In my ongoing attempt to solicit feedback from readers, I would like to pose this question:
If Technoccult were to focus on only ONE area (in effect, stop being a “generalist” site), what ONE area would you want it to cover?
A question to help you answer that question: what do you find here that you don’t find elsewhere?
The reason for this question: The advice most bloggers give on being “successful” (whatever that means) is to have a particular focus and to become an expert on it. I think, however, at least part of whatever success that I’ve had is that I haven’t specialized in one particular topic. And I doubt that I ever will. However, I think really delving into a smaller number of areas might be a good thing. So what I’d really like to know is what you really value at this site – what you would least like to give up, if I were to get more focused.
(Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smoovey/3367530271/ / CC License)
February 24, 2010 at 1:14 am
I enjoy the current level of “generalism” this site presents…however, if I had to choose, I enjoy occult focused articles. The generalist type site is dominated by Disinfo, but they’ve been lacking in the magickal arts as of late. This could provide a nice niche in which to work. Think tech tools of occult workings, chaos magick, etc. The article on Hypersigils spiked my neurons for a good 72 hours straight!
February 24, 2010 at 1:30 am
Well Klintron as a regular reader I don’t feel like you have a broad focus at all. You’re just narrowly focused on the elsewhere-undefined category I easily identify as “Technoccult”
None of the entries ever seem very much out of place to me and I’ve almost never seen any of the external articles you post linked anywhere else.
If you were going to increase anything I would say that I have enjoyed the interviews you’ve done lately… and maybe I tend to enjoy the content about weird people more than the content about weird science.
February 24, 2010 at 1:58 am
I enjoy the ‘broadness’ of this website. It’s the only blog I read, for that reason. It gives me conversation starters, little tidbits of knowledge. As a kid in art school, I appreciate the artist alerts, and as a nerd I like the mad science and such.
I’d be disappointed if you specified down to one thing, because some stuff like politics doesn’t quite interest me/I don’t have the savvy to understand.
I think you’re successful. Screw those other bloggers. (:
February 24, 2010 at 3:38 am
Pretty much concur with Adam here.
February 24, 2010 at 5:20 am
Original content only. The most narrow of content, as you and only you can provide it. Fortunately you’re a clever fellow with interesting things to say.
February 24, 2010 at 5:52 am
I don’t think narrowing the thematic focus would be a good thing. A large part of what I enjoy about reading this blog is that it often covers a nice variety of tangents within a not-so-general interest category. If perhaps tightening the model seems necessary in order to up the numbers, perhaps a consistency of style or article type would be beneficial.
To explain; as your typical technoccult reader, I consider myself to be independently-minded enough to reach my own conclusions about whatever is being written about most of the time. The opinion pieces, (politics both global and American/conspiracy/crime/legal issues like privacy etc. etc.) tend to leave me somewhat uninterested, because I’m already more-or-less in agreement, politically speaking, as I imagine many readers to be as well.
What I do enjoy reading technoccult for are the bits of illumination of previously unknown concepts, people, phenomenon, history, etc. that prompt me to do more reading. I don’t come here to be informed necessarily, I come here to find out about neat stuff I didn’t know about.
I’ve always preferred how-to articles, things that prompt me investigate/research (profiles of artists & people and historical occult movements or belief systems, etc. etc.), and the like, and would love to see more.
Sorry for taking up so much space.
February 24, 2010 at 6:05 am
I follow this blog since not so much time,after i’ve found the link on a book about neopaganism and technopagansim.I liked so much at the first check that i fixed it as the browser start page. i like to fall in this bounch of weird interesting beautiful news every time i connect to the web and I like the great spectrum of areas you touch..personally i think you should continue on this way, you don’t need to change anything.
Keep up the good work.
.ar.t
February 24, 2010 at 6:11 am
look at the last 6 postings of links. none of them exhibit a significant connection to each other but they all have an appeal that recognizes the varied interests of our times. an overused word would be zeitgeist.
keep going with that, but add some thoughts of your own as well ;p
February 24, 2010 at 6:30 am
Agreeing with RC — I read T/O largely for the same reason I read Warren Ellis’s blog: you have a knack for posting intriguing info that spins me off into link-tracking tangetland. Some of my favorite posts — hypersigils, the interview with Kassiane, the brain being chaos-driven, blindsight, the modern abandoned cities, pretty much all the occult/magick articles, etc. I tend to skip some of the political pieces — I work at a Catholic uni. and I fear I can only repress so much fury before it inevitably results in unfortunate head-punches.
February 24, 2010 at 7:32 am
favs are magick, psychedelics, tranhumanism…i can take or leave the tech stuff and the robots, they show up everywhere.
