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Survey says…
By Zach Arnold | February 26, 2006
By Zach Arnold
Blogging has changed the entire media industry. It’s also confused a lot of people in the newspaper business. Many people in that field consider blogging to be beneath the quality of work that you normally see in traditional newspapers.
I’ve written articles and have written online for over a decade now, for free. A lot of the writing work that I’ve created is material that I’m proud of. However, it’s also free. And it tends to get lost in a varitable sea of material online that is useless and unfiltered.
Therefore, the question needs to be asked: What sells?
This is a painful question for me. I’ve done a lot of writing in the past, some of it very important in the grand scheme of covering historical events in the Japanese fight industry. Recently, the story broke in Japan that at least three members of Japan’s largest crime family, Yamaguchi-gumi, were arrested on charges of blackmail (extortion) stemming from the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 show at Kobe Wing Stadium. It’s a story that could become a precursor of things to come in Japan, and probably the hottest story inside the fight industry in Japan.
If I did long-version articles on this topic, I think maybe 5 people would care about it.
In comparison, if I wrote articles about Fedor not being a human because he eats South Korean dog meat and wins all of his fights with one healthy right hand, I probably would get 5,000 people to care about it.
This raises an important question, one that was addressed on Publishing 2.0 on Saturday. If 2005 was the year of “exploding media,” what will the year 2006 be about? Filtering the remnants from that explosion? What content, specifically fight-related, appeals to consumers online? What are people willing to pay for? This isn’t as silly of a series of questions as you might think. Bryan Alvarez has been trying to gauge what his audience wants, and so far it appears that his customers are more willing to pay for audio content than pay money for what was his 10-year trademark – his writings.
Here are some questions that I would like to get answers from you on.
- What kind of content are you willing to pay for?
- If you are willing to pay for written content, in kind of format do you want that content in? Or does specific formatting matter?
- Does “blogging” carry a negative meaning to you when you read someone’s work? Do you equate a blogger as an “amateur” writer?
- What does the larger MMA/wrestling audience want to see for content? Are people more interested in “dumbed-down” content or is the insider-hardball information the way to play it?
- How should insider-style hardball topics be covered to a large audience? Is there a rejection to this kind of material online?
Topics: All Topics, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Well, I think speed is one thing, what a lot of bloggers lack in “professional” writing they make up in quickness.
Also a few organizations have shown to be a bit ah shall we say biased, so esp. when it comes to fight outcomes, people are more willing to trust people who write for free since they are not likely to be swayed by outside income sources.
Just my thoughts,
HH
Thats a meaty topic and the answer depends as much on what interests you as what viewers want. If the mainstream net public simply wants endless repetitive interviews and puff pieces about Chxck and Fedor, how long will you do that before jumping off a building? I tend to have a less than impressed view about todays fans and their willing acceptance of shallow media content. It appears that a large percentage of net fans simply want to hear about and discuss the “last” ppv, the “next” ppv and interviews with the same small group of fighters. I think the business aspect and behind the scenes happenings confuses many fans who best express themselves with gems such as “Me like Fedor” and “Chuck, U R da Man.” I can barely glance over some of the larger sites web boards without shuddering.
The only thing I pay for is Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter. I have no idea what you think of him or his product but I’ve been a subscriber for years since he covered both wrestling and mma with the backstage dramatics and business included. You don’t get that in magazines and I wasn’t much of a net surfer back then. There weren’t that many sites covering mma a decade or more ago either. To this day he still covers things you won’t find on Sherdog, Weekly, etc…. One big reason I like Puroresu Power is that you lift the veil and show the underbelly of the products. The Yak influence on the business is fascinating to me. Its the difference in content that makes me click on the site.
The net radio thing does appear to be quite popular but is of no interest to me. I’m the last man on Earth who isn’t using a highspeed internet connection and downloading anything is time consuming to the point I don’t do it. I also don’t spend endless hours sitting at the computer with the time to spare to listen to a program. Again, I’m in the minority.
I don’t have any great revelations at the moment other than what the casual net fans and new TUF inspired fans want–in media content– is of little interest to me.
I just wrote two healthy replies to this thread, after my damned internet connection booted me of TWICE and lost every word!
In a nutshell, Zach could earn his money with his unique ideas and writing talent alone. Like HijoDelOso, I visit PuroresuPower more than any other site because I enjoy reading about the underbelly on the news stories. Zach provides us with a unique take on the puro and MMA businesses, and as a true wrestling and MMA fan I crave deeper information on the stories I am reading.
I feel that Zach needs to create a newsletter that covers both the puro and MMA industries, that covers stories and delves deeper than other publications that are too scared to. I enjoy reading articles regarding Yakuza involvement, money laundering, fraud, conspiracies, etc and Zach provides us with this information as standard. Combined with his writing abilities, his unique take on the businesses and his inside sources I’ll definitely spend some dollars on his newsletter. I’d like to see smaller promotions covered as well, and I’d be more than happy to cover these if required!
Good luck, Zach.
“In comparison, if I wrote articles about Fedor not being a human because he eats South Korean dog meat and wins all of his fights with one healthy right hand, I probably would get 5,000 people to care about it.â€
This sort of attitude has everything to do with a permissive media model that caters to the lowest common denominator in society. Most MMA fans are ignorant and unsophisticated just like the larger segments of the population they come from.
•What kind of content are you willing to pay for? I’m willing to pay for very little at this point due to the offensively poor quality and worthless content currently available on the Internet. Is this position open to revision? Yes. However, the MMA media has no idea about concepts such as value, journalism, ethics, adversarial review, or any other kind of consumer-based feedback.
•If you are willing to pay for written content, in kind of format do you want that content in? Or does specific formatting matter? Yes, I’m willing to pay for written content if it’s actually comparable to the level of the non-MMA material I currently read. However, it should be exceedingly clear that no such material exists at this point to my knowledge. As it relates to formatting, I have no interest in reading written interviews worked into long-winded pieces just to take up spare. Interviews are not a written medium. A person’s words and sentiments are best understood via sound recording or video recording, period. Also, I have zero interest in reading the plethora of post PPV garbage that masquerades under the guise of analysis on most sites.
•Does “blogging†carry a negative meaning to you when you read someone’s work? Do you equate a blogger as an “amateur†writer? No, blogging is not innately pejorative to me. However, the sure volume of bad blogs and mindless bloggers does color the behavior as less than credible much of the time. To me, the reason a person is blogging is the most important factor in determining my opinion in this situation. Blogs provide many useful advantages versus the constraints of traditional Media outlets.
•What does the larger MMA/wrestling audience want to see for content? Are people more interested in “dumbed-down†content or is the insider-hardball information the way to play it? Honestly considering what I read for work and pleasure outside MMA; anything in the combative sports genre is going be “dumbed-down†to a degree I would have difficulty explaining. I reject the idea that investigative journalism is somehow all of a sudden high-brow seminal intellectual content. Generally, large groups are incrediably stupid and without the ability to understand the dynamic of most current issues. So if that’s the group you’re trying to please, then you have already lost.
•How should insider-style hardball topics be covered to a large audience? Is there a rejection to this kind of material online? You should write insider-style hardball topics the best that you can and make appeals with facts, logic, and discursive analysis.