Velocity vs Depth

I’ve been thinking about this lately. I find I spend more time on marketing philosophy and quick snippets (yours and Seth Godin’s blog). If anything is too long, or contains too many graphics I’m out of there. I’ve recently been toying with ditching my Mashable feed: even though its great to be in the know, its too much to keep up with and not all useful to me.

I’ve also found as my Twitter use has gone up, my blogging has gone down. As has my seeking out other ways to find news and various updates. I still havent determined if thats a good thing or not. :)

I’ve been thinking about this lately. I find I spend more time on marketing philosophy and quick snippets (yours and Seth Godin’s blog). If anything is too long, or contains too many graphics I’m out of there. I’ve recently been toying with ditching my Mashable feed: even though its great to be in the know, its too much to keep up with and not all useful to me.

I’ve also found as my Twitter use has gone up, my blogging has gone down. As has my seeking out other ways to find news and various updates. I still havent determined if thats a good thing or not. :)

I have tried writing velocity, it’s just not in me, so I try to write when I am really inspired with something that is beneficial for others to read. Some people, like yourself Chris, can pump out beneficial content all day long – others like me have to wait for rain to get wet.

As I have told friends in the past, I don’t have writers block, I have a hydra.

Cheers.

A mix of both velo. and depth are good. Sometimes I take the time to craft a well thought out post. Other times I spew off the top of my head and those posts get the most attention.

The best writing is easy to read, easy to follow, easy to assimilate. Just make it easy for your readers.

A mix of both velo. and depth are good. Sometimes I take the time to craft a well thought out post. Other times I spew off the top of my head and those posts get the most attention.

The best writing is easy to read, easy to follow, easy to assimilate. Just make it easy for your readers.

I guess it depends on your audience as well. [A lot of people lack the patience to read a blog post, let alone anything more in depth.... lol.]

I think that deth is great, but velocity is essencial. I have written three posts for a week, and I think this is worth.

Regards,
Monthiel

I think that deth is great, but velocity is essencial. I have written three posts for a week, and I think this is worth.

Regards,
Monthiel

There shouldn’t be any rules. A blogger should feel comfortable about writing a 5,000 word blog post (I remember Seth Godin had one that never seemed to end). Within the same month or so, I remember him writing a post no longer than 10 or so words long. And it worked.
I think the blog should include indepth stuff (and I think you have done that, a lot). As well as being provocative / half-baked (half-baked ideas that need developing) / factual (based on hard research and case studies), and so on.
In other words, it should be comprehensive in approach (individual readers, not just readers in general, want different things / variety – i think …).

There is much to be said for both. Velocity and depth can be achieved with a well thought out goal. If all you have time for is velocity then unless you have direction you will be going round in circles. Then again how much depth can you give in a short piece. You did it perfectly Chris once again I applaud your approach with the “snackable content” including your “free ebooks like these” depth. Bravo once again spot on.

Chris,

I very much agree. Being a new blogger, putting metrics on response to my writing, noticing the drop-off when I don’t have new entries – it pushes a guy toward shallow some of the time. And, at times, Twitter accelerates that.

I have something going that counters that tendency a bit, though. I’m older than most bloggers. That helps temper the tendency toward a heated rush.

There is much to be said for both. Velocity and depth can be achieved with a well thought out goal. If all you have time for is velocity then unless you have direction you will be going round in circles. Then again how much depth can you give in a short piece. You did it perfectly Chris once again I applaud your approach with the “snackable content” including your “free ebooks like these” depth. Bravo once again spot on.

I am amazed at how easy it is for some, like yourself, to write with velocity. Writing with velocity does encourage writing concisely, to the point, to the message, and it allows the reader to read it quickly.

I’m new to twitter and sometimes intimidated by it because I try to read too much into each message. I guess you could consider me a person who likes depth, not that there’s anything wrong with velocity. I hope to achieve both.

Chris,

For me its more velocity than depth at the moment. I write for a few reasons, the most important of which is to participate in the community and to gain more knowledge in the field of social media and branding. Because I’m NOT an expert, I focus more energy in re-tweeting, or linking up great articles and posts by others, while giving my take on it as well.
That being said, I also feel like there are topics and areas where I would be an asset, and I try to focus more on depth with those topics. I think its the depth that can help make you a resource and and expert, but its the velocity that can really be used to help others and network.

I am amazed at how easy it is for some, like yourself, to write with velocity. Writing with velocity does encourage writing concisely, to the point, to the message, and it allows the reader to read it quickly.

I’m new to twitter and sometimes intimidated by it because I try to read too much into each message. I guess you could consider me a person who likes depth, not that there’s anything wrong with velocity. I hope to achieve both.

I base my writing off of creativity and experience. No two days are alike to begin with and I am perfectly fine with that.
I read a varied amount of material on a daily basis (New York Post, Hip Hop Music Publications, Rolling Stone.
I browse through a fair amount of blogs on a daily basis as well. I go to what ever suites my interest, or lively conversation that is taking place. Blogs that have interesting topics and challenges my normal thought process keeps my interest.
I suppose that is how my poetry and short stories manifest themselves.
I make sure I post once a day to keep myself current in between classes.
That makes sure my Blogs are constantly changing. Leaving a unique mark that no one can copy, hence that is the purpose of graffiti.

