Should Blogging be Proactive or Reactive?

28 November, 2007 - Blogging - 6 Comments

Proactive Blogging Involves…

  • Planning posts in advance
  • Usually spending a lot of time researching the topic
  • The post is usually developed over time. The first sentence may be written in your blogging drafts several days or weeks before it is published
  • Proactive posts are usually more substantial in size

Reactive Blogging Involves…

  • Instinct
  • Sharing news. Usually an opinion from the author isn’t given. The author tells the news without giving their opinion
  • Fast. Posts are usually published as soon as possible, because news moves. The post is often breaking news.

That’s all well and good, but blogs are often a mixture of both. Most blogs I read are 90% proactive. They have a set routine of posts, such as on the 1st of the month they might thank their top commentators from the previous month, and they might lay out their goals for the coming month. On the 2nd they might publish last months finances. And then as the month goes by, new ideas will spring in to their head. But when those ideas hit them, they don’t immediately post. They take time to research the topic and compile the post, and then they might publish a few days after the initial idea hit them. That’s proactive. That’s thinking ahead several days in advance.

But then those same blogs have reactive posts. They react to a sale of a popular blog or they react to an email they just received.

It’s all very confusing. Should a blog be proactive or reactive? Does it depend on the type of blog, or the niche that the blog serves?

I believe blogs should be primarily proactive because that tends to lead to more insightful, thought-provoking, original content.

But It’s Supposed to be a Log!

Web log. That’s what ‘blog’ is short for. A log refers to a record of past events, named so because on ships, shingles cut from logs were used as paper for keeping a record of conditions at sea. But if we’re proactive, we’re not keeping a record of events. We’re just giving advice on a range of items within a particular niche. Wouldn’t that be more like a factual book, as opposed to a Web log?

I still prefer a proactive blog, but maybe it’s time we stopped calling them blogs…

What do you think? Do you prefer proactive or reactive? Do you believe proactive writing was ever the intended use of blogs?

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Posted on 28 November, 2007 by Jamie Harrop
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6 Comments»

Comment by ThoughtSponge
2007-11-29 03:47:09

I think the term, “blog,” has taken on a completely different meaning that its route, “log.” If it displays content chronologically, then it is a blog. Blogs will also probably always be categorized by content type which defines their posting style.

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Comment by Nick Subscribed to comments via email
2007-11-29 20:50:41

I dunno I don’t think a “fbook” will catch on. :) Like everything else on the web things move and change at light speed so ‘blogs’ are just evolving into new uses. I think it might be better to describe it as an interactive log instead of a web log. Since most blogs interact with their visitors otherwise it’s just an article directory.

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Comment by jblu
2007-11-30 00:36:18

I don’t really think about blogging in technical terms. As far as proactive and reactive goes, I prefer a mixture of both when it comes to both blog-reading and blog-writing. Nice thought-provoking questions :)

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Comment by Jamie Harrop
2007-11-30 13:27:34

Thanks J. I agree, I certainly prefer a mixture of both. :)

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Comment by Laura
2007-11-30 03:53:07

Interesting question.

Can I vote for both options? I honestly think that a good blog will contain both proactive and reactive elements.

You obviously want to include high quality anchor articles that are planned out well in advance. But, blogging is also a conversation. You want to keep current with what’s happening in your niche and respond to that once in while.

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Comment by Jamie Harrop
2007-11-30 13:30:08

Fantastic comment, Laura. Thank you. :)

I couldn’t agree with you more, but I’m still not entirely sure that’s what blogging was first intended for. Times change, I guess. :)

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