My 10 years of blogging: Reflections, Lessons & Some Stats Too

Ten years is a long time. Sometimes it is so long that one forgets a lot more than one remembers — like the fact that it I have been blogging for a decade. I would have totally forgotten about the amount of time that has passed, had it not been for (what else) a blog post from Fred Wilson, one of the more engaging and rigorous bloggers on the web. It just so happens he is a venture capitalist, but he would be a great blogger without the VC tag as well.

His post made me ask myself: how long has it been since I have been blogging? Not an easy answer. I have had a website for a long time — mostly as a repository for articles I wrote for Forbes.com, Red Herring and a bunch of other publications. It had my resume as well. In the heyday of the dot.com bubble, I started writing an email newsletter (dubbed dotcomwala) and saved the archives on my website. There wasn’t much to do on the site. I ended up using Blogger, but mostly as a way to manage the site more easily — well, easier compared to Homesite & Dreamweaver, two tools I used for managing my website.

Along the way I became a reader first of Dave Winer and then Doc Searls. Their engaging and pithy, rapidly-updated style of linking and writing was so seductive that I started mucking about with Dave’s blogging platform(s.) I was trying out Dave’s Userland software long before it all made any sense to me. In September 2001, Dave blogged about the tragedy that changed our world. It was pretty clear that Winer had laid out what was going to be the future of media — and it still is.

Today we differentiate between blogging on blogging platforms and sharing on social platforms, but that is just semantics. The essence of blogging is not defined by a platform but by what I learned from Dave and his blogging platform — that media now is raw, collaborative and instantaneous.

And this is how it began

Over the holiday break in 2001, having just moved back to New York from San Francisco, I spent an inordinate amount of time on the Internet looking for new things and new ideas. The dot.com bust and the end of telecom bubble had made me think about writing a book. And I, eventually did. However, during those hours spent on the Internet, I ended up encountering MoveableType. An email later, Ben Trott (one half of the SixApart founding team with his wife Mena Trott) helped me set up a Moveabletype blog and suddenly we were off to the races. (Related: How Ev, Dave, The Trotts and Matt Mullenweg changed my life.)

Initial posts were still some of my articles from the Red Herring, but eventually I summoned up the strength to emulate my blogging heroes. I wrote and wrote and I guess I am still writing. In the process I became less interested in the rote work of a magazine — I was addicted to the blog and the daily interactions. I wrote every day and every day traffic went up. More importantly, more people joined the community of readers. My blog became a collaborative whiteboard /sounding board for my book, Broadbandits, which I had just begun writing.

Being addictive in nature, I was quickly hooked. The idea that all these smart people were sharing all their insights with me was the greatest feedback loop of all time. With every blog post, I engaged and learned. Ten years later, that learning continues. Not a day goes by that doesn’t see one of our readers leave a comment that makes me re-evaluate how I look at the technology or a topic I just wrote about.

I shared my opinions, I linked to stories I liked and more importantly, I used the blog to write/break news. My editors — Jason Pontin, Blaise Zerega and Josh Quittner — didn’t mind because I worked for monthly magazines and all of them knew that I was a “news” guy pretending to be working for a magazine. When I was working for Forbes.com during the early days of the dot-com bubble, I learned a vital lesson – you had to write every day to be any good and to have a complete handle on the beat. There was no way around the plain-old beat the pavement reporting.

Somewhere along the way the allure of blogging became such that I had to go tell my boss, Josh, that it was time for me to go and embrace my destiny. I loved Business 2.0 more than I loved anything, but  I overstayed by almost 18 months before I could pull the trigger. Ironically it was a late night drunken conversation with Matt Mullenweg, Mathew Ingram & Paul Kedrosky in Toronto (where I was a speaker at the debut Mesh conference) that did the trick.