I base my writing off of creativity and experience. No two days are alike to begin with and I am perfectly fine with that.
I read a varied amount of material on a daily basis (New York Post, Hip Hop Music Publications, Rolling Stone.
I browse through a fair amount of blogs on a daily basis as well. I go to what ever suites my interest, or lively conversation that is taking place. Blogs that have interesting topics and challenges my normal thought process keeps my interest.
I suppose that is how my poetry and short stories manifest themselves.
I make sure I post once a day to keep myself current in between classes.
That makes sure my Blogs are constantly changing. Leaving a unique mark that no one can copy, hence that is the purpose of graffiti.

Blogging is definitely a valid platform for both. I don’t see a necessity to choose between the two or to even deliberately engineer a balance between them. If you’re blogging is honest and helpful, it will connect with readers, and that’s the point. The unique thing about blogging is how personal it can be. You recently posted a picture of your son. What newspaper editor would ever get away with that? But here, people love and appreciate it; it makes sense because the site is personal to begin with.

I subscribe to some blogs that only post once a week or less. It’s good stuff. I think it’s a myth that you have to put out TONS of content to be helpful. In fact, too much velocity turns me off. It’s all personal, and if you keep it that way, it’s all good. I don’t think that is an element that needs to be part of your blogging plan.

Chris,

Still trying to figure that one out myself for my audience.

Velocity can be used for equipping people and for giving readers insight to your mind. It interests people, but it doesn’t distinguish you.

Business leads and relationship building require depth. People will come to you for the depth. Anyone can generate content – not everyone can generate good content that inspires discussion. The depth is what attracts readers in the first place.

Since I’m just starting out (converting my company’s old news section into a blog), I’m making a few “velocity” posts while trying to come up with great ideas to inspire “depth” posts. I think a healthy mix of both is necessary to have people coming back to your blog/site. Sometimes people only have time for a snack. Other times, they’re extremely hungry and want a 5 course meal. If you can’t deliver, they’ll go somewhere else.

@balemar

Chris,

Still trying to figure that one out myself for my audience.

Velocity can be used for equipping people and for giving readers insight to your mind. It interests people, but it doesn’t distinguish you.

Business leads and relationship building require depth. People will come to you for the depth. Anyone can generate content – not everyone can generate good content that inspires discussion. The depth is what attracts readers in the first place.

Since I’m just starting out (converting my company’s old news section into a blog), I’m making a few “velocity” posts while trying to come up with great ideas to inspire “depth” posts. I think a healthy mix of both is necessary to have people coming back to your blog/site. Sometimes people only have time for a snack. Other times, they’re extremely hungry and want a 5 course meal. If you can’t deliver, they’ll go somewhere else.

@balemar

A reader once told me that she liked my material because she can skim it and get the gist if needed. I hadn’t intended for my bullets and numbered lists to have that effect, exactly, (it was really in reaction to how my brain processes data) but when I really thought about it, I realized that its a really good thing for today’s hyper-saturated reader. If interested, they can read deeper and if just wanting a skim, they know they can hit my posts fast and still come away with something.

I try to hit velocity AND depth these days. Velocity for the reader that is (cuz’ some days, it just don’t come easy!)

Thanks for the post Chris… now I’m off to write mine for the day…

Typically I blog for depth, but that ends up creating consistency issues. Ie, its near impossible to go into depth on a daily basis, unless such writings present a large revenue stream. The other issue, is depth tends to make for much longer articles, more like white papers than blog entries.

As a bridge, depth builds credibility pretty well… but the downside is growth can be pretty slow, and it does little to build community. I think those who have mastered how to add value with velocity are on to something big, and the credibility comes organically over time, and thus leaving depth for ebooks, white papers etc. The challenge I believe is how to best add value when velocity blogging. Its something I’m looking into.

Typically I blog for depth, but that ends up creating consistency issues. Ie, its near impossible to go into depth on a daily basis, unless such writings present a large revenue stream. The other issue, is depth tends to make for much longer articles, more like white papers than blog entries.

As a bridge, depth builds credibility pretty well… but the downside is growth can be pretty slow, and it does little to build community. I think those who have mastered how to add value with velocity are on to something big, and the credibility comes organically over time, and thus leaving depth for ebooks, white papers etc. The challenge I believe is how to best add value when velocity blogging. Its something I’m looking into.

I find the most inspirational content I read to be the short bursts, so I write those more often. The lengthier stuff I allow to flow out of my other work, then transfer it over to blogging. For me (I’m a Pastor) that means that often lengthier content will flow out of message preparation rather than in-the-moment inspiration.

If I’ve got 30 minutes to spare, I’d rather have 5 inspirational bursts thrown at me than a good ebook, though.

Hi Chris,
I would guess that you’re writing for the joy of it all, as well. It shows.

When I post I wish to provide my readers with information which will hopefully get them thinking about what they’re doing and perhaps question whether they can do things differently. Stress is a matter of perception and by changing our perceptions we can start to feel & do better emotionally, mentally & physically.

As @AuntieStress, I made the decision long ago that I would post once a wk. and send out newsletters quarterly. Except for 1 or 2 occasions on my blog, I’ve abided by this rule. I chose to do this for 2 reasons. 1. I don’t wish to overwhelm my readers, who are already receiving lots of great information with only so much time. 2. It’s important for me to practise what I teach about choosing how we do things so that I don’t become over-extended.

I do have a number of drafts saved from when I’ve jumped into my flow. (They just need to be dressed up a bit [not in stress, though!] and they’re ready if I’ve run out of topics.)

The bottom line is that people need to find the style & frequency that is suitable for them & their readers.

There’s some more talk about this very topic on @matthewcornell’s blog.
http://matthewcornell.org/2008/08/idealab-0826-systemic-self-repair-over-blogging-faith-and-doing-it-productivity-style.html#comment-2118