience) by basing your 'blog' on such a flawed - and ultimately boring - approach to Disney journalism.

How to Go Ballistic

New, interesting content is easy to find. If you've read a great article on someone else's blog, why not mention it on your blog and then add value to it by writing about what made it so special for you. The other blogger will appreciate it (new connection!) and you'll have original content that people may want to read.

Even better, comment upon current Disney news. Don't report the news! That's what Disney and the Orlando Sentinel and the Orange County Register and others like them do. Take a page from the Huffingon Post or, depending upon your politics, Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann (RIP). Folks listen to commentators not to get the news - they already know it - but to learn what those commentators think about the news.

All you need is an opinion and a memorable way to express it.

Next: The finer points of reader addiction.

Don't stop there! More Features Await...