In keeping with the spirit of Labour Day, I thought it might be interesting to provide some insight into how we write the Sysomos blog, which is now nearly two years old.
When we started the blog, its focus was unclear. This wasn’t a surprise because Sysomos had just launched MAP, its social media monitoring and analytics service, and we were trying to determine how to effectively communicate what we did and what insight we had to offer. Many of the early posts were focused on our technology and new features.
In time, the blog evolved to offer insight, perspective and information about social media – an editorial approach that seems obvious given what we do. We mix this type of content with occasional posts about new features, as well as our popular reports on the social media landscape.
One of the questions people ask is where I get ideas for blog posts. Here’s some of the “buckets” that I dip into every day.
1. Read a lot of blog posts and articles about social media companies, trends, services and technology. Although the list is too long to include everyone, some of the bloggers that provide insight and inspiration include Mitch Joel, Jason Falls, Seth Godin, David Armano, Francisco Rosales (aka SocialMouths) and Social Media Examiner. Sometimes, I’m looking for information, and sometimes it’s perspective that provides an opportunity to offer a different or additional perspective.
2. Check aggregators on a regular basis as a way to quickly see a lot of information. Some of my go-to sites include TechMeme, Social Media Today and Hacker News. These sites make it easy to get a lay of the land for ideas and new trends and developments. I also have a long list bloggers within my Google Reader account.
3. Talking to people. As much as I spend a lot of time reading online, a lot of ideas materialize after conversations – short and long – with people about what they’re doing, the things they are interested in, and the companies that they work for. The trick is keeping a mental checklist of all the interesting items. This is why I usually carry a pen and a piece of paper in my pocket, which is a holdover from my days as a newspaper reporter.
4. Playing with other social media services. I’m an application junkie who’s happy to check out anything that sounds interesting or intriguing. To me, it’s social media candy; some is sweet-tasting chocolate that becomes part of my social media arsenal, while others are like those orange and black Halloween candies that everyone seems to hand out but no one eats.
5. Doing something else other than being focused on social media. It may sound strange but some of my best ideas emerge when I’m bicycling, playing hockey, out with friends, watching TV or reading a book. By giving my brain a social media break, it lets me focus on other things, which sometimes are an inspiration for blog posts.
Where do yo get your inspiration for blog posts?
