We have no bananas!

Yes, I’m sad to say we have no bananas today.

I’ve been in and around the blogosphere for 4 or 5 years.  And, I’ve seen a lot.  Some of it good [great].  Some of it bad. Some of it ugly.  Today, I saw all three in one day.

And, I have an observation.  Most of the communication, management and marketing blogs, LinkedIn and Facebook pages and groups I frequent start off very well; very well, indeed.   They have a strong editorial point of view. They’re strategically oriented.  Edgy, stimulating and provocative. The people they attract are from different backgrounds. All of them looking for insight and perspective.  The conversations that follow are driven by the “founders”. Then there’s a moment when either the authors/founders lose interest, or where they take a decision to change the model.

On blogs, they invite guest bloggers.  This isn’t so bad, since they are usually like-minded thinkers.  On LinkedIn and Facebook pages and groups they open up to public postings.  Despite what any of us may think about democratization of information and crowdsourcing [both of which I am in favour of by the way].  I haven’t seen a crowdsourced blog or page that really stands up.

Vision, an editorial point of view and “curation” are important. They lead to more vibrant and interesting discussion.  They help attract the ‘tribe’ of “like-minded” followers.

Instead these sites end up losing everything they originally stood for.  The thinking – strategic not tactical, systemic not siloed, innovative not iterative is replaced by discussions on questions like – what are the top 10 things great managers do? what are the best practices for process mapping? what’s the best social media tool for ceo’s? etc. It’s more a pooling of ignorance or a thinly disguised “marketing” approach than anything close to something that will further the profession.

What’s happening?  Lost is the thoughtful and thought generating discussion.  Found is watered-down free association.

Please, please can we have more bananas!

Tags: Communications, Employee communication, Relationship