How To Turn Your Blog Into The Huffington Post

How To Turn Your Blog Into The Huffington Post Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall. Companies come and go. And, in recent history (I mean real recent – five years or less) we've seen pillars of the American print news industry fall faster then a congressman's approval rating. Of course, for everything that fails – there's always something, or someone, ready to take it's place. Such is the Huffington Post. Without giving you a complete and exhaustive history of this 21st style "newspaper", its important one understands what Adriana Huffington and her team is doing right…not what the New York Times or Washington Post is doing wrong. Even though the collapse of traditional print media has paved the way for newcomers such as the Huffington Post, Politico, Slate (I still consider them new since the majority of their audience consists of online users), these portals have been successful in – 1.) acquiring new followers, and, 2.) positioning themselves not only as substitutes for news but a large resource for commentary and discussion. This brings me to the good stuff: how can your site mimic (not necessarily copy) some of the successful attributes that make the Huffington Post an influential voice in news and politics? Narrative, Narrative, Narrative Did I mention narrative? Without turning this into a creative writing lecture, the tone you set for a blog / website will go far when determining what kind of user latches on. Picking a side matters. Whether you're right or wrong, we'll let history determine that. That's what they get paid to do. Your job is to represent your side with every available resource. Look at the three leading news networks on cable TV in the United States: Fox News, MSNBC & CNN. Fox News has traditionally pushed a conservative / right leaning agenda – MSNBC is branded as left / liberal – and CNN, to a fault, attempts to take a moderate / left approach. As options increase and groups become more segmented each of the top two networks have managed to develop a narrative and pursue it aggressively. At one time, CNN really was "The Most Trusted Name In News" (whether you believe it or not) they did a good job of selling this to their viewers. The problem is they stuck with their "we'll listen to both sides approach" while everyone continued to drift towards the left or right. If you read the Huffington Post on a regular basis, you'll its editors center / left leanings*. Again, I'll let you judge the ethical nature of this approach. However, everyone knows WHAT to expect upon arrival. When I visit Hawaii I expect to see beaches and palm trees. Anything different would be an utter letdown. Moral of the story: pick something and say it like you mean it. Let the above concept sink in, and I'll pick back up tomorrow on how, and why, you can turn your blog into the Huffington Post!