The Feature Publishing Platforms Won't Give You

Little has changed in the blogosphere in the last thirty years. The creators of the 21st century still stick to the same routine that Justin Hall established when he started the first blog in 1994.

Creators write their stories, and when they are done, they hit “publish,” which closes the story for them. From then on, it’s all up to the readers, and there’s little interaction between the two sides of the playing field.

The web 2.0 blogging closed-circuit

It’s a two-step process (writing vs. reading), with both parts working in a closed loop.

The pivotal moment in the blogosphere happened on August 23, 1999. Twenty-three years ago, Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan launched Blogger, the world’s first publishing platform.

Blogger introduced the social aspect of online writing and was the first step in democratizing online publishing by giving people without much technical knowledge, the ability to create their own blogs. Thus changing the way we communicate.

Blogger was primarily used as a tool for creating and publishing articles online. It encouraged millions to begin engaging online through their writing.

Welcome to the new (virtual) reality

The world has changed, and the internet has changed with it. People don’t just want to read about other people’s lives. They want to experience it vividly.

Social media is no longer just about bringing people closer together. Every platform is trying to find a new and more interactive way to help us virtually connect and engage at a deeper relational level.

From Meta to Twitter, Linkedin to TikTok, every product team is currently focusing on ways to facilitate interaction between the content creator and the consumer.

So what’s the one thing every publishing platform lacks?

Yes, you've guessed it by now.

A virtual window to your stories

It is a window not simply into the writer’s life but a truly immersive experience of how the story unfolds from inception.

I’m not thinking about video-based content like what you would see in vlogs. I’m referring to a live stream feature that lets creators share the platform’s built-in story editor with the community in real-time.

The new feature would be as much about the writing process as how the story unfolds. Ultimately, it would help eliminate some of the “circuit breakers” between readers and their favorite authors.

I know this represents a substantial leap over where we are today. Developers are still figuring out how to include audio-based elements like podcasts into our platforms at this time.

However, I like to push the barriers and look for more disruptive ways to rock the system. We must think ahead of the current Web 2.0 tunnel vision and embrace a genuinely Web3 perspective.

I’m confident this relational feature would be a huge step forward in making the writing experience more immersive and interactive for authors and their audiences.

Revolutionizing the writer’s life

As an author, I know how difficult it is to write a story. The process is often lonely and isolating.

If you’re used to writing fiction, you can probably relate. You’re in your head, listening to your characters talk for hours.

It can be hard to remember that other people care about what you’re doing; it’s easy to feel like no one cares about the story but you.

You wouldn’t write for a blank canvas anymore, relying only on your inspiration and what you think your audience wants to know.

Imagine having the ability to open a live chat with your audience and start a conversation at any point.

You could share the experience with your editor, a close friend, a group of followers, or even the entire community. Listen to their feedback and perhaps revise it after the fact before moving on to the next section of your story.

This way, readers will feel like they’re sitting next to the author and partaking in the creative process.

The age of live-streaming

It’s a common element in the writing process to want feedback on what you’ve written.

Since the turn of the millennium, however, little has happened regarding how writers can engage readers in the storytelling process and get feedback so they can build on that foundation.

Many writing platforms, such as Wattpad or Quora, have focused on the social aspect of writing. Seeking feedback is also why successful writers host more readings and Q&A sessions.

However, no blogging platform provides feedback in real-time.

There are positives to everything, even a pandemic of unprecedented proportions. I’ve often discussed how COVID-19 became the ultimate loneliness pandemic.

Social distancing has created barriers to our natural tendency to connect as sentient beings. During this time, live streaming became even more popular, and entertainment sites like Twitch (for video games) increased their viewership and revenue exponentially.

For instance, musical artists were among the creators who felt the harshest consequences of the pandemic as it stripped them of their primary source of income. Hence, they had to re-adapt and find ways to reinvent their live acts via live streaming.

The world is your oyster if you’re a published author on a platform. All you need are the right tools to display your pearls and let others witness the magic inside.

Concluding remarks

The ability to display the story editor in a live stream would enable creators to share the story with their fans as they create it.

This would become an incredibly powerful tool for creators, allowing them to give their audience a more intimate experience with their work.

At the same time, this feature would prove to be an outstanding resource to help other writers during their learning curve, and ultimately, the platform’s conversion rates would go through the roof.

Readers would be able to engage in real-time and participate in the process instead of being passive content consumers.

More subscriptions would mean more money for stakeholders and authors.

For me, this looks like a win-win scenario. Videos and live streams are buzzing. Platforms like YouTube or TikTok prove me right. The first publishing platform that finds an innovative way to tap into that money source will lead the blogging revolution of the 21st century.

What are your thoughts on this topic, and what cool features would you love to see on your favorite platforms?

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