Right-brain versus Left-brain Blogging.
Conference Blog: Earthquakes, Wizards, Words and Email Stats
"Here's what I learned at the net.marketing conference last week in New York City....
I've wanted to be cool since the fifth grade. So I'll just blog today. Maybe you'll learn something. Maybe I'll crack the boring and predictable factor Roy H. Williams, the Wizard of Ads, warned us about in the keynote....
He showed a series of anatomical slides while he explained different areas of the brain that turn sounds into syntax and language into action. According to Williams, left-brained (analytical) thinking doesn't work in successful marketing. Right-brain (i.e. intuitive and symbolic) thinking does. You've heard this before, of course: people make decisions driven by emotion, not intellect.
(A fellow ClickZ columnist recently made a convincing case that online marketing requires both right and left-brain skills to be successful.)....
My inner English major shuddered when Williams promoted 'Frosting' and 'Seussing' copy to improve it. He defines 'Frosting' (after poet Robert Frost) as, 'transforming drab communication into razor-edged wordsmanship.' 'Seussing,' (after Dr. Seuss of Green Eggs and Ham fame), is making up your own words. ('Wordsmanship' isn't in the dictionary, in case you're wondering.) The point is to break out of the common and predictable and increase what he calls 'the impact quotient' of your marketing copy.
Try his 'Which Means' exercise next time you're trying to list key benefits of a product or service. You might find yourself starting with marketing speak such as, 'Our product reduces down time.' (I know I'm guilty of this at times). Keep going, peeling back layers, until you finally get to a sentence that really means something. That's what you should use in your messaging, on- and offline.
If this kind of thing appeals to you, check out Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads. It's a compendium of>ClickZ]
Far more interesting than debating left versus right political blogging is framing a different debate around left- versus right- brain blogging. I would argue that you need to have a good mix of both in order to maintain an interesting (and successful) blog, but you can see definite leanings in many bloggers.
Left-brain bloggers tend to provide insight and commentary rather than just reposting a link. Examples in this category would be Lawmeme, Jim McGee, 802.11b News, and Dan Gillmor. They do some right-brain musings, too, but often they provide something missing from the article itself - context.
Right-brain dominant blogs appeal to me emotionally and they personalize a link or story. They tend to include in their posts one-liners that do a beautiful job of summarizing an issue, often making a backhand point to the story (good or bad). I'd include librarian.net, bOing bOing, Doc Searls (the blog version) and Mary Wehmeier's Blog Du Jour in this category. That's not to say that they don't do some wonderful left-brain analysis, but it's definitely the tunnel into their emotional thoughts that keeps me coming back. The word "fun" often comes to mind when reading these.
The>Kottke.org, Scripting News, Adam Curry, and Ernie the Attorney to name a few. Sure, these guys get all of the press, but they are also the "big picture" folks who provide analysis and emotional connection, and from their standing in the blogger community (and hit counts), I'm not alone in this assessment.
This is the type of>The Macromedia blogs are a good start, but they don't give me enough bigger-picture context to connect with me on a more emotional level. They don't grab me and make me say "hallelujah" or "yes, I'm going to do that!" Of course, I don't think they're supposed to perform this particular function and these guys already have full-time jobs, but their marketing division could pursue something more right- or mixed-brained. (Hey, I'm "Seussing" and making words up as I go along!) The left- and right-brain mix is probably the Cluetrain connection for marketers.
Next thing you know, we'll all be posting our Meyers-Briggs scores to compare mental blogging geography. Or maybe we'll just create a meta tag for that....
On a side note, I've noticed a trend in library-related blogs to begin adding commentary, rather than just posting factual content. This is a Martha Stewart Good Thing because it gives me additional insight and perspective that is different from the subconscious bias I automatically bring to what I read. Most notably, I've observed more commentary at Library Stuff, It's All about Books, and The Handheld Librarian. [The Shifted Librarian]
3:58:15 PM 
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