gimme inspiration (even if it is a list)
I was reading Paul Scrivens’ article titled Smashing Magazine Killed The Community a couple of days ago and for the first time in a veeeeeeeeeery long while a blog entry had such a strong impact in my mind. I read it on Wednesday and re-read it on Thursday and then again today.
In the last couple of years I have rarely been captivated by something enough to read it more than once. To be honest in the last couple of years I have rarely been captivated enough to read something in full altogether. I have found myself reading fewer and fewer blogs and writing even less myself. People for a very long while blamed twitter for the decline of read-worthy content but it never quite rang true to me. And then bang! Scrivs hits the nail on the head.
I look on my igoogle pages daily and find myself less and less inclined to actually click on links. It’s more often than not 50 best of this and 20 best of the other. Eye kandy, eye kandy and more eye kandy. Don’t get me wrong I love a beautifully crafted site as much as the next geek, but I’ve gotten fed up with the whole phenomenon. For someone like me who is addicted to lists to say this it might sound like an oxymoron. But give me lists that will engage me. Give me a list of 10 ten applications you can’t live without and why they change your life for the better and I will gladly read it with an open mind. Don’t give me 100×100px screenies that another 10 sites have duplicated in the last week. It’s just … noise. And stats whoring.
A lot of the “greats” which I fanatically read, say 3 years ago, because they were always a source of knowledge and inspiration for me, I have now stopped reading. They might still be in my reader but I will very rarely read them. They stopped giving me food for thought and sparking that fire in me to want to push myself even further. These days a readme file on github often provides more inspiration and opens possibilities in my mind. The jQuery documentation too. As a rule of thumb the majority of blogs out there seem to be turning into little spots for self promotion. Which is not all that bad when one has actually something to say that is relevant.
We all want to be famous on the internets. It’s easy and with a little bit of work our 15’ of fame can be easily achieved. The current state of affairs is not Smashing Mag’s or twitter’s or any other specific site’s fault. It’s mine, yours and Scriv’s [ofc]. We stopped producing engaging content. Content that we would read again in the future and be proud of our own selves. A lot of prolific and engaging writers stopped writing as much as they did. I have done so myself. The conclusion I’ve reached in my case is the fact that engaging content that will spark ideas for blogs is not there anymore.
We are reaching stale mate and not just design wise. Design follows “trends” so when I see 10 similar looking sites I’m not that fussed. I know how difficult it is to be ground breaking with every site design, especially when the person who is footing the bill wants “a site that looks like so and so”. Be what is going on with the things we produce in our own time, for our peers and more importantly ourselves?! Why don’t we push our limits? Why don’t we experiment? Why do we rehash the same things over and over again? And by we I really do mean we as I find myself doing the same thing and following the same cliches.
I’m sorry if this entry feels like a rehash of Scrivs’ article but these are the thoughts it provoked in me. And I’m happy that something managed to inspire me and make me think! Thanks Scrivs!
Comments
Not sure why I am now just coming across this entry, but I’m glad it made you think some. You are right it is all of our faults for letting the situation in regards to design content get like this and I am definitely trying my best to change that.
It isn’t easy, but it is fun. Let’s continue to pushing ourselves and helping to make sure the great content gets pushed to the top and over time things can be exactly how we want them.
I believe that engaging content (or the lack of it) is one of the most significant reasons for the success of any online project.
Commenting here and there, posting this or that, writing a comment in code these are not mere interactions with a lifeless machines on the contrary there are social (this word again) action. Affecting (even slightly) other people and there view for the world.
Are we the witnesses of a “creative stalemate”? I cannot be the judge of on the other hand history (yes the same one that repeats as a farse) is teaching us that there is calmness before the storm.
Just my two pennies worth.