Goodbye memes, hello quality content…or is it? This week HubSpot published a great article/rant on the new changes to the Facebook algorithm. It looks like we will see fewer memes in our news feeds, but more quality articles. We have to confess, we do like a good meme – one that is well thought out and executed, admittedly there are only a few like this. And even though it seems like a wise step from Facebook, it really does raise some questions. Who really defines what quality content is, and what is worth being seen in the news feed. And by limiting this content, what will it actually be replaced by?

Why spying on the competition is necessary, by Econsultancy. We are slightly uncomfortable to confess that we do track our “competitors” in social media world and we are relieved that this week Econsultancy tells us to do exactly that – not only follow our competition, but also monitor their social media activity and monitor what they do and how they do it. What we like about this article is that it gives it to you straight – following and monitoring for the sake of it is pointless, but monitoring as part of a strategy and knowing exactly why you are doing it can be quite powerful.

Don’t blog chronologically…wait, what? That’s right – Econsultancy once again discards everything we thought we knew about good blogging practice. But it makes a lot of sense. The basic point is that your latest blog post isn’t necessarily your most relevant (unless it’s news, which is time-sensitive of course). There is a great comparison between book shops and retail stores and how similar the arrangement of their products is – the new at the front, the older at the back, yet never based on release date. The key is to think about the reader who arrives on your blog and wants to find a certain piece of information. How is the blog structured – chronologically or sensibly? How easy is it to find specific information? Is there a sticky post with a guide to the blog? Are there evergreen posts which fit readers’ needs whenever they arrive. It’s a broad subject we are yet to research more about.

Bloggers Block – it exits. And there is a way to conquer it, before it defeats you. Social Media Explorer gave us a few practical tips which we really liked. And it does make a difference when you read that perfection is also often a cause for bloggers block. Since we like spending a few days on an article and polishing it as much as we can before hitting publish, it’s a relief to read that some of it may end up not being perfect, and that’s okay.

Change the individual or redirect the tribe? That is the question Seth Godin poses on his blog this week and it includes a great piece of advice to direct marketers. It clearly shows the difference between trying to engage with an individual or with a whole group. And if you aim at the individual, you need to consider each one is different. But if you are bold enough to aim at changing the culture, then you need to change the conversation.