Being an innovator can be difficult, you’re in a tight niche with a few people you can relate to and you tend to be an ambassador for the product or service you champion.
At first it can seem great as early adopters are slowly starting to agree with your choice, it reaffirms what you thought all along.
To begin with you are a little unsure of the early majority that come along, but by the time the technology starts to become embraced by the late majority it’s time to look for a new innovation.
When the technology becomes main stream you lose interest, it’s no longer the quirky, tight knit community that you and a few other savvy users used to love so much, but a mainstream product being abused by the masses. By the time your parents start to use the technology (the laggards) you know it’s time to move on to something new and you probably already have.
Instagram Innovators
It happened recently with Instagram. Innovators and early adopters disillusioned with the product they once championed as the majority begin to use the product. It’s a well trodden phenomenon that happens with the diffusion of innovations. There is a sense that the work of early adopters was somehow superior and now being swamped by the noise being made by the masses.
This cycle is nothing new it’s something that happens to most successful products and platforms.
Innovators and Early adopters
For me, it was strikingly similar to that of the travel blogging community where I was a innovator or early adopter. At the time blogging wasn’t particularly cool and there certainly wasn’t any financial gain or blog trips to be invited on. People did it to innovate, to try something new, to experiment, we didn’t really know if anyone would even read it. Now as travel blogging is seemingly beyond the early adopter phase and the motivations for blogging have radically changed.
I’m sometimes found boring people to death at blogging events with tales of how it used to be when I first started out (2006 and 2007 with TravMonkey.com). Although this really isn’t particularly early.
At times I’ve been disillusioned with the travel blogging landscape changing so much. Bloggers following bloggers, producing the same old articles that have been produced numerous times before. It would be easy to have given up a long time ago but I believe in evolving, innovating and creating beyond that of a standard blog post is the way to be innovative. Blogging is changing.
So where are we in this curve?
I think travel blogging is crossing the early adopter to early majority stage in the cycle where innovators and true early adopters are held up as leaders.
Obsession with early adopters
Obviously as an innovator/early adopter they have more experience and a head start in terms of content, domain authority and following.
But why is there so much kudos around innovators and early adopters? Surely all that matters is the quality of what you produce in the here and now?
Yet many new travel bloggers hang on every word that those who are innovators and early adopters. Not only that but many make money off the fact that they are early adopters.
A week ago I saw first hand how comparisons to other bloggers and top bloggers are a bit of an obsession for the travel blogger. I publish a list of top travel sites in Google and made the mistake of mentioning it on a travel blogging group on Facebook. The thread and my inbox grew with requests to be included in the monthly list. Whilst a few people highlighted that bloggers should concentrate on creating something useful rather than obsessing over other bloggers most bloggers just wanted to get their request in.
For me, this is stifling. It’s killing creativity and innovation in that new bloggers copy what those did before them, no one seems to be innovating, producing something new and unique. Every day I see an article that’s been written ten times before or a new photo post, because one of the innovators/early adopters they follow so studiously do exactly that.
It’s time to innovate again
I spoke to a few bloggers in an attempt to find recent examples of an article, resource or anything from a few travel bloggers that they had seen that had that “wow” factor. Neither of the them could provide any examples. For me this spoke volumes.
Emulating those innovators and early adopters is likely to bring you limited success because every other travel blogger is doing the same. It’s a saturated market where you increasingly need something different to stand out.
Take note of what innovators and early adopters did to achieve success but it’s too late to replicate and expect to succeed, the market is saturated.
Think for yourself; create something of real value because as blogging evolves and changes, those people who will be successful are the ones that take the risk. These innovative risk takers may even leave those innovators/early adopters of the travel blogging world behind if they themselves don’t adapt to the change. So stop obsessing and start thinking. Don’t follow the herd, produce something brilliant and be a true innovator.
Photo by MrB-MMX
Brilliant advice Paul. I guess it takes a lot of creativity to be one of the innovators and spot something with potential but it really pays off. It’s an easy option to copy others and if there were so many travel bloggers it might not be so bad but there are literally thousands of bloggers doing the same thing now.
While it isn’t good to just regurgitate the same thing, I think it is important to look at other bloggers for inspiration. Checking out lots of blogs can sometimes spark an idea for something new.
I find the most interesting blogs are those that aren’t written by early adopters. They’ve become so far removed from the excitement of their travels, and sharing their experiences, that they tend to become preachy, systematic in their approach and quite obviously in it for the money.
The ones that I truly enjoy reading are those who are on the path to growing their blog, and who don’t follow the trends in blogging. Yes, they may use current technology to help illustrate their stories (after all a picture/video is worth more than 1,000 words at times). What’s more interesting is how they vary their content – from photo essays, to video clips, just one photo, an interview, #FollowFriday post, “a day in the life of…”, etc.
The content you develop is more important than how you package it. And this is where true creativity is required.
Hi Monica, thanks for the positive comment.
