06 May 2009 Segmenting The Blogosphere

This post is a development on a previous one about plotting the Australian Blogosphere on a positioning map. Jye Smith suggested this could be used to segment bloggers and it was made possible by Adam Ferrier, a very smart man (I have to say that, he's currently my boss). Jokers The pranksters of the blogosphere. They enjoy the attention they receive and are not afraid to post something fun or amusing, or even off topic. They're very flexible yet back it up with good content. Jokers tend to be amongst the youngest of the bloggers out there and love being the centre of attention. They're often controversial but at times need to be reminded not to stir the pot for the sake of it. Julian Cole is a Joker. Lovers The peaceful ones of the blogosphere. They probably started their blog one day for their own amusement and are not too fussed about their pageviews, hits and RSS count. With that said, they appreciate their readers and love that they are able to to express themselves and people will listen. They enjoy sharing their thoughts, insights, stories, videos, pictures and links. Rarely will they call someone out and must remember that their audience doesn't subscribe to them for their constantly thought provoking content. Stan Lee is a Lover. Drivers The quiet earnest ones of the blogosphere. They attempt to drive change with almost every post on their blog. Each piece of content develops conversations, asks the right questions and gets people thinking. Often, they're developing models and attempting to take their area of expertise to the next level. Posts can be quite detailed and lengthy and they need to remember that this can alienate audiences outside of their core niche of readers. Gavin Heaton is a Driver. Fighters The top of the food chain of the blogosphere. They probably started life as a Joker or Driver and decided they want to take it to the next level content wise, or get their name and brand out their in the media. Not afraid to speak their mind and take on the big guys, particularly when they know they're backed by a large popularity. Their content is solid and provocative but is often criticised and they need to remember that engaging in a flame war is not always the best approach. Laural Papworth is a Fighter. There are both benefits and limitations to each of the above. More importantly, there is no right or wrong and none of the four quadrants is a bad segment to sit in. It is important to remember who your audience are and what they're expectations will be. Remember that next time you question a blogger's motives or actions, perhaps think about what segment they're in and what they're trying to achieve. Before you depart, I have three questions for you...