In 2004, Anil Dash, also an early blogger (and inspiration) had introduced me to Toni Schneider (now CEO of Automattic) who had then sold a company to Yahoo. I wanted to talk to him because I had seen that we were going to enter a “lean startup” phase where the model was to build a product and exit by selling out to larger companies who needed some quick tuck-in products to complete their line-up. That one conversation led me to the other Tony (Conrad) and the story, The New Road to Riches.

Business 2.0 Party For Om Malik
Photo courtesy of Laughing Squid/Scott Beale.

So when it came time to leave, I went and chatted with Toni and Tony who led me to the newly formed True Ventures. A small seed round later, we were off to the races, trying to turn what essentially began life as brochure for my writings into a startup and eventually into a business.

As Josh would quip, I ate my own dog food. Life changed, forever, with that one act. And I am better for it. I have gone from being a lone writer to being part of a team. I am still learning the social skills that go along with being a founder. But that is a story for another day.

3 Posts a Day Keeps The Writer’s Block Away

Given that there isn’t quite an exact birthday (though December 13 is when I opened moveable type-powered GigaOm.com to the Internet) I thought this long break is a good time for me to sit and take stock. Here is the report card for past 10 years (not including the posts from my personal blog 🙂

  • 11,165 posts
  • About 3 posts a day, every day for roughly 10 years.
  • About 2.06 million words.
  • About 215 words per post.

Analyzing the data further helped me get these additional insights. For instance:

  • In 2002, my first real and full year of blogging I wrote 187 posts and 35,105 words. By 2005, the total number of posts was up to 2,685 posts and 429,595 words. In 2010, the total number of posts had gone doWn to 283 and the total number of words slumped to 109,794. Average words went from 199 per post to 160 to 388 words/post.
  • 2011 has been much slower – 136 posts at 465 words per post and a total of 63,223 words,  year to date.) I think majority of my writing for 2011 has been focused on big picture stuff including my occasional newsletter, Om Says.
  • My top three most productive months are November, December and August — I guess I like writing during the holidays as it gives me more time to think and write.
  • November 2004 was the most productive month of my blogging life – 339 posts followed by December 2004 when I wrote 283 blog posts.

Who’s afraid of Twitter? Not Bloggers

The second half of my blogging decade was marked by the rise of Twitter and other social medium. However, Twitter was (and still remains) the most active social sharing platform for me. I wondered if I my Twitter habit was costing me some blog posts. So I looked at my Twitter stats.

  • 22,596 tweets over 1958 days or roughly 11.4 tweets a day.
  • Assuming each tweet was about 10 words a tweet, that was still about 110+ words every day in tweets, though in reality actual words being spent on “tweets” were far fewer since many of my tweets are simple transmissions about my photos or blog posts.
  • According to Tweetstats, I average roughly 510 tweets per month, with a preference for tweeting at 7 am (PST), especially on Wednesday, my heaviest tweet day.

So from the looks of it, Twitter has only acted as an accelerator for my blogging role, allowing me the luxury of writing less but reaching far more people. If the first five years were of extreme frenzy, then the second half is reflective of changes that happened not only in my work life but also in my personal life.

  • As the data shows, my starting the company and taking on the founder duties acted as a speed bump and slowed down my blogging pace.
  • Starting in 2008, I started to cut back on my daily work load and focus on my health. So far so good. Since 2010, thanks to GigaOM team, things have become more manageable for me.

What does the future hold? 

It is a good question. I have actually been thinking a lot about that lately and wondering how to reinvent the art form that I embraced over a decade ago. I don’t really have an answer, except that it is somewhere in the past and in the reasons why I fell in love with blogging.

It is pretty evident to me that chasing faux-stories that are cloaked as scoops or exclusives are of little or no interest to me. Sure, there will be a story or two like Microsoft buying Skype that will help make the old reporter in me ready to work around the clock, but in reality what does interest me is the “big picture” stuff. And if I can do it with more rigor and regularity, I would be happier (and better) for it.

One of the most pleasant (and surprising) developments of 2011 was me starting to write, Om Says: What To Read This Weekend. I started it mostly because I felt that we are continuously being bombarded with short, near term news and in the process failing to think about the big picture. I thought to myself hat our business has to be about more than just a feature upgrade or funding, or some new app.

