My guess is, most become popular because the person or people behind them have a few “great posts,” or they are doing something against the norm or something new, such as scobleizer, who once worked for Microsoft. He “spoke out,” unofficially, for and sometimes against MS, that’s why he became popular. Granted, he is a smart guy (my opinion based on reading some of his stuff), but is anyone really interesting enough to be consistantly on wordpress’ “Top WordPress.com blogs today?” Everyday? I think not…I think people just want to see what he has to say next. Not a bad thing, it’s interesting, actually.
Say one great thing, and you can become “popular” in the blogosphere (as an individual, of course…corporate blogs are a whole other ball of wax.)? I wonder if I’ll ever post that one great thing and make the dashboard of wordpress?….I don’t really care either way (but yeah, it would be cool)… I blog to blog…trying to write more, keep track of things I do, put my thoughts out there…maybe some people will share similar thoughts or have some good input. Maybe it will help my communication skills.
I’m not that familar with all of the “popular” blogs out there, but the only one that I’ve seen that has a lot of useful information is lifehacker. OK, it’s really not a ton of useful information, but they have some cool stuff everytime I look at it.
As for the rest of the blogs I read, they are mostly people I know. People I trust, people I like to listen to. People that I want to “see what they’ll say next.” I imagine that’s why most people read blogs.
Maybe it’s just that I don’t fully understand the blogosphere yet. More communication, more open thoughts, more feedback, more connections…yes, I get all that and think it’s great, but…how do you get people obsessed with it? And, is that a good thing?
mann thoughts 
August 14, 2006 at 10:11 am |
Interesting post and I’m sharing the same thoughts. I’m just wondering when popularity will not depend on quantity, but on quality again. It seems nowadays that quantity makes something a great blog. “Many people read it, then it must be good!” This Web 2.0 approach might just be the major downside of the whole thing. Nice post!
August 14, 2006 at 4:39 pm |
I happen to share some of your same thoughts Mike. I think it would be cool to be on the top, but it’s not an aim of mine or anything similar.
My reasons for reading and posting blogs are about the same as yours. I write to pop things off my mind somehow, and thus they usually come quite unordered (at least for me). I read blogs for two main reasons: some are really interesting (those about topics I’m into) others are of people I know nad I want to see what they think/write… pretty much what you said.
It is an interesting “world” (can’t think of any better words for it) that of blogs, the one thing I keep thinking though is how many excellent posts might go unnoticed… That’s why my “hobby” lately has been to hit the “next” button on the right topmost part of WP to see where I land… sometimes its interesting… other times not… but fun anyway (in a very geeky way I suppose)
August 14, 2006 at 7:20 pm |
It’s quality over quantity in my opinion. I have a lot of blogs in my blogroll that are nearly unreadable due to their volume. I share Jim Forbes’ view that the essay form seems more readable and unique than tons of links to other blogs and articles, or the daily diary approach.
Finding a strong theme and sticking to it seems to be another key to success. Me, I approach my blog as a garbage can to stick everything in, and as a way to let people close to me know what I’m up to.
August 14, 2006 at 8:12 pm |
Just point of correction: I had thousands of readers every day before I worked for Microsoft.
August 16, 2006 at 6:41 pm |
I finally made my first post. Enjoy (I hope)! http://linusmann.wordpress.com/
August 17, 2006 at 4:58 pm |
Mike,
Interesting thoughts, and ones I’m sure a lot of people are turning over. I liked Nick Carr’s August 15th post on the great unread. What effect do you think having a growing readership has on a blogger? Do you think bloggers may subconsciously begin to alter what they write to drive readership? Those that check their stats may take notice of what keywords or topics got the most hits. Personally, I would respect someone who stays true to his/her purpose regardless of whether anyone reads the posts. .
September 3, 2009 at 10:14 pm |
Excellent site, keep up the good work