The Malcolm McLaren Approach to Business Blogging

I‘m a couple of years too young to have experienced the heyday of punk rock, but I was moved to hear of the death of Malcolm McLaren this week, one of punk rock’s greatest pioneering spirits.

For all its opposition to mainstream culture, anti-authoritarianism and anti-capitalist ideology, I think that those of us involved in content creation and business blogging could occasionally benefit from approaching business blogs with a bit of punk attitude.

So in honour of Malcolm McLaren’s passing this week, here’s: A Punk Guide to Business Blogging.

DIY

Small business just starting out? Don’t be intimidated by the big business blogs out there. You can do it yourself. Define your niche, get an install of WordPress fired up, customize a great theme like Thesis and away you go. Make it happen.

Rebel

Whether you’re new to business blogging or have an established site, why not think about what you can do differently?

There’s a plethora of blogs out there that all sound the same, look the same and ultimately leave readers feeling the same.

One of the great things Malcolm McLaren did was stick the proverbial two fingers up at the establishment and the standard way of doing things.

How is your blog rebelling? Are you getting a reaction? Are people talking about you?

Be individual

Being yourself is essential. Don’t try to be another Chris Brogan or Seth Godin. And definitely don’t try to mirror your brand on something else. Look at your strengths and what makes your take on your industry different and play to them.

Give readers of your company blog a different flavour to the rest of blogosphere. Although some won’t like what you’re doing, you may well find there’s an audience who’ve been looking for a voice like yours.

Celebrate the freedom of thought

One of the great things about the punk movement was the way bands, artists, poets and magazines broke the rules and tackled the topics they wanted to cover. In any way that they wanted to cover it.

Mashups aren’t just the domain of Web 2.0. Punks were mashing up all kinds of eclectic diversity with their creativity.

Ask yourself: what topics interest you? What way do you want to express yourself. Embrace the freedom of thought like a true punk and dare to be different.

Participate

One of the greatest things about punk was that it encouraged anyone to get involved. Suddenly it was alright for anyone to get on stage, sing and shout – even if you couldn’t play more than four chords! The emphasis was on taking part.

Reject tradition and authority

If you’re just starting a business blog, you’re not likely to be as restricted by traditional modes of blogging as if you’ve been going a while.

Instead of dwelling on what probloggers or some of the so-called experts say about how best to blog, you might find a unique voice, a special way of telling your story by constructing posts differently to the bog standard How-To lists. If you’re unsure of trying this out in public, you can always practice writing a few posts before you publish them.

Mix genres

Some of the best B2B and B2C bloggers are already mixing-up the content with blogs, vlogs, and podcasts.

Stylistic eclecticism was one of the legacies of punk and you can see it in Malcolm McLaren’s 1983 single “Double Dutch”

Don’t rest easy. Be prepared to mix genres and styles to find your unique business blogging style.

Work with Intense Energy

I think the final thing any blogger could take from McLaren’s legacy is to work with incredible energy. McLaren, a performer, impresario, self-publicist and of course manager of the Sex Pistols, kept himself incredibly busy and produced a massive body of work. When things didn’t work out he moved on to the next project with seemingly even more relish.

Are you bringing the same energy and creative intensity to your blog? Don’t just sit back worrying, get blogging and see what you can do.

If McLaren and the punks had stayed in their bedrooms, hiding away, we’d never have had the cultural kick up the ass the whole movement gave us.