Blog Posts Do Nothing To Solve Any of the World’s Problems

The con is to build a brand off the backs of others

When was the last time you read a blog post? Chances are it was the last time you surfed the web or even opened a social media account. Blogs have become an integral part of business marketing. Blogs help businesses build brand awareness and client engagement. While blogs help boost a company’s marketing efforts, they do nothing to solve any of the world’s problems.

The recent trend in online blogging of late seems to be a plethora of blog posts focusing on “doom porn.” You can’t miss the headlines, you know the type: “The Age of Extinction Is Here — Some of Us Just Don’t Know It Yet;” “Why the World Is Inching Closer to Nuclear War;” “Why the World Is Going Insane.” And on and on it goes.

Anything wrong with these posts per se? Absolutely not. But ask yourself, are they actually offering solutions that help solve the problems they discuss?

How many times does it need to be said?

“Likes [and claps] don’t save lives…

Raising awareness is like tweeting about a fire in your kitchen. Social network chatter, bumper stickers and blog posts do nothing to solve any problem. It’s the laziest form of activism in existence. People who do it are hoping that someone — anyone — else will do something about it, instead of them…

Many people hold the mistaken belief that the more people who are aware of a problem, the more likely it is that someone else will take action to help. And that’s exactly why raising awareness is not only lazy, do-nothing slacktivism, but it may be doing more harm than good…

And therein lies the problem with awareness campaigns: There’s rarely a call to action. It’s all awareness, no activity. Asking people to change their profile pictures or to use a hashtag campaign on social networks is feel-good fluff and false charity. People participate because it costs them nothing, and they get the feeling of having accomplished something…” — George Ouzounian

Before we dive into how blogs do nothing to solve any of the world’s problems, let’s first discuss what a blog’s purpose actually is.

What is a Blog?

According to the Oxford English dictionary, a blog is defined as the following:

noun

1. a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style.

verb

1. add new material to or regularly update a blog.

In the simplest of terms, a blog is a web page that a person or business can update on a regular basis. Within a blog, a person or business can share long-form articles that focus on a variety of topics that their target audience may want to read or learn about. A huge function of blogs is the inclusion of hyperlinks.

These links are embedded within the text and connect to internal or external web pages. Click here for an example. These types of links serve multiple purposes. Some of these purposes are listed below:

1. Enhance reading experience or understanding: This gives the reader additional background information on the topic at hand.
2. Build brand awareness: Gives the reader other brand-specific information.
3. Showcase business services or products: Gives the reader access to products and services that the business has for purchase.
4. Increase blog or website traffic: Increases the business’s online presence by additional blog or website “clicks.”

Blogs are very relevant for businesses in today’s day and age. They offer a fun and friendly way to connect to clients and customers. They also help promote the business online and keep it higher in the search results.

While blogging is huge in the marketing industry, blogs really do nothing to solve the world’s problems.

Now that we know what a blog is and how it functions, let’s discuss how a problem is actually solved.

Solving a Problem

Problems are made to be solved. We’re each faced with problems every day. Most of these problems require small choices and decisions. We automatically solve these simple daily problems without so much as a second thought. Types of these problems can include the following:

1. Sleep an extra 10 minutes or get up with the first alarm.
2. What to wear for the day.
3. What to cook for breakfast.
4. Which route to take to get to work.

Whether consciously or unconsciously done, a problem is solved by defining the problem, considering the various options, making a choice, and implementing a plan.

In order to solve larger-scale problems, a strategic step-by-step procedure is best utilized. This procedure will be familiar from your school-age days and is called the Scientific Method.

The Scientific Method

The Scientific Method is formally defined as, “a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.” The Scientific Method is a tried, true, and tested process for tackling any problem. There are 5 steps to the Scientific Method. These five steps are outlined below:

1. Identify the Problem

The first step is to identify the problem. You’ll need to collect data regarding the problem. This can be done in a variety of ways. Most people are accustomed to analyzing and answering questions such as who, what, where, when, how, why, and to what extent? Typically The Scientific Method works best with a problem that can be measured in some way.