February 24, 2010 at 2:45 pm
I like the state of play with Technoccult just as it is. Play being the operative word, various topics are juggled with abandon, never dull, always envigorating.
February 24, 2010 at 3:22 pm
i like the change back to technocult. no more changes are needed, your focus is just right. i think.
February 24, 2010 at 3:46 pm
I started reading this blog recently, and I like it the way it is.
February 24, 2010 at 3:53 pm
I enjoy it as a ‘general interest’ blog, but am interested to see others’ comments. (sorry- accidentally posted this comment to below story)
February 24, 2010 at 4:07 pm
The focus on things excluded from most other venues is narrow enough for me. As others have said, more interviews are good, but the ecclectic nature of Technoccult is what causes me to gather a larger portion of my daily information from here than I probably should. Besides…all this stuff IS related…somehow…isn’t it?
http://elise.com/quotes/a/heinlein_-_specialization_is_for_insects.php
February 24, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Thanks everyone to the responses and kind words. I very much doubt that I’ll ever focus on only one topic to the exclusion of all else, but I wouldn’t mind finding one area to become an “expert” in and giving that area more attention than others. But we’ll see.
The hypersigil article was quite popular, so I’ll probably be following up on that. Who would buy a book on the subject if I wrote it? (What if it was just an ebook?)
My current agenda is to continue posting interviews weekly (last week was a week off due to the album release), and other new content as it comes to me. Hopefully less political stuff =)
The gist I’m getting is that people would like to see: less politics, more stuff about consciousness and profiles of individual mutants (and more about the occult, but I’m not terribly interested in that, except where it intersects with other interests).
Trevor – original content on what subject?
Bill – I like the Heinlein quote, but I’m not sure Heinlein is a good person to be taking advice from. On the other hand, I like this quote from Bruce Sterling: “Well rounded people are smooth and dull. Become a thoroughly spiky person. Grow spikes from every angle.” http://w2.eff.org/Misc/Publications/Bruce_Sterling/comp_game_designers.article
February 24, 2010 at 9:28 pm
My belated two-cents is keep it general, please. I enjoy the site for it’s diversity. I’d certainly buy a copy of a book on hypersigils and if you want to start putting out original content, how about getting some in-house musicians? I’d buy a compliation album if you put one out in a few years.
The political content is fine but I find politic discourse to be very narrow at the minute so it’s often that I might agree or disagree with the thrust of an article but don’t think about whatever the subject is beyond the first read. Politics and futurist concerns combined (e.g how would we apply geo-engineering realistically) make for more stimulating reads to my mind.
Keep on keeping on though 😉
February 24, 2010 at 10:09 pm
Yes, I’d buy a book on hypersigils (e- or otherwise). As far as I’m concerned, the occult kind of IS your expert niche, if taken in the sense of exposing magick, mutants, and other Hidden Things, and giving us a reason to pay attention to them. It’s one of the things you do so very well.
February 24, 2010 at 10:10 pm
Klint sez: Bill – I like the Heinlein quote, but I’m not sure Heinlein is a good person to be taking advice from.
Well, like anyone else, not without a grain of salt…or two. Heinlen had some good ideas, but like many writers who keep on a long time, eventually delineated his own personal obsessions, some of which — notably incest — don’t seem all that universally desirable. …or was there some other Heinlen quirk you had in mind?
February 24, 2010 at 10:35 pm
I haven’t been reading this site for too long, but I would say that in the nature of it’s name, it should cover specifically things that deal with the technical side of the occult, which could also be put as the scientific backing to fringe ideas. This isn’t to say finding science that proves ufos exist or proves other occult or hidden truths, but rather finding technical facts that prove one aspect of these theories, and therefore put the theories themselves as well as mainstream “common sense” into question, so we can all be a little less sure of ourselves and figure out what’s going on around here. So yeah, the technology of the occult, the science of the newage, the fortean nitty-gritty. Dig.
February 25, 2010 at 1:40 am
I really enjoy the science stuff, especially the weird mind expanding science stuff, the sort of thing that’s sort of edgy.
But I enjoy pretty much everything on the site. I don’t mind it’s general focus, it means there is always something new that I might not have known about before.
February 25, 2010 at 7:11 am
I think your blog is already perfectly “focused” : you concentrate on a specific kind of culture where things like science news, magick and alternative lifestyles are deeply interrelated. Your blog is in my top 5 because this is a place where i can find info on genesis p-orridge one day and speculation of shadow biosphere the other. But, more importantly, it helps us to see a “big picture” about the things that really matter. Please don’t change anything!
February 25, 2010 at 5:05 pm
I come here to see the world filtered through your particular sensibility. Stay general.
February 26, 2010 at 1:00 am
Sysis says:………………………………….
:The Focus should be-:Immortal Life. Here on the Earth. Now.: