Blog gatekeepers
Vanderleun on the fear of Instalinking addresses how a few big blogs are the gatekeepers to other blogs. He wonders if that, essentially, now makes blogs rather like the MSM. Could be. Do a select few of the blog elite (never thought I’d hear that phrase) control the dissemination of information? You betcha.
In the big bloggers’ defense, there are a ton of blogs. I don’t see how the big bloggers can possibly read all of them and, like you and me, probably have their own reading lists. It’s hard to read everything. It’s hard to get their attention, I’d imagine.
If you want your blog noticed, get in good with them. Remember that readers from the various large blogs who pop in when they link to you typically don’t stay. It’s a fact, deal with it. But if they continually link to you, people will start checking you out. And people like to say things to the effect of if you’re a great writer who writes about interesting things, people will find you. That’s sort of true. If you write well about interesting things, you’re more likely to keep a reader who pops in. But writing well in and of itself is useless unless something draws attention to your writing. You’re not going to start your blog today and have (and, more importantly, keep) thousands of visits per day tomorrow, unless you’re some insider involved in a scandal or have some degree of celebrity attached to you. Won’t happen, forget about it.
So, there are gatekeepers in blogging. Your job is to keep those readers who come by way of the gatekeepers interested.
August 1st, 2005 at 9:15 am
Some of the most important ones are “centrist” people like John Cole I think – I found this site through him, wanted to educate myself on the 2nd Amendment, and now check in every day.
I’d be suprised if I’m your typical reader, but am starting to believe the 2nd Amendment may turn out to be as important as the 1st in preventing government overreach.
August 1st, 2005 at 9:18 am
Ah, good to know.
And the second is number two for a reason 🙂
August 1st, 2005 at 10:08 am
Other than good writing, the way to get readers is by commenting. In building up a reader-base, one has to read other blogs and post comments that cause another visitor to want to visit your site.
I’m out of blogging for a while now (family issues), but my good friend Harvey (www.BadExample.mu.nu) prides himself on helping people get started in blogging and expanding their reader-base. He has quite a few good articles to read there.
The blog elite are only the gate keepers if we choose to have them as so. The beauty here is that we are not restricted to them. If an “elite” goes off the deep-end or changes politics, then we (as readers) can always go find another aggregator to more up in the list of blogs to read each day. It is freedom at it’s finest.
August 1st, 2005 at 10:34 am
I’m gonna second Jon’s suggestion – sure, the instalanches are nice (I’ve had two this week – psych!!!!!!!!!!) but those are one time hits. What has really built up my readership is actively finding new blogs and providing high quality (or at least something better than “me too” types of comments).
Oh yeah, participating in carnivals like the one for Cordite, Recipies, RINOs and Vanities helps out a ton too.
August 1st, 2005 at 2:30 pm
Commenting a lot has helped, and a large, large number of my hits come from google/search engine hits. On the other hand, the instalanches I’ve had don’t compare to the spikes I’ve gotten from having posts read or mentioned on the radio. As big as Glenn is, he’s small-fry to the broadcast media.
August 1st, 2005 at 5:09 pm
Yep, because in 1789, it was important. 🙂 *ducks*
Seriously, though, if you’re going to argue that order is important here, you have to deal with the fact that #3 (no forced quartering of troops) is then “more important” than #4 (no unreasonable search and seizure) and #5 (no forced self-incrimination or “double jeopardy”, due process of law).
August 2nd, 2005 at 1:01 am
Not only that, you’ll also have to explain why the drafters of the Bill of Rights thought Congressional district sizes (the original First Amendment, not ratified) and a ban on Congressmen raising their own pay (the original Second, finally ratified two centuries later as Amendment 27) were more important than all ten articles of the Bill of Rights as we know it.