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November 14, 2004
Blogging 101 - Read Blogs
By QBlog in Blogging 101
Bloggers should read other blogs. As obvious as that statement may seem, it's still important for bloggers to regularly peruse a variety of blogs. Such habitual blog consumption helps a blogger stay "plugged in" to the blog community, get ideas for posts, learn new blogging techniques, discover the latest blog technology and so much more.
Why Read Blogs?
The main reason that blogs work the way they do is because of connectivity. Similar to peer-to-peer networks or the open source community, blogs can work together as unique but connected units to discuss, criticize or popularize various issues or topics. Blogs that aren't connected to this community (meaning the blogger isn't aware of what some other blogs are covering) can miss out on this incredibly democratic power. That is not to say that reading other blogs is necessary to publish a quality blog, but it sure helps.
How To Read Blogs
I spoke to a New Media class at the local college last week and one of the students asked me how to find good blogs. It is an excellent question and it took me a moment to recall how I found the great blogs that I regularly read. Here are some of my "secrets" for finding a variety of blogs:
- Follow the links in your blog commments. When people comment on your blog, they often leave a link to their blog. Follow that link and see what types of things they are saying. I found several of my favorite blogs by following comment links.
- Use blog services such as Technorati, Daypop, Feedster or The Weblog Review.
- Follow the "Blogrolls" of other blogs. Find a blog you really like and then check out all the links on that blog's blogroll.
- Go to Google News and search for "blog." You'll find at least a few articles about blogs and those will generally have links to blogs worth writing articles about.
- Visit Blog Award sites like The Bloggies. There you'll see a bunch of blogs you never heard of but that others think are worth hearing about.
- Use a News Reader. News Readers are applications that gather RSS feeds (primarily but not exclusively from blogs) and display them in an easy-to-organize space — sort of like email. I use NetNewsWire (for the Mac) but there are many different tools out there, find one you like.
What Kind of Blogs to Read
This blog is obviously about Quixtar and MLM but that doesn't mean I only read other blogs about Quixtar and MLM. Neither should you. If your blog is a niche-blog (about one specific topic) be sure and read other blogs on that niche BUT you should also read blogs that have nothing to do with your blog topic.
For instance, if you blog about dancing monkeys, then don't exclusively read other blogs about dancing monkeys. Diversify. Read blogs about politics, computers, movies, romance, etc. Of course, be sure that you're reading blogs you like, don't just read a blog about politics because everyone else is doing it. If you don't like a blog, don't read it. Simple as that. My point is that you should diversify.
Also, don't get stuck in a rut. If you end up getting comfortable with reading the same 20-30 blogs a day, branch out and try to find a couple of new blogs each week. Many bloggers burn out because they think they're saying the same thing as all their "favorite bloggers." Don't fall into this trap. Keep cycling fresh blogs into your regular routine.
Paybacks
And finally, link to blogs. If you find a blog you really like, add it to your blogroll. Don't hide it from the world, let others know that you enjoy the content at your favorite blog. It's a nice way of saying, "Thanks for freely giving me something that I like to read." You obviously can't add every blog to your blogroll but it's just a nice gesture. And don't feel that you need to ask permission to link either. I've gotten many requests over the years from people asking me if they can link to my blogs. The spirit of the Web is that we don't need permission to link things up, we just do it. While I appreciate the sentiments behind such requests, they're entirely unnecessary. Don't ask, just link.
Blogging 101 publishes every Sunday and shares my experience and knowledge of blogging with you in the hope that it will (in some small way) help you become a better blogger.
Comments
If you already have a blog, one additional way to find good blogs is to join "traffic exchange" sites like blogexplosion.
This is partially because BE has a ratings system -- which can be used as another kind of "pre-filter" for good blogs, but which doesn't usually get bogged down with the same old top 50 bloggers in the universe (aka the "A-listers") who win the Bloggies, and are most likely to be cited in major mass media outlets.
But it's also because it's easy to justify time spent surfing the bloggosphere with tools like BE. The very act of blogsurfing in BE is purposeful, as it drives traffic to your own site -- hence the "traffic exchange" moniker.
Sure, you'll hit plenty of chaff in amongst the wheat. But regular BE users cite plenty of "great finds" which would otherwise have been hidden, and I can anecdotally attest to the same.
Because, let's face it, I'm no A-lister -- only one of those methods mentioned above led QBlog host E to me. (Thanks for the great rec, by the way, Mr. Host, sir.)
And yes, Imran, finding great blogs is a bit of work -- so is finding great authors, or great friends. Personally, I think it's worth it.
Great article! I think looking for resources to help one decide that are out there are worthy of reading is a good idea. Sometimes it's hit or miss, and sometimes you can be lucky finding links from one good blog you like to another you like... but sometimes its just a blog the previous blog author liked.
Just this weekend in a discussion with Fred and Tiffiney we had discussed the value of QBlog's blog, not really reading many non-quixtar related blogs, but eventually branching out to other topics will be needed when this one is finally put to bed.
That's a LOT of work dude!
Posted by: Imran Aziz | November 14, 2004 2:59 PM