At the same time, thanks to two awesome apps — Instapaper and Evernote — I was saving articles I would find and read during the week, often as triggers for further ruminations. I decided to share the best of seven from what I had read during the week, and the response has been pretty phenomenal. Why? Mostly because curation and sharing of content has become as important as writing. By sharing videos, photos, links, or quotes we are all essentially editors and the sharing itself is an act of editorializing. It was as Dave (Winer) showed during the dark days of September 2001.

Ironically, it was a lesson that I forgot. In late 2006 I started writing a link blog, The Daily Om, but stopped doing it mostly because a yoga-oriented journal objected to it and I didn’t feel like working on it. Lately, I have started culling interesting videos, quotes and news snippets on my personal blog. I have found it invigorating and will continue to experiment with new ideas.

Here are my 10 lessons learned:

  1. Blogging is communal: In 2008, I wrote that “blogging is not just an act of publishing but also a communal activity. It is more than leaving comments; it is about creating connections.” That is the single biggest lesson learned of these past 10 years. Every connection has lead to a new idea, new thought and a new opportunity.
  2. Being authentic in your thoughts and voice is the only way to survive the test of time.
  3. Being wrong is as important as being right. What’s more important — when wrong, admit that you are wrong and listen to those who are/were right.
  4. Be regular. And show up to blog every day. After all you are as fresh as your last blog post.
  5. Treat others as you expect yourself to be treated.
  6. (In 2006 I wrote this and it is worth repeating) Doc Searls once told me, and it has been one of the guiding principles for me: blog if you have something to say and respect your reader’s time. If you respect their time, they are going to give you some time of their day.
  7.  A long time ago, Slate’s Farhaad Manjoo asked mefor some tips on blogging and here is what I told him — Wait at least 15 minutes before publishing something you’ve written—this will give you enough distance to edit yourself dispassionately.
  8. Write everything as if your mom is reading your work, a good way to maintain civility and keep your work comprehensible.
  9. Blogging is not about opinion but it is about viewing the world in a certain way and sharing it with others how you look at things.

The tenth lesson comes from Kevin Kelleher when he was writing for us back in 2010. In his post, How the Internet changed writing he noted:

Many bloggers tailor headlines and posts so that they’ll surface at the top of search results, making them at once easier to find and less enjoyable to read. And this decade, a lot of other bloggers mistook a strong writing voice for caustic irreverence. But most eventually learned that writing with snark is like cooking with salt — a little goes a long way.

If anything, avoiding that trap Kevin mentioned is the biggest lesson of them all.

Disclosure: Automattic is backed by True Ventures, a venture capital firm that is an investor in the parent company of this blog, Giga Omni Media. Om Malik, the founder of Giga Omni Media, is also a venture partner at True Ventures.

1230 comments

Om Malik is a San Francisco based writer, photographer and investor. Read More

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1,230 thoughts on this post

  136. Very insightful. I have followed your writing for quite some time and have enjoyed its range and depth. Being someone who writes a little bit, I can imagine how challenging it is to come up with original content so frequently. So hats off to you on that front. Wish you all the best!

    Ani.
    (www.itsani.com)

    Reply

  181. My takeaway – 215 words for a blog posting captures a decade of experience and best practice … Thanks for the benchmark !

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  197. All that and he’s a nice guy, too. PHEW!!! Congrats, Om. May your diligence and thoughtfulness continue to inspire.

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  214. Congrats, Om. I’ve learned a lot about what I do from you. Thanks for the insight, advice and entertainment – whether I got it from your writing or otherwise.

    Reply

    1. Thanks from rmf5961 of the Twitter genre. I was really impressed with this work, which actually, I saw a post on twitter from Daniel Chow, naming this URL via the tinyer url approach. Blogging is great, and it is a monument online to have an article like this one, above, helping the rest of us, to gain perspective. 10 years! OMA’G That is definitely perspective. Thanks, again. Happy Holidays. 2011 – 2012.

