Wired’s Life Cycle of a Blog Post is a nice primer illustrating just what happens to a blog post after you publish it. Seasoned bloggers will probably know it all, but for someone who isn’t an expert, it reveals an interesting insight into just where the data goes. Here’s a thumbnail of how it looks, but do click through and explore it fully:

Marks go to the author for showing the importance of ping services and the difference between active pushing of content (pings etc.) and passive (through RSS and search engine bots). Both are important, and both should be borne in mind when blogging.

The diagram needlessly complicates a few things though – sandwiching adservers and corporations between users gives a slightly misleading impression they mediate the message to them. Just remember the diagram is like a Tube Map – it shows how things connect, not where they really are.

Also, I’d like it to demonstrate a stronger relationship between bloggers and readers – without readers a blog is nothing, after all. Readers’ opinions and feedback, be it on their own blogs or in the comments, plays a strong role – it might make you follow up on a post, or explore a topic even more deeply. Keeping this cycle going is key to a lively and well-read blog, and has important implications for any corporate blogger; make it too one-way and people will lose interest.

But the diagram is good in showing how corporations and brands are increasingly paying attention to bloggers’ opinions - something some people might not be aware of. Of course, there’s more to it than just a quick Google search, and gauging how words translate into actions is a growing but still very immature field (and one we’re actively exploring).

Secondly, there’s also the growing problem of spam blog hiving off content and reusing it. How do we spread a message as effectively as possible, without the bad guys ripping it off? What’s the balance between opening up and maintaining your identity, whether it be personal or corporate? Or is it an issue that digital age has rendered irrelevant?

Any thoughts you have, feel free to share in the comments below.