This post comes in support of the effort to move the blog to a new site without doing a bulk copy of every post. It was originally posted on 18 April 2011.

A search of the web will reveal all manner of ideas on what makes a blog well attended. Is your topic interesting? Do you engage the reader? Is the information timely or are you commenting on old news? Is the grammar and sentence structure correct? Does it make sense? But what does it really?

In the world of business, timing and positioning is everything. Sometimes the pioneers of an industry survive, while others are eclipsed by the late comer. At the dawn of social media, MySpace became king. Here the narcissistic could trumpet themselves to everyone. It grew rapidly and pulled the concern of some parent groups. But what of now? Sure, it still has many members, but it is nowhere close to the likes of Facebook. What happened?

MySpace was first and acquired a bit of a party town atmosphere. It was young and hip. Facebook grew from colleges only to be something that your mom or dad might want to join. That was the biggest difference. With an older, more fiscally established crowd came better demographics for advertisers. That’s positioning right there. Being able to get the correct eyeballs to see content generated more corporate interest and thereby money.

Being at the right place at the right time is an ever changing mix of know-how, luck, experience and planning. Knowing what came before, knowing what your customers want, knowing where the markets are. Those are some serious keys to success. Some of it can be gained by study, focus groups, surveys, etc, but knowing how and when to strike, that is the portion that few seem to have. Many times, it is not just striking at the right time as it is persistantly striking. Trying new ideas and approaches. Constantly adapting the tactics and motives. Finding new streams and ideas. Tenacity.

Nice ramble, but what is the bottom line? All of these ideas are correct and incorrect, simultaneously. Not all blogs are popular with all people. Keep writing. Find new ideas. Post and tweet. Advertise on other blogs. Learn to use keywords. Get your friends to tell there friends etc. Position and timing, mixed with hard work and some luck.

And if there weren’t enough clichés, keep on keeping on.