Where Have All The Bloggers Gone?
Given the nature of this post (that you haven't read yet) it's funny that today of all days I should come across information on The 2006 Weblog Awards. If you click the link you will see that some categories are old-fashioned while others are eclectic. Nominations are open until Friday, November 24th. So if you have one, two or ten blogs in mind, don't forget to nominate them and plug the awards on your own site, too!
Now on to the actual post....
Do you hear that? That? That sound!
It's the sound of bloggers not typing.
I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, the blogging world is very tumultuous. It's like the internet's version of Hollywood. One week you're on top, the next you're nothing more a dead URL, never to be heard from again. If you don't believe me, just ask Joey Lawrence.
I don't know about you, but when someone falls off the face of the (blogging) earth, it irks me. I know I don't "know" any of you, but I like to think I invite you into my life a little bit more with each post I write and you do the same for me.
The other day, in the midst of fall blog cleaning (I know the saying is spring, just go with it) I discovered that I had to let go of fifteen links. FIFTEEN! Now some of you might look at my evergrowing blogroll and not see that as any skin off my back, but I don't consider that a deletion of links, it's a deletion of one-time connections.
The way I see it, there are variety of reasons why links end up in the Blogging Graveyard:
1. The site is no longer.
If a site I used to read cannot be found I save the link in a notepad file and check on it from time to time. Sometimes servers go down or bloggers just need to take a break. It is always a welcome surprise when a blogger you assumed to be long gone returns once again.
2. The site hasn't been updated in ages.
This type of leave of absence is even scarier to me. This is because there's no way of knowing why they are MIA. It could be because they got very busy and realized that blogging had to take a backseat, or it could be something more serious. I know it's morbid to think about, but do you ever wonder if when you kid around and ask a missing blogger if they are still alive if they are in fact, still alive?! I appreciate a blogger who takes a second or two out of their busy lives to say "Hey, I'm still here, I'm just taking a break." In ten words or less, you've conveyed the message that you're busy but that you care enough to tell your blogging friends.
3. You get the blogging equivalent of the silent treatment.
This one is the most perplexing of them all and if this has happened to you, please tell me. I won't feel nearly as paranoid about my sudden banishment. Occassionally you have a relationship with a blogger that tapers off. Sometimes it is no one's fault, it's just the way the cookie crumbles. You can handle this in one of two ways. One, you can continue to keep them on your blogroll, bloglines, whatever and just visit less often, or you could delete them permanently with no explanation.
What would you chooose?
Personally I pretty much always keep the links I have unless of course the blogger has done something to me personally which, let me think, nope...has never happened.
It's a huge blogging pet peeve of mine when someone I've made a connection with deletes me with no explanation. I know that speaks volumes about my ego, but I can't help it, it does. So usually I go to the source to try to figure out if it's paranoia or something more. If I don't hear back from the person I have to assume something has given them a blogging change of heart. Then, and only then, do I delete them. Note, this is not a tactic I use when the blog has been abandoned. I only do this when I know the blogger is indeed alive, unless of course, their blog has been hijacked and someone else is posting as them.
This is why I'm always on the lookout for like-minded friendly bloggers. These are bloggers that are probably a lot like YOU. They aren't looking to recipro-link for the sake of linking. They are looking to make blogging friends. For me, I see blogging as an unexpected extension of the way I view friendship. And even if you don't consider all the people who read your blog, "blogging friends" I still believe everyone deserves respect. After all, they did take two minutes out of their day to read you.
So if you are one of the people who visits here often and has not been added to my Side Dishes, please let me know. Also, as I'm always on the lookout for new comrades, so if you could point me towards a few good bloggers, my door is always open.
Now on to the actual post....
Do you hear that? That? That sound!
It's the sound of bloggers not typing.
I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, the blogging world is very tumultuous. It's like the internet's version of Hollywood. One week you're on top, the next you're nothing more a dead URL, never to be heard from again. If you don't believe me, just ask Joey Lawrence.
I don't know about you, but when someone falls off the face of the (blogging) earth, it irks me. I know I don't "know" any of you, but I like to think I invite you into my life a little bit more with each post I write and you do the same for me.
The other day, in the midst of fall blog cleaning (I know the saying is spring, just go with it) I discovered that I had to let go of fifteen links. FIFTEEN! Now some of you might look at my evergrowing blogroll and not see that as any skin off my back, but I don't consider that a deletion of links, it's a deletion of one-time connections.
The way I see it, there are variety of reasons why links end up in the Blogging Graveyard:
1. The site is no longer.
If a site I used to read cannot be found I save the link in a notepad file and check on it from time to time. Sometimes servers go down or bloggers just need to take a break. It is always a welcome surprise when a blogger you assumed to be long gone returns once again.
2. The site hasn't been updated in ages.
This type of leave of absence is even scarier to me. This is because there's no way of knowing why they are MIA. It could be because they got very busy and realized that blogging had to take a backseat, or it could be something more serious. I know it's morbid to think about, but do you ever wonder if when you kid around and ask a missing blogger if they are still alive if they are in fact, still alive?! I appreciate a blogger who takes a second or two out of their busy lives to say "Hey, I'm still here, I'm just taking a break." In ten words or less, you've conveyed the message that you're busy but that you care enough to tell your blogging friends.
3. You get the blogging equivalent of the silent treatment.
This one is the most perplexing of them all and if this has happened to you, please tell me. I won't feel nearly as paranoid about my sudden banishment. Occassionally you have a relationship with a blogger that tapers off. Sometimes it is no one's fault, it's just the way the cookie crumbles. You can handle this in one of two ways. One, you can continue to keep them on your blogroll, bloglines, whatever and just visit less often, or you could delete them permanently with no explanation.
What would you chooose?
Personally I pretty much always keep the links I have unless of course the blogger has done something to me personally which, let me think, nope...has never happened.
It's a huge blogging pet peeve of mine when someone I've made a connection with deletes me with no explanation. I know that speaks volumes about my ego, but I can't help it, it does. So usually I go to the source to try to figure out if it's paranoia or something more. If I don't hear back from the person I have to assume something has given them a blogging change of heart. Then, and only then, do I delete them. Note, this is not a tactic I use when the blog has been abandoned. I only do this when I know the blogger is indeed alive, unless of course, their blog has been hijacked and someone else is posting as them.
This is why I'm always on the lookout for like-minded friendly bloggers. These are bloggers that are probably a lot like YOU. They aren't looking to recipro-link for the sake of linking. They are looking to make blogging friends. For me, I see blogging as an unexpected extension of the way I view friendship. And even if you don't consider all the people who read your blog, "blogging friends" I still believe everyone deserves respect. After all, they did take two minutes out of their day to read you.
So if you are one of the people who visits here often and has not been added to my Side Dishes, please let me know. Also, as I'm always on the lookout for new comrades, so if you could point me towards a few good bloggers, my door is always open.
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