I have this general rule for most things --- books, movies, lectures, e-mails that is along the lines of I will listen or read about 1/2 of anything before I decide whether it is worth continuing. I do this all the time with business books (hint: you usually don't even need 1/2 of these to get the point). Now I am not saying that there is no 'value added' during the last few minutes of a speech or the last 100 pages of a book; but is it enough value for me to keep reading or listening...probably not in most cases. I guess it is a side effect of growing up in the MTV Generation where 25 minute sitcoms were the rule. However, I don't think I am rare in this and even now I have probably lost a lot of readers with this post...but think about this "rule" and how it applies to blogging. First, it is a great case for blogging; people want the point and may be your opinion, but don't need a piece of literature outlining every detail. Second, it reminds us to keep it short! Your blog post doesn't need to be long --- so many people get caught up on content and how they are going to come up with all this content...remember: relevant, engaging, frequent, content is key! So make your posts short, sweet and engaging...and avoid losing those inattentive potential clients!