2. Form a Hypothesis

The second step is to form a hypothesis. A hypothesis is defined as, “a proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.” While a hypothesis is usually an educated prediction, it’s not yet factual. A common format for a hypothesis is usually as follows: If we do X, then Y will happen. A hypothesis needs to be testable and measurable as it’s necessary to help solve the problem identified in step one.

3. Test the Hypothesis

The third step in the Scientific Method is to test the hypothesis. This is traditionally done by conducting an experiment. An experiment usually consists of an activity that’s created specifically to confirm (or not confirm) the hypothesis from step two. The severity or scale of the problem and hypothesis will determine how in-depth the experiment needs to be. The following tips should always be kept in mind.

❖ Ample time should be given to collect the data. Rushing an experiment can yield inaccurate results.

❖ A significant number of participants should be included to offer a statistically relevant representation of the whole.

❖ The experiment needs to be fair and objective. Otherwise, the results will be skewed.

4. Analyze the Data

The fourth step in the Scientific Method is to analyze the data. The results of the experiment in step three should either confirm the hypothesis as true or false. If the results don’t confirm the hypothesis, the experiment isn’t a failure. In actuality, a non-confirmed hypothesis may lead to bigger and better solutions.

5. Communicate the Results

The fifth and final step in the Scientific Method is to communicate the results. Regardless of whether your hypothesis was found to be true or false, it’s important to communicate the results.

This will allow those in your organization, circle, or others in the future to understand what problems have been solved and what problems still need further investigation. It may also pave the way for future experiments.

So we’ve established that a problem is solved by identifying the problem, forming a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, analyzing the data, and communicating the results. In the five-step process of the Scientific Method, did you notice any step that included discussing business features, brand awareness, or industry insider tips? The answer is a resounding no.

Blogs Do Nothing to Solve World Problems

Blogs aren’t action items. Blogs don’t create or predict potential educational explanations. Blogs don’t test theories. Blogs aren’t designed to build or test experiments or analyze their data. Blogs are specifically engineered to help a business or individual promote themselves and their products.

A blog post or blog feed in general is one entity’s thoughts, ideas, and services in one easy-to-access place. A blog doesn’t incorporate outside data and doesn’t allow for measurable results. Blogs can offer advice, feedback, and opinions from the author on world problems. For example, let’s think about the world’s problem of global warming.

“Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the earth’s surface.”

Does a blog post have the ability to discuss global warming or give an author’s opinion on the matter? Yes, 100% yes.

Does a blog post have the ability to stop CO2 from collecting in the atmosphere or stop the absorption of solar radiation? The answer is no. Therefore a blog doesn’t have the ability to solve the problem of global warming.

What Is the Real Point of Blogs?

Bestselling author and marketing strategist and aficionado Ryan Holiday sums up the seedy underbelly of digital culture and the blogosphere perfectly:

“…it is a world of many hustlers, and you are the mark. The con is to build a brand off the back of others…

Every decision a publisher makes is ruled by one dictum: traffic by any means…

Each blog is its own mini-Ponzi scheme, for which traffic growth is more important than solid financials, brand recognition more important than trust, and scale more important than business sense…

What thrives online is not the writing that reflects anything close to the reality in which you and I live. Nor does it allow for the kind of change that will create the world we wish to live in…

A click is a click and a pageview is a pageview. A blogger doesn’t care how they get it. Their bosses don’t care. They just want it…

The headline is there to get you to view the article, end of story. Whether you get anything out of it after is irrelevant — the click already happened…

The question is not “Was this headline accurate?” but “Was it clicked more than the others?” The headlines must work for the publisher, not the reader…

Everything you consume online has been “optimized” to make you dependent on it. Content is engineered to be clicked, glanced at, or found — like a trap designed to bait, distract, and capture you. Blogs are out to game you — to steal your time from you and sell it to advertisers — and they do this every day…

There is no practical purpose in our lives for most of what blogs produce other than distraction.” — Ryan Holiday

While blogs have a necessary part in technology and communication, they do nothing to actually solve any of the world’s problems.

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