Neil Kramer of Citizen of the Month has been pondering the question of niches lately both on his blog and Twitter. It’s also been a topic among my group of Unsettled Bloggers at Studio 30+. To niche or not to niche – that is the question.
Me – as a person – cannot be niched. I just can’t. Years ago, shit what am I saying decades ago, I was hired as administrator for a funky and very indie theater company. Among the playwrights and actors I frequented I was viewed as the administrator (best if pronounced with a British accent). The str8 one. Although I had zero qualifications to do any kind of accounting whatsoever, they still perceived me as the administrator (best if pronounced with a British accent, things haven’t changed). But, among my friends outside my professional network, I was viewed as the artist. The freak. Some even called me Granola.
Sidenote: Among French-Canadians, Granola is the term referring to a hippy flower child and peace loving creature. All positive right? Yet to my friends (lawyers, accountants, MBA holders) being Granola is not what it’s all cracked up to be.
But to me, what was I? I’ve always been rather athletic and sporty, but compared to my sister, the marathon runner & triathlete: I’m a slug. I have a Bachelor’s degree. Kind of. I have a piece of paper with a beautiful stamp on it. Yet I achieved this beautiful degree with approximately one full year of courses. Compared to my true circle of friends who all hold MBA’s PhD’s and more letters than my name holds, I’m just a nitwit.
I live on a boat, but can I consider myself a sailor when I don’t know the difference between the bow, the stern, the starboard and the port side? Then again, I could tell you a good bottle of Port when I see one.
When I saw the Mini-Wheat commercial for the first time it was like an illumination. Where most people saw a cute little Mini-Wheat on stage screaming for a limo I saw light. Golden light. Beyond the golden light was the heavenly chant of a complete orchestra of angels. “What am I? Sweet and tasty or good and healthy?”
I am the Mini-Wheat! I am that Mini-Wheat! My blog cannot be described as a humor blog, there’s too much creativy-artsy-fartsy writing on it. My blog cannot be described as a mom blog, I’m not a mom. I’m not a how-to blog, I’m not a info on the arts scene or a travel blog. I’m certainly not a financial blog although I could go on and on about how to eliminate all debt and live without bills…
When I really try hard at finding ONE word, one single word that best describes me and my cyber house rules all I can come up with is this: Fun. Is that a niche? When I sign up to a variety of online blogging communities, fun is never an option. Now who in their right mind can create a community where fun is not an option?
I also have another word for myself. But I may be getting carried away: Rad. Yeah. I want to be rad. Or better yet, radilicious!
What is your word? And should I dare ask – what word would you give me & my cyber house rules?
i don’t have a niche either unless chaos is one as for your blog on word to describe it Brilliant
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You’re not chaos! It almost sounds cool though, like a Fight Club thing – Becca from project Chaos. We do not talk about project Chaos…
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The best I can narrow myself to is ‘a humor blog with a literary twist’. I could technically fill in “Mom blog” and point to kiddie pics. But seriously. I am not a mommy blogger. There’s a certain sentimentality to what Mom-blogs offer that I just lack.
But really, the problem is that the word ‘literary’ scares people. It gives all these business-oriented people heebie-jeebies. You don’t have to have a fancy degree to be an intellectual. Your material always makes my brain work. And that says ‘intellect’ to me. (I consider both of my Master’s degrees to be perfect wastes of time. Yes really.) So I would say your blog is an intellectual blog. But try to find that on a fucking SEO form. Try to define that for a bingo box.
“My readers are fun-loving, well educated consumers. They often analyze content before buying and require proof before offering commitment. This is an area ripe for development, because, to date, few advertisers have targeted this demographic…”
Shit. That started out sounding fucking hilarious, but it suddenly felt exactly right.
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You sound like a video on eHarmony…. 🙂
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And I suddenly realized — how many boat bloggers are there? I think your niche is debt free life on a boat. You are living many people’s dream right now!
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fun is a good niche…i think i am a lot more niche-able than i used to be…kinda sucks…i like being niche-less…
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Dude. You’re totally in a niche. A niche of friggin amazing writers!!!
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I think rad fits PERFECTLY for your word! And screw niches, just have fun 🙂
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I was totally hoping you’d come here and say that. Ask Leo, he’ll tell you I was saying that last night! 😉
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I think you were right when you said one of us was an alternate reality/Bizarro clone of the other. I also think we should work on starting that “Fun” blog niche STAT.
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But if you’re my Bizarro, would that make you anti-fun? Funny, you look more like uncle-fun! Hahaha! I kill myself!
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Interesting that you talk about this after our FB conversation last night. You wanna be “Fun” and “Radilicious,” go right ahead! Hell, I’ll even create a “Fun Blog” category on S30P just for you. How’s that?
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DO IT!!!!! 0_o
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I love your blog for the very reason that it doesn’t fit a niche. I love coming here and finding different things.
I like to think the word for my blog is “Random” Rarely is two posts the same. Very much a reflection of me, I like to think
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Random. Yes. Your blog is actually similar to mine though isn’t it?
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I actually think that too.
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Why niche yourself at all? It’s just a label. Just be whatever you want to be; that’s the beauty of blogging.
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It’s a recurring thing… networks, and everything. I’m not saying I need to niche myself but it’s a thing you can’t seem to avoid!
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I dunno. I’m still kinda digging “Mini-Wheat”. 🙂 Sounds nutritious yet fun, like a salad with a prize at the bottom…
🙂
Pearl
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Actually… Mini-Wheat resonated so much with me that I chose it as my clown name. Mini-Wheat.
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I don’t get the need for a niche unless you’re going after some kind of monetary compensation. I view blogging as a hobby I enjoy and do on my own terms. I’m not about to start catering it to a certain audience to make money out of it. That would suck all the fun out of it. Geez. That’s what I do at work.
That’s my way of saying, screw the niches.
P.S. Granola has the same meaning in the U.S.
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Wooo! “Niche-slapped!”
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I did not know that… about the Granola term. Remember the macrame owls?
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You said it! I can relate. I don’t like following rules, in my life or on my blog.
I like to think I’m niche-less, uncategorized or that my blog has a theme NOT. My whole life I’ve been pretty happy being a square peg, cuz who knows how deep those round holes are, like ruts you can’t get out of.
Sail on!
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I would be extremely dissapointed with myself if there were ever a niche I fit comfortably into. Life is so much more than that. Human life is so much more than that. I’m a high school drop out who is homeschooling her kids. I’m a heathen born catholic baptized baptist. I’m a runner, a weightlifter, a yogi, yet I eat meat, chocolate, and eschew anything green. I’m 4’6″ yet I am consistently the most visible person in any room I’m in, and in some rooms I’m not. Nope. Folks like you and me, the only niche we have is freedom.
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greetings from the land of the nicheless . 🙂
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I’ve recently found out we’re considered as hybrid bloggers. I like that. Like it a lot!
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hahaha… hybrid, huh? well, I guess I’ve been called worse. LOL
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niche blogs are limited. the writers of niche blogs tend to run out of material and eventually write a post in which they ask people what they should write about. here’s what i mean:
http://brainsnorts.com/2012/09/29/what-to-write-about/
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I find I’m never drawn into a niche blog. But it’s often a struggle when asked to describe it. In a word. A word. I could never describe myself in A word. I’ll check out your link!
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