      Reply

  255. I strongly believe there’s a market for big-picture news that goes beyond grapevine gossip (that’s what’s become of techcrunch, IMO). I appreciate, that you appreciate readers time. A serious businessman / entrepreneur would prefer 5 relevant/game changing insights a day vs. 50 posts full of gossip for the average joe.

    All of this leads me to believe that GigaOm has a strong brand and potential of becoming the Forbes of tech entrepreneurs.

    Reply

  279. You consistently wrote for 10 long years and inspired millions across the globe! There is a great deal lot to learn from your blogging stint. Wish you all the best for coming decades 🙂

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  286. Interesting article. Ten years on blog is a long time, well done! I also have a blog, just for fun though. It has been a nice experience, it is encouraging when people express interest in what you write. I would disagree with your view on posting something on daily basis. Rather than posting for the sake of quantity it’s better to focus on originality of your content.

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    1. Nina, I am a professional news/industry blogger so I have to write everyday there is news of importance. But I don’t post for the sake of posting. I hope that was clear in the post. Also thanks for your kind words.

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  332. Wish I could follow you advice (wait 15 minutes before posting) when it comes to the craziness about the Newt running for President – as if he had not already been turned out of the political arena.

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  338. Congrats, Om. Your blog inspired me to start blogging in 2004. At the time, it seemed like an interesting exercise for a journalist interested in checking out a new medium. Never did I think it would play a key part professionally in leading me to where I am today!

    cheers, Mark

    Reply

  389. Om, thanks for all the wonderful thoughtful and soulful blogging you do! You are what we call an NBB — Natural Born Blogger. No one needed to show you how to do it, you knew how to do it birth.

    As they say in India: Mazel tov! 🙂

    Reply

    1. Dave thank you for your comment and your constant encouragement — even in dark days when things didn’t make much sense. A good teacher is one who shows the way, and you certainly did.

      Reply

  392. You and Fred (avc.com) are two of the reasons I started my own blogs. And your two communities are two that I never tire of participating in.

    Congrats!

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  418. You have achieved so much in ten years and you have done so with style, modesty and humility, and that, I believe is why you have so many followers .. like me. Looking forward to seeing more of your big picture stuff over the next 10 years. Cyrus

    Reply

  512. Bravos, Om! Thanks for sharing. You truly are an inspiration. Please allow me to also praise Dave Winer. For years the sub-head of my blog was a profound thought by Dave from 2005, ever more relevant: “People come back to places that send them away.”

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  533. Great to read about your journey! Your 10 lesson helped me to understand blog more clearly than before. I’ve started following GigaOm some one and half year back. Congratulations on the first 10. Cheers!

    —
    Aakar

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  556. Om, congrats on your first successful 10 years of “blogging” – you say you’d tend to focus on the bigger “big pictures” stories. What are the top x themes you’re paying attention to these days?

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  589. Om, I got inspired by your post to write my own…. I have a hard time writing but try as hard as I can. My thought is that writing can be hard for people, because it puts your thoughts out into the word. You can be wrong, people can judge, or simply disagree. Not everyone can handle that and are in fact afraid to have opinions.
    I argue that writing is about accepting being wrong.
    http://laurent-courtines.com/what-writing-is-about-being-wrong

    Reply

  619. Nice read, Om. I first saw you on an epi of Cranky Geeks. Then looked into podcast. I enjoy your writing and your team’s writing.

    Congrats on a long tenure.

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  631. Thank you for being part of my life for those 10 years. I’ve been blogging almost 11 now, and you’ve brought so many good tech companies and issues into my view. Plus, you’re a great guy to hang out with and a quality human being that I’m honored to know. Here’s to the next decade of GigaOm!

    Reply

    1. Such a self-centred comment. And you couldn’t help but mentioning that you’ve been blogging for 11 years.

      Reply

  702. Bravo, Om! Thanks for your writing. You inform and inspire us in so many unique ways. Here’s one to yet another successful decade.

