I’m in the process of moving my blogrolls from Blogrolling to Bloglines. I’ve purged a lot of dead weight. It’s possible, though, that in my zeal to have a leaner and more useful blogroll I’ve deleted some reciprocal links. Please check out my blogrolls page. If you link to me (personally, not just in Blogdom of God or some other aggregator) and cannot find at least a reciprocal link, let me know and I’ll add you. 🙂
A new political God blog has popped onto the scene. Street Prophets, an outgrowth from Daily Kos, is a left-leaning blog about the intersection of faith and politics. The content provider is Rev. Daniel Schultz, a third-generation UCC pastor in Pennsylvania.
Strangely enough, they’ve linked to me. Now do you believe me when I say I don’t fit neatly into the political spectrum? 😉
Are there any God blogs that have blessed you in the past year? If so, nominate them for the Superblessed Blog Awards. (Fedora Tip: Bene Diction Blogs On)
Recently Joe Carter of the Evangelical Outpost gave some great blogging advice I’d like to share with fellow bloggers who might not read EO.
"Unfortunately, we bloggers rarely appreciate the power we possess. Instead of being constantly amazed at the potential influence we wield, we carp and whine (if only to ourselves) that we don’t have the links of Glenn Reynolds or the site hits of Daily Kos. We believe that since thousands of people could be reading our blogs that we should have thousands of readers. If we don’t then we judge ourselves to be inadequate."
….
"If you have a blog that is read by more than a few dozen readers then you are making a bigger impact than you probably realize. If you have 50 people reading your blog then you have more people in your ‘classroom’ than most professors at Harvard. If you have 90 readers then you have more people in your ‘pews’ than most pastors have in their churches every Sunday. And if you have more than 1000 readers a month you have a larger ‘circulation’ than most poetry and short story magazines."
"But having a larger audience doesn’t necessarily translate into having more influence. As Malcolm Gladwell argues in his book The Tipping Point, the maximum number of individuals with whom we can have a genuinely social relationship is about 150….Now consider what would happen if each of these 150 readers read and thought about what you wrote on your blog for five minutes every day. Five minutes may seem insignificant but it has an exponential effect: with only 5 minutes every day, six days a week, every month, you will have the reader’s attention for more than one entire day ‘ 26 hours ‘ every year. With only 150 consistent readers you will have gained the equivalent ‘mindspace’ of one person for one entire day for almost five straight months. This is what I call the ‘5/150 Principle’: capturing the mindspace of 150 people for 5 minutes can create an astounding opportunity for influence."
I don’t know if I have 150 readers, but appreciate the ones I have. If you’ve been reading my blog and just lurking, please consider delurking and saying hi. You don’t have to offer any controversial opinions on anything. Just say hi and be friendly. 🙂
I don’t often highlight a single blog for particular attention. That way, it might mean a little more when I do. Today, I’d like to promote a local favorite of mine, Overheard in Pittsburgh.
In Pittsburgh, this city of college students and work-a-day joes, of arts and beer and unreliable public transportation, it’s hard not to overhear little bits of other people’s lives.
In line at a fast food restaurant, a man yells into his cell phone.
He’s yelling for you.
On the bus, two girls gossiping about a celebrity couple.
They’re gossiping for you.
In class, a professor says something he really oughtn’t.
He’s saying it for you.
Welcome to Overheard in Pittsburgh, a collection of impromptu little public performances, reported and displayed for your enjoyment.
Overheard in Pittsburgh:
We’re not eavesdroppers; we’re attentive listeners.
I’m a big fan of people watching and I see this as a logical extension of that. Sometimes fascinating, always entertaining, it’s worth taking a peek. Whenever I need a giggle, I head to OiP. There’s always some bit of street “wisdom” to brighten my day. 🙂
Update: OiP has moved.