Back in the 1990's (mostly), the TV sitcom "Seinfeld" was often described as "A Show About Nothing."
A picture of nothing...
The show ran for a total of nine seasons and became one of the most popular and recognizable shows of its era, for many people defining sitcoms and TV of the 1990's.
A commentary about Seinfeld showed up as one of those sidebar "suggested reading" links on some web page I was looking at this morning, and it got me to thinking about writing and personal blogging.
What is it that we actually relate the most to? What is it that makes certain blogs so popular?
Of course, the show Seinfeld wasn't really about "nothing," it was about life and the daily trivialities we all deal with but don't really consider "important" in the greater sense of life... and yet they permeate everything we do.
Which made me think about the way many of the most interesting and enjoyable blogs I read tend to also be about "nothing."
Why is that?
I believe we spend so much time being constantly bombarded with "information" we have to deal with — because it's about "something" — that reading about the daily nothing of people's lives offers a welcome respite from the grind.
I've often come across fairly creative people who "don't want to" keep blogs — or, at least, don't want to share anything personal — because they consider their lives far too "boring" to write about.
Be that as it may, it also tends to hold true that in the minutiae of our daily lives we find the very things that are the most relatable to the greatest number of people.
Consider this: We might be momentarily "wow'ed" by your description of discovering a previously unknown molecule, but we can all relate to the person having a bitch session because they couldn't find a single pair of clean socks without a hole in them.
As such, the mundane actually becomes interesting... because we look at it and think "YEAH! THAT!"
An unexpected shove from a weird pandemic notwithstanding, we are spending more and more of our lives engaging with each other — and the broader world — through the virtual space.
As such, the entire character of the Internet has gradually changed from being a giant repository of information to increasingly being a reflection of people and lives. We live in the era of the social web.
When I look at my content consumption habits, I know that when I am looking for a piece of information I simply "get it and go" but the content I actually engage with and enjoy reading is 90% about personal stories and lives, not just "information."
To be honest — when offered a choice — I'd rather look at a personal experience someone had with a product like a laptop than simply read a list of factual data about it. And I don't think I'm alone in that!
And so, perhaps we can apply the "Seinfeld Principle" to our blogs as well, keeping in mind that the actual flavor and color of life tends to come from people's lives and experiences, not just from cold hard facts.
There's nothing wrong with having "A Blog About Nothing." In fact it might become quite successful, and you might have a really good time creating it!
Thanks for reading, and have a great remainder of your day!
How about YOU? Do you care more about "information" or "people," in terms of what you do online? Or is there another category (work, entertainment) that's more important? Do you enjoy content about everyday lives? Are/were you a "Seinfeld" fan? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 20211012 11:48 PDT
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