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  709. Congratulations on the ten years of blogging! I enjoy your blog and found this post inspiring because I only finally started a blog in September and have so much to learn from veterans of the craft.

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  730. 10 is big. Well done!

    You allude to ‘big-picture’ content as more important to you than scoops. Do you think traditional journalists see synthesis as more useful to report to their readers, too?

    Can you elaborate on you approach to finding larger themes?

    Curious.

    Dipika

    Reply

    1. It is hard for me to explain how i see the big picture. A lot of it is being aware of many things and constantly learning about new things on an ongoing basis and not restricting myself to a few things only.

      Reply

  735. “I am still learning the social skills that go along with being a founder. But that is a story for another day.”

    I can’t wait to hear that story as well. Keep up the phenomenal work!

    Reply

  763. Om, you have been one of the pillars of tech blogging and doubtless inspired a lot of us. Congratulations on your 10th year…

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  778. Thanks for this!

    I’ve been using 750words.com to ensure I write frequently, but this inspires me to get back into blogging as a way to isolate and develop my thoughts, learning with others.

    Reply

  899. Thank you, congratulations on completing ten years and the very best for the times to come.
    Have really enjoyed and learned a lot from GigaOm and Fred Wilson, two blogs I follow regularly.

    Raj Mohan

    Reply

  910. Just started blogging and can’t be happier to read your 10 lessons which I find much more inspiring than any other tip I have found so far! Thank you. Be authentic, do it with your heart, be humble, don’t do it for the fame, do it with gusto!

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  931. Excellent post, Om! I remember well those very early days when “bloggers” were few and there were even fewer of us covering VoIP / telephony / telecom / etc. You were consistently there with great insight – and the “conversation” in those days flowed from blog to blog in ways it no longer quite does as much of that has migrated to social networks. Thank you for all the writing you have done and the info you have shared over all these years. Thanks, too, for sharing those interesting stats – that’s a LOT of content you have created! Congratulations on the milestone!

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  1017. Wow, this is good advice coming at the right time for me. I’m trying to kick my blogging into high gear. Thanks for all the tips.

    Arundhati

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  1046. Seems you had a problem with Clinton. Your blogging increased dramatically during his two terms then tapered off over the Bush years.

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  1070. 10 years, 3 blogs a day is a looong time and I commend you for it.

    *slow claps*

    But you took it a step further by sharing your experience with us – Thank you.

    There are a lot of pointers you mentioned that I could use to improve my blog with, so much so that I’ve bookmarked your blog for future reference.

    Thank you.

    Reply

  1081. Thank you so much for sharing your story Om. I hope many new and seasoned bloggers read this post. Your insight and wisdom havebbeen incredible to follow. I look forward to the next 10 years, and the decades to follow. Cheers!

    Reply

  1153. I have learned more in the time that I took to read those 2,333 words than I think I would’ve learned in years. Not only the small tips were interesting and useful, but the article as a whole was tremendously rich in useful information. I want to thank you for writing this, as I honestly believe it was worth every second I spent reading.

    Reply

  1158. I am currently writing for 13 different blogs and have applied the same principle being the Three C’s of blogging which is Content, Context and Contact (http://wp.me/pydAP-2Fs).

    In short you have to have quality content based on unique insights and solid research . . . you need to post in terms of a relevant context as to what is happening right now in the world (re hot topics and breaking news stories) and . . . you need to leverage social network groups, comments on articles etc. by getting involved in the conversation.

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  1196. Hi Om. First of all, WELL DONE! 10 years = wow! I am working on some materials for the PR industry to help PRs engage with bloggers and measure their engagement. I am really interested in hearing the bloggers views – have you ever provided this before, or are you able to now? e.g. what are your experiences of people delivering PR to you as a blogger? Any anecdotes that have gone well? Or examples of good and bad approaches? Tips or advice?
    Thanks
    Hugh (www.forthmetrics.com)

    Reply