The world of blogging is extraordinary. Some people postulate there are just over 70 million blogs on the internet. Just pause and let that sink in for a minute. 70 million!
Joshua has a blog he needs to post soon on Winter Camp.
Technorati, which describes itself as:”the recognized authority on what’s happening on the World Live Web, right now,” searches, surfaces, and organizes blogs and “the other forms of independent, user-generated content (photos, videos, voting, etc.) increasingly referred to as ‘citizen media.’” Basically a blog that tracks other blogs. So helpful! On the Technorati ‘about us’ page it said they are currently tracking 72 million blogs.
It is really unbelievable to me that so many people, companies, organizations, etc have created blogs. That is a lot of voices wanting to be heard. If I had time and a calculator I could figure out how long it would take you to cover all of them if you did nothing else but read blogs all day and covered about one blog every 5 minutes. The mind boggles. Where to start??? LOL!
Daniel could easily figure this out. He’s already wired to go!
I stumbled across this list stating 10 things necessary for a great blog:
* Credibility
* Authority
* Passion
* Personality
* Reliability
* Empathy
* Reality
* Unique
* Timeliness
* Membership
Gee, that’s not asking much, is it? Those are some pretty high standards for a blog. They sound more like things I want in a good friend, much less a little ole weblog. Already there are blog awards springing up all over. Best of Blogs, Blog Awards, Bloggy Awards, The Bloggies, International Weblog Awards, even SuperBlessed Christian Blog Awards. I guess with 72 million blogs (and growing) there is a desire to try to sort and classify them. The categories of the awards are as crazy and bizarre as the blog entries themselves. Search these at your own peril.
Here is another collection of qualifications I found online (notice the overlap):
* Personality
* Usefulness
* Quality of the Writing
* Usability and Design
* Frequency of Posts
* Relevance
* Interactivity (audio, video)
* Fulfillment of Purpose
* Appropriateness
* Would you revisit?
This weekend I skimmed through Blogging for Dummies (is there a Dummies book for EVERY topic out there?). It was an interesting book that had lots of tips for getting started on weblogging and creating a blog. One thing the author mentioned was the difference between topical blogs and personal ones.
Rachel doesn’t care whether this is a topical or personal blog as long as the topic isn’t too personal.
Topical blogs may include opinions, but mostly focus on a particular subject (or topic). I would imagine (although it is a bit scary to actually do so) there is literally a blog for every topic conceivable. Personal blogs are written in diary-style and relate to the happenings in the author’s immediate physical world as well as other thoughts and bits and pieces on things.
I find the whole subject of blogs fascinating. I am not a news junkie, political enthusiast, sports fan, or techno-geek. That rules out a majority of the popular blogs. Of course, with a busy household to run, some would argue I don’t really have time to read miles and miles of blog posts. It’s probably a good thing my interests are rather narrow.
This little guy is one of my major interests in life.
I did stumble across this fun blog, 5 Minutes for Mom, the other day. The site is run by twin sisters who are trying to connect other blogging moms. Their banner says “Bringing Moms the Best in Blogging, Shopping, Parenting, and Entertainment.” Hmmm. That sounds like a fun place to explore. I haven’t spent much time browsing around (after all there are 71, 999,999 other blogs out there that are calling my name) but I am intrigued to see what they have to offer in the blogosphere.
Anyone who has read Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card can’t help but marvel at the way his vision of the “net” is being realized in the world wide web of blogs.
I need to write those Great Blog Qualifications on sticky notes and post them on my monitor so I can evaluate my writing from time to time. Notice there wasn’t a single word in there about pictures (although one did mention audio/video). I personally think blogs without pictures (like this one nearly was) are rather boring. I will read them if I care about the person writing or if the topic is very interesting, but I am much more entertained by a blog that contains pictures.
After all, this girl is too cute to remain in obscurity – she needs a blog.
My very scattered, not so brief, thoughts on blogging.
Kathy
You meet all the blog requirements. !! Love you, AK
I love to see different personalities, both of the blog and the blogger, shine through as I read through my regular list of blogs. Like you, I also find photos a necessity to keep my interest, although I enjoy reading the text also. I suppose it’s because I read the personal blogs, and that would include, well, PERSONAL pictures!
My dh is in your neck of the woods this week, visiting his mom in Port Orchard. We tracked him via flight tracker, then the Seatac cam, then the Fauntleroy ferry cam (where he stood outside so we could actually see him!), and then to the Southworth ferry cam. I love this technology, and I was glad for my dh that there was no rain today!
I agree, Kristine, if there is too much text without a few pictures, I’m afraid I find my attention wandering (unless the writing is pretty compelling). Does that mean we are shallow, easily distracted people? How many blogs do you think you read a day? Do you keep up with all the blogs from the loop?
Technology is very cool! We had some actual sunshine today so hopefully your dh is having decent weather. How long will he be in town?
Well, I love reading your blog, Kath. You are funny, interesting, and think of lots of different things to talk about in an entertaining manner. But I think moms mostly read to feel connected, so I’d say the relevance, empathy, reality, and frequency are probably the most important just for blogging moms. The political, etc. ones aren’t so interesting to me. And who likes sports ones?
I love all your pictures, but I just don’t get around to taking them and have never figured out how to transfer from the camera to a blog. Sigh.
Rachel – you have posted pictures on your blog so I know you can do it. I love seeing pictures of your sweet family. It’s hard to do everything, I totally agree. Tim bought me a great little camera for my birthday last year so I would actually keep the camera on hand and use it (and toss it, gently of course, into my purse and take it with me during the day). So far it looks like he made a good choice.
I think you are right, as well, about the connecting aspect of blogs for moms. I’ve been finding more and more communities of blogging mommys. Interesting to explore that world. I have been on a homeschooling e-mail loop for over 7 years now and it is definitely a community.
Thanks for sharing! I so enjoy hearing from people and I LOVE connecting with you!
Blogging for dummies, who would have thought! I doubt mine would qualify on many of those lists etc but I do enjoy keeping it and reading everyone’s homeschool blogs.
lots of fun pictures on yours as usual.