Friday, March 16, 2007

Blogpower - still relevant for particular reasons

Some readers will have noticed I've ventured into MyBlogLog and the Praguetory community and I've noticed Westminster Wisdom has delicious and digg-it [neither which I understand] listed at the foot of each post. Tom Paine is also in Conservatives Abroad and the Witanagemot Club.

Is this treasonable to good old Blogpower?

This blogger says no, quite the opposite. Despite anything people say about stats not mattering, I think everyone would like to be read by a large and discerning community. Most Blogpowererers joined to expand their contacts and through a friendly but very loosely confederated community which is always outward looking, rather than inwards.

If I had to sum up how I saw Blogpower operating, I'd list the following:

# The 'big bloggers' all have some sort of national exposure which ensures them huge readerships, e.g. TV spots, Doughty and so on. The 'little bloggers', though linking to the biggies, usually don't get anything in return and so there is a case for a large collective of little bloggers who provide each other with larger readerships than would ordinarily be possible.

# The whole ethos of Blogpower is 'blogging for pleasure'.

# Members feed off other members' own expanding contacts, who in turn feed off those contacts and so on. A process of personal filtration then creates an ever-expanding community we'd like to be in.

# There is a definite sense of community here, which is Blogpower's main strength, given that it is open to all shades of opinion and strongly defends the right of those opinions to exist, even if we disagree, sometimes violently, with those opinions or affiliations. Members are free to use full or abridged versions of the blogroll, as they see fit.

# Compared to other web based communities, Blogpower is very human-based and low tech, without the snazzy little 'recent visitors' boxes, marauding marsupials and the like. It works on members of a slowly expanding community knowing one another and providing solid readerships which don't diminish on whim.

# We try to write testimonials, provide technical help and run various schemes to improve the blogs of fellow members. People are lways coming up with new ideas to improve our lot.

# Blogpower, being a completely free and voluntary collective, has no opinions of its own on any topic and endorses nothing but each other. If members wish to expand their blogs by joining other communities and schemes, Blogpower positively encourages that. It doesn't alter our blogfriendships.

# Blogpower Express will soon feature a blog of the week spot and be co-administered on a rota basis. It is our flagship homepage and Defending the Blog is our discussion page.

Anyone care to add anything to this?

2 comments:

Newmania said...

for a large collective of little bloggers who provide each other with larger readerships than would ordinarily be possible.


I have been thinking about this and what we have done is to meet socially. There are enough Political Bloggers in London to get together a sort of shadow army of those of us who have met. My idea is to have secrets and annoy Iain dale who hates to be left out like the big girl he is...Just for the fun of it really . Some of us know each other anyway through political party connections and general big mouthiness


I also thought it woul be a good idea to map the politics of the blogasphere by meming a questionnaire to see where exactly everyone sits on a range of issues . Are you right on or left out …sort of thing .it would be divisive fascistic and again annoy the big fish who like to separate and rule . I do think you have hit on a good point though . Myself and a few others are really almost like a reading club and youj do get a bit fed up of contributing to a site that cares not a jot if you do or you don`t.


I see lots of opportunity for connecting up in fun and possibly controversial ways that will add to the general amusement …for those who dion1`tvtake it all to seriously that is

Cheerio


PS the real divid is beteen those who are quasi proffesional nd the rest.

James Higham said...

Good thinking, Newmania. Let's consider this.