“It was on a blog, so I don’t know if it’s actually true…”
So said Rush Limbaugh last week.
I’m not knocking Rush Limbaugh here. I’m trying to understand what this says about bloggers and the new media in which they operate.
As a blogger this statement took me aback for a while. Considering that I blog about mortgages in particular (real estate in general), credibility is very important to my success. However, while my blog in and of itself my be reliable, factual and very informative, the quality of other blogs has an impact on my efforts. After all, if Visitor Doe doesn’t trust the information on blogs, then I’m fighting an uphill battle to gain trust on my blog. That is why all serious bloggers need to take their credibility and reputation seriously.
I think blog credibility varies by industry. In a purely opinion driven field like politics creditably is as good as your opinion. However, in an industry like ours, then opinion is not the driving factor. Facts, analysis, research all play into the credibility of a blog.
We all know that content is king. If you break it down a bit, credibility drives the quality of your content. And it is my belief that credibility is really what allows you to build the relationships you need to increase your business. I have never responded to people whom I don’t find credible and I don’t expect my readers to do anything differently.
I used to think blogging was just about me and my opinions. However, as I have interacted with the visitors to my blog the more I realize it’s really about credibility. The posts and articles that bring the most response are those that I spend time researching and analyzing. To date my opinion and speculation hasn’t paid the bills.
To follow up, the blogger in question that Rush mentioned was credible. I just wish the credibility of the information wasn’t instantly questioned just because it came from a blog.
