I’ve seen a trend in blogging. To be popular you have to write about popular items with enough meat to inform but short enough to not lose reader attention. You have to post with a medium frequency, enough to stay fresh but not so much as to overwhelm. You have to give a personal touch, but not so much that you lose credibility.

There is a spectrum of published content from micro-blogs, to blogs, to something closer to traditional publications. Let’s look at it graphically.

The spectrum goes from short posts to long posts; less research to more research; less formal to more formal; fast post rates to slow post rates. The sweet spot is right in the middle, it provides valuable and desired information frequently, in a short enough posts that do not deter user attention.

The center of the spectrum is where the popularity lies. It’s what the majority of the blogosphere is and you can see by the top Technorati blogs that it’s the frequently updated popular news blogs that dominate the top rankings. Bloggers who write traditional blog posts (meatier than micro-blogs but less formal than a researched article) gain the highest rankings and most page views.

To be a popular blogger you need to be in the middle of the spectrum. Keep balance… medium length posts, a mix of pop news and insights, clear writing but not stingy, concise but not boring, authoritative yet friendly.

There is a lot of competition in the blogosphere; but maintain a balance by posting original content promoted by pop subjects and you are on the right track.