Thanks for voting BikePortland “Best Local Blog” – again

Hi John Liu, thanks for the comment. You raise some important points. Here are my responses:

I wish BP could extend beyond its niche of “urban cycling activism and politics”, to use a phrase I just made up.

There is a big world of cycling out there. Recreational cycling, sport cycling, bike racing, gravel riding, mountain biking, BMX, bike packing, cyclotourism, bicycle technology and products, vintage bicycle collecting, on and on.

I agree and have made this part of my approach from Day One. Thing is, this blog tends to focus on news, and the activism and politics is where the news is. Those other topics are awesome and I want to post about them more — but they generally don’t fall under information that is newsy and/or time-sensitive/urgent for people to know about.

BP does post on some of those other aspects of cycling, from time to time, but the current audience seems mostly in the range of disinterested to hostile. BP’s posts about Cycle Oregon typically get a handful of comments, if that. Reviews of new bicycles and products usually elicit bitter comments about expensive toys for rich people and how the commentor’s bike was a dumpster find and the best rain jacket is a Hefty bag over a wool sweater from the Goodwill box. Coverage of even local racing falls entirely flat. And given the frequent scorn expressed for lycra wearing roadies, I guess I see why there’s essentially no coverage of the sport recreational riding scene.

It’s a mistake to judge our audience primarily by what you see in the comments. Commenters make up a very very small portion of our audience. And remember that people generally tend to get riled up about things that bother them — and feel more motivated to yell and scream and make-known their frustrations when they are upset or emotional. That’s just human nature… and that’s one reason why internet comments can seem to “hostile”.

And about topics you see on BP… Keep in mind that I feel it’s important for me to share the things I have the most knowledge and insight about. When it comes to the politics and activism I feel I have a perspective and a body of knowledge that is very unique and very valuable to the community. I know a lot about racing and bike industry and recreational-oriented stuff too — but so do a lot of other people. My feeling is that good blogs have information that is distinct and that is available nowhere else. I can do a good job at the product and riding recaps and stuff… But I feel my main strength is in the activism/bike news/politics so that’s where my energy goes.

Speaking of which, I have limited energy and capacity. Which is why I want to build a team. I want a weekend editor to cover fun rides on the weekend. I want a product editor to do regular product reviews. I want an event editor to keep our calendar and event promotion top-notch. I want a news editor to help us delve deeper into big issues. But those things comes with costs. They make my business much more expensive and more complicated. I’m trying to find the right balance. It’s a process. I will get there – but I don’t have unlimited time to figure it out.

The reason I wish this is that I think the niche of urban cycling activism and politics, and the reader participation that it brings, is too narrow to support a financially successful blog. Blogs are supported by advertising. Advertisers want to sell things. To sell things, you have to reach an audience that buys those things. Judging by what posts get the most reader comments, and the content of comments, the current BP readership doesn’t seem like a good audience for most advertisers, or at least there’s lots of room for improvement.

You nailed this one! To some degree at least. If my motivation was to make money from advertisers, I would post a lot more about products and I would think about my audience as markets of consumers. But I don’t do that. I have never done that. I have a lot of respect for you and other readers. I value your time and your intelligence. My singular motivation has always been to inform and inspire — not based on what makes me the most money, but based on the information I think people want and need.

And that’s the tricky conundrum. I don’t put financial gain first; but I probably should. That’s where the magic is… when you can be motivated by money but in a way that adheres to your principles for quality and respect of the audience. After all, in this system you need money or else you can’t do the good work (btw this is very tricky for nonprofits too — and why they often mess up the balance between fundraising and actually doing the hard essential work it takes to change the world).

I’d be happy to be wrong, but when being the repeat winner of best blog in Portland, and the only Portland cycling blog that most people know of, isn’t leading to financial sustainability, it seems like something has to change.

Bingo! I couldn’t agree with this more. That’s why I put “successful” in quotes when people ask about the site. And yes, something does have to change. Still working on it. Overdue. I appreciate your support.