How to avoid creating a boring blog

What is it about nonprofit blogs? So many of them are so incredibly boring. It' not like they're about boring things -- the problem is something else.

The Reuters AlertNet Blog noted this among the blogs of international relief organization in DEBATE: Are aid agencies ready for the blogosphere? Some of the problems:

Open and frank discussion is rare. Many blogs read more like press releases, crammed with acronyms and technical aid-speak. Others are just plain boring, or so thoroughly vetted by head office that all the juice has been squeezed dry.

I can hardly think of a more exciting venue than international relief. But they're right. Most of the blogs don't live up to their potential.

I'll go out on a limb and guess that the main problem is too much head-office involvement in making the blogs "brand compliant." Just a hunch.

The AlertNet post also includes material about an event that was held for relief bloggers, including this helpful report (PDF).

Technorati Tags: fundraising, nptech, blogs

Comments

[Jocelyn Harmon]

Hi Jeff,

I just riffed about this today over on my blog in a post called Find Your Voice. I think part of the problem is that many of us have lost our voices due to years of training in "corporate speak." We need to give ourselves permission to find our voices again, to speak with passion, to admit our ignorance, to be vulnerable and see if it bears fruit. We can't wait for our ED's and Presidents and CEOs to do it for us or do it first. It's up to us to get our voices back!

Thanks, Jocelyn

[Bill Kennedy, CA]

This is a thought provoking post. On the whole, I'm not sure whether nonprofits belong in the blogosphere. As noted by Chas, blogs are most effective when there is a single voice, but most nonprofits are not set up that way. Where a company may be run by an entrepreneur with a vision, nonprofits are often run by a committee. Where an entrepreneur is free (within reason) to spend the company's money as (s)he sees fit, a nonprofit has a large number of stakeholders looking over its shoulder.

If the blog were to focus strictly on the nonprofit's cause (e.g. poverty, war, etc.) then perhaps a blog is possible, but it still won't bear the distinctive stamp of a specific individual.

At the end of the day, a blog is a personal journal, not a corporate mouthpiece.

Bill

[Chas Grundy]

One of the main differences between brilliant and boring is reality. As you said, press releases get old fast. A successful blog is from a real person with a real personality. And transparency. Corporate blogs don't work, but CEO or Executive Director blogs do. They have to tell stories and be authentic. Not try to be authentic, but actually be authentic. Mark Cuban is a great example - he's not politically correct or agreeable, but he's real. And he draws a crowd.

[Leigh]

My company isn't exactly a nonprofit, but we cater to nonprofits and their fundraising. I can definitely speak to the point about "making the blogs 'brand compliant.' "

It seems like there are a few schools of thought on this: 1) the younger techie employees who want a blog to be this controversially open discussion where we slam the upper management's ideas, 2)those who want to copy edit and keyword everything and 3) those who just want to share our relevant information with the world in a unique way...but without the pressure of the bottom line attached.

Thanks for your articles...please feel free to check out our company's blog and let me know your thoughts.

[Garland Walton]

Our nonprofit has a blog, and we are certainly cognizant of making it interesting and relevant without succumbing to massive amounts of oversight. Donor Power Blog has played a role in that by helping us figure out what to do (and what not to do). If you (and your readers) can stop by and comment on how we're doing, we'd really appreciate it. Don't worry, we can take constructive feedback--our collective skin is thick. Thanks!