Tag Archives: blog

Blogging Advice

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. 🙂

Blog Recommendation: Overheard in Pittsburgh

3 Replies

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.

Leftovers from Blogfest 3

1 Reply

Pittsburgh Blogfest 3 sign-in sheet Remember the Pittsburgh Blogfest I told you about? Well, I forgot to mention a detail. While we were there, Cynthia of My Brilliant Mistakes, passed around a sign-in sheet of sorts. It’s a record of most the fest’s attendees. Plus, if you view it at MBM, it’s an image map that has links to all the signers’ blogs. Be sure to click a few. Pittsburgh has some talented bloggers that deserve more exposure. 🙂

Welcome Red Nova Readers! :)

Leave a reply

Apparently, someone submitted my blog as a Red Nova Red Hot Blog today (albeit with an incorrect spelling – Alex Rarus). Welcome to all those who found their way here via that plug and thank you to whoever nominated Ales Rarus. 🙂 For the record, the sample post shown was not written by me, but a good friend who is a guest blogger here, edey.

I was unfamiliar with Red Nova until today. I suspect many of my readers are in the same boat. Since they were kind enough to plug me, I'll return the favor. Here's some info from their About Us page.

"Red Nova, Inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, was founded in November 2002. The web site, RedNova.com, was launched in May 2003, with the goal of creating the largest, most unique internet community, with the strongest consumer brand, in the most underserved niche on the Web. RedNova.com has since become the premier internet destination for science, space, and technology enthusiasts around the globe."

"RedNova.com is committed to providing stimulating, original content and presentation, with over 100,000 pages covering the vast ideological spectrums of science, space, and technology. The beautiful and engaging forum created at RedNova.com promotes a friendly and open environment, enhancing user loyalty and community, while advancing RedNova's goal of providing the world with a virtual Utopia for intelligent, curious minds."

"RedNova.com averages over 5 million unique visitors per month, more than double that of other sites with similar content. With subject matter a bit more intellectually oriented than most, the average RedNova.com visitors tend to be well educated, between the ages of 25 – 55, with a median income significantly higher than that of Internet users as a whole."

"Red Nova, Inc. has positioned itself perfectly to excel in the current Internet climate and well into the 21st Century. "

The Great Blog Hype

5 Replies

Bene Diction is annoyed by the current state of the blogosphere. Frankly, I can’t blame him. As he points out, there’s too much hype, too much spam, too much noise, too much propaganda, too much rhetoric, too much partisianship, and too little meaningful content. Fortunately, there is reason to be hopeful.

"Blogging isn’t going away, nor is the hype, the scams and the scramble to learn to find readers. Most bloggers aren’t in this for the money or the acceptance into perceived power circles. And there will always be media who don’t get this. In the three + years I’ve blogged, I’ve been challenged, taught, mentored and helped. I’ve made friends I never would have otherwise. I’ve seen solid sense, wisdom, kindness. And I have had some terrific shared laughs. [Main stream] Media can’t give me those benefits the way blogging can. We’ll keep doing what we do because it’s a privilege, it’s available and it’s fun. But overall, I think the bubble needs to burst." (emphasis mine)

Amen.

I don’t have time in my life to do and say as much through my blog as I’d like to. However, I try hard to make what I do have time for interesting and provacative. I enjoy fostering discussions between people of very different backgrounds and biases. Too many blogs devolve into echo chambers for propaganda and rhetoric. I think after the newness of blogging wears off a bit and bandwagoners get bored, blogs that are platforms for intelligent discussion and debate will earn greater prominence. Just as the dot-com crash weeded out most of the wannabes, blogging will lose its fad status and I believe most of the survivors will be those who have something worth saying and to whom people will listen and respond.