Over the past week there has been an influx of coverage straight from below freezing Seoul. Not because I’m trying my hardest to look for the obscure, but because I was physically there. This week I experimented further with “different” posts and often times Siliconera is “different”. Once again, I’m not exactly on the hunt for unique items like Starcraft English or Pac-Man billboards. I stumble on “stories” like these, immediately jot notes and snap photos. And if you’re wondering, I do carry a camera everywhere I go.
After sitting on an extremely long plane ride with a so-so meal sipping a cup of green tea I was pondering the question “is different good?” I tend to write about things that are “different” because I like to spark new discussions about video games.
Personally, I feel there are enough news outlets that cover the “big stories” that I wouldn’t be doing a service to you the reader or the general pool of gaming gossip if I rehashed what was already said. This is entirely personal and as you can see from the Reader Response injections I care about what you and the other readers think.
So please, tell me is different truly good? Is originality what makes Siliconera an enjoyable blog to read? Or would Siliconera be a better home if it focused on the breaking news of the hour? There is only so much time in the world to write and straying from the so called “blog echo” is a double edged sword. Stories are often hit or miss. Here’s a strange example: more people seemed interested (according to stats) in the silly Wii60 story than a confirmation straight from Sony about the PS2 port of Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters with a bonus comment on their PSP porting strategy. I'm pretty sure I "broke" this news a week before Sony mailed PlayStation Underground members.
I really want as much feedback on this as possible, so if you’re a reader I urge you to comment. If you’re a fellow blogger or journalist (hey! I know some big name bloggers read Siliconera) please chime in too. For my fellow writers I'm really curious why you read Siliconera, especially since you have access to similar information. You can do it anonymously if you want to hide your identity. ;) Thanks in advance!
Update: Everyone, thanks for the kind words. In case you missed it or are coming late to the party, I arrived at an answer to the predicament. Please check it out.