I really think that things are changing quite quick and at some point you will need something a little bit special to be relevant. It is hard to be innovative and creative but I think we should all strive to push the boundaries of blogging even if that is far beyond that of a blog post.
I really enjoyed your article Paul (hence the comment as I usually don’t!). The concepts of early adopter/innovator is one that, as you know, has been around a long time in business and is applicable in all walks of life. If we forever tries to innovate and keep ahead of the game it can become exhausting and a destroyer of creativity. The consumer is always looking for the new and different but there is a strong place for those who focus on one area and keep at it. I came into travel blogging because of a love of travel and writing. keeping up with the latest social media innovations is exhausting and can be counter-productive.
There will always be a place for those who write well about travel and adapting to change, as you say, is important, but so is quality of output and a remembrance of the reader … I enjoyed your article as a thought-provoking and timely reminder of what really matters in any type of communication – writing something that takes the reader to a new place. Thank you.
Zoë
Well, I like to think I have differentiated myself from any other travel bloggers out there.
My blog focuses on travelling the world in search of the best chocolate. And what a tasty ride it has been (and continues to be!)
Great fodder for my upcoming book on the same topic.
Thanks for the post. It was thought-provoking and reaffirming.
Love the post Paul. I should be more innovative and one of the ways in which I try to do this is by posting personal things.
Let’s say I post about the time I went to xyz, others may have been to xyz, others may have written about xyz, but it’s unlikely they will have experienced it in the exact same way whether that in a sensory sense or otherwise. Hopefully, that is where bloggers can all be different.
Well put. 🙂
There’s the problem of sheer numbers. There’s just *so many* travel bloggers now, and that means there’s a ton of new ones at any one time. And everyone has that learning curve that they have to go through, to understand what everyone else is doing before they jump off and do their own thing – and part of that learning process seems to be posting on the same old topics again and again. Is it the best way to learn the ropes? I don’t know.
But yes, the jumping-off. That’s a problem if there are structures or pressures in place to discourage people from doing that. Pressure to comply & imitate, and not innovate. Peer pressure strong enough to stifle creativity. Is that happening? I think there’s a real danger. There was a panel session at TBU Umbria where the audience was encouraged to fling ideas at the panel to see what happened. On a wider scale, that’d be great to see. Lots of brainstorming and synergy and goofing off wildly.
I don’t think there has to be a conflict between specializing + doing what you’re good at, and innovating. In fact, I think getting that balance right is a requirement for staying relevant and visible. It also keeps everything fresh for publishers and readers alike. Playing around a little bit keeps you happy as well as cutting edge. Agreed, too much, as Zoe says, is as bad as too little (a bit like the “lifehacking disease” I saw someone writing about earlier this week), but it’s still a component of success.
I think there are people innovating – but I worry that there isn’t a wider message of “you should play with the rules”. (The fact that there are any “rules” to play with is a bit worrying in itself).
The people who are now Big Things online – they partly got to where they are today by playing around until they found something that worked for them on all sorts of levels.
Hi Margaret, Thanks for your comment.
I agree that sometimes people who are excited about their topic and really want to share those experiences can be very interesting blogs.
Overall I’m talking about bloggers moving beyond the simple blog post. That doesn’t mean that everyone should but I think technology is allowing us to produce far more than just a online written diary.
Hi Zoe,
Great to read your comment here! Not sure how to take that though… do you hate all my other posts?! 😀
It definitely can be exhausting trying to constantly innovate, but I think it’s important that travel blogger look outside the bubble to produce real value above and beyond that of a blog post that is targeted (knowingly or unknowingly) at the travel blogging audience.
Hi Doreen,
Wow chocolate? Sounds like an awesome niche! I think specialising in a niche is particularly helpful and if you love it too… then perfect!
Hi Rich,
I think you can build a very strong audience that way, producing well written personal stories and accounts. Having said that I don’t think many blogs do it well enough and they do tend to emulate those that were there first. For those people I think they should be brainstorming new ideas and thinking more in the sense of being a broadcaster rather than simply a blogger.
There will be opportunities to be successful in the future but it’s less like if you don’t look outside the bubble, don’t experiment with new things and don’t think for yourself.
Hi Mike,
Great comment (could be a blog post in itself!)! I agree with a lot of what you are saying, very well put.
As you say, I definitely agree that innovating to some degree is necessary long term to remain relevant.
The TBU brainstroming session sounds like it was fun and interesting. Love the idea, they should use it again!
I think you can do what you are good at whilst innovating, trying new things… it’s not always going to work every time but when it does the benefits are likely to be much larger than just doing the same thing over and over.
Thanks,
Sorry – meant I don’t usually comment on many posts – not yours in particular! I know as bloggers we are supposed to, but I really don’t have time often so only do it when a piece really inspires me to write. As yours did 🙂
Thanks Zoe, I knew what you meant! 🙂
I also know how you feel, I don’t have that much time to comment either.