There’s no statistics to back up this post, but I had a great conversation with a colleague tonight and thought enough of it to share. The question was whether or not BlogCatalog will have staying power and be a viable long-term business.
Why BlogCatalog Will Probably Fail
Bloggers are a finicky bunch, we’re early adopters (so that we can be the first to comment) and probably the first to let an application crash and burn.
- It’s all about the widget. BlogCatalog copied the widget from MyBlogLog. Take a look at my home page and you’ll see how difficult it is to differentiate the two.
- MyBlogLog has been stuck ever since Yahoo! took it over. They had stats, they had communities, they have been forgotten. I think users are just swapping from one service to the other. When the next cool sidebar widget and service comes along, bloggers will leave BlogCatalog as well. It’s a speed bump on the superhighway!
- Where’s the revenue? MyBlogLog had analytics and used to charge for it. BlogCatalog has ‘donors’ who get access to beta releases, they get featured, can integrate other social networking tools such as digg, twitter, etc. Donors? You’re really going to have a viable business based on donations? Me thinks not.
Why BlogCatalog Could Succeed
BlogCatalog seems to have left the Blog Directory focus behind. In fact, it looks like Windows Explorer in Windows 95 – not useful at all. That’s a good thing. I’m sure most of the cross traffic on BlogCatalog is between bloggers, not people looking in the directories.
- Communities build stickiness. By adding Groups and discussion forums, BlogCatalog has capitalized on peoples’ love of social networking. If I start a group, I’m never going to leave. If I join a group, I want to stay in the conversation. The ability to add your own community is even better!
- Pictures make a site more human, and BlogCatalog capitalizes on this with pictures of Groups and Users. The widget really brings it to life! I always view the avatars of the folks who visit my blog and I love seeing the same faces over and over!
- BlogCatalog performs! MyBlogLog had it’s ups and downs with performance… people stripped the widget off of their blog immediately when it began to slow things down. BlogCatalog has obviously been well-developed and performs fantastically.
- Integration is a key to staying power as well and BlogCatalog is looking to integrate with everything out there! Here’s the list of up and coming apps they are looking to integrate with: AIM, BUMPzee, del.icio.us, Digg, Facebook, Flickr, Last.fm, MyBlogLog, MySpace, StumbleUpon, Technorati, Twitter and YouTube. That’s quite a list!
How BlogCatalog Could Rule the Blogosphere
IMHO, there are three differentiators that could really take BlogCatalog and make it explode – either to make a nice buck in a purchase by a Goliath, or by ruling the blogosphere. Technorati, for all intensive purposes, appears to be dying.
- Geographic Integration: One of the reasons Google and I are interested in Maps is because we recognize that everything is local. If BlogCatalog also cataloged blogs by their geographic location, and perhaps even mapped them, it would be a fantastic move. They should go buy feedmap today… especially since no one appears to be working on feedmap.
- Content aggregation and syndication: The currency of blogging is content. If BlogCatalog knows what blogs I’m visiting and how often, they also should know what my reading interests are and how often I read those blogs. By cross-referencing other bloggers like me, BlogCatalog should be able to introduce me to new blogs and new content.
- Revenue sharing: I’m confident stating that it’s probably 10% of blogs that attract 90% of the readers. If BlogCatalog gets serious, they could rival services such as b5media who organize some of the best content providers out there and cross-pollinate readers from one to another. This could lead to very large advertising opportunities where BlogCatalog becomes its own ad network on behalf of the blogs it represents.
I’ve signed up and paid ahead for a year of premium access. I even added a new Indianapolis Blogger’s Group. There are 2 members now thanks to Noah!
What do you think?
