It has occurred to me that there might be this question floating around in some of our readers minds. So let's answer it shall we. "Why follow someones blog?"
Having been on the other side of the blogging world, reading but not following, I get the concern and reasoning of why not to follow and think we should clear the air by addressing those first:
"It's a hassle"
"Will I get spammed?"
"It's kind of creepy for them to know I follow them when we haven't talked since high school"
"I am still a ghost on the internet, this will give out my shopping, parenting, etc... preferences to the world..."
"I only read occasionally"
"What's the point?"
Did I miss any? Phew that feels good to name the elephant in the room. <wink> Let's tackle these one by one.
"It's a hassle"
If you don't have a google, twitter,yahoo, AIM, netlog or openid account this might, hear me, might be true. Nowadays most people have at least ONE of these accounts for some reason or another. If you have any one of these accounts it is about a 30 second process. Really.
"Will I get spammed?"
While I have heard this concern voiced and I am sure that there are some blogs out there with tiny minions or hoards of unemployed people at their beck and call to track down your information in order to send you spam, it isn't likely. Most blogs are written by people like ourselves. For fun, in our spare time <whatisthatreally?>,in an effort to become a part of the new movement of journalism. One that is more specific and individualized. We don't have any minions to track down your information, that we can promise you!
"It's kind of creepy for them to know I follow them when we haven't talked since high school"
This one makes me laugh. You would be surprised who might follow openly and trust us, a high school contact is a friendly face. Not to mention, you found out about our blog from where? Facebook? Twitter? Don't you think we crossed that bridge long ago? It is flattering and not creepy, promise.
"I am still a ghost on the internet, this will give out my shopping, parenting, etc... preferences to the world..."
Hmmmm, well hate to break it to you but most of your information is already tracked, and not because you follow a blog. For example: there is an option to add a box to the side of your blog that shows where each person who is popping in is from and how long they have stayed. This is regardless of whether they are registered as a follower or not. The information is there just because you clicked....<cuedoomsdaymusic>
"I only read occasionally"
Ok, but you do read it, albeit occasionally. So why not let us know who belongs to that unique IP address that keeps popping in. Help satisfy our curiosity for goodness sake!
"What's the point?"
Here's the kicker. We will only speak for ourselves on this topic. Our approach to this blog is that it is part personal, but hopefully more informational and helpful. We see blogs as many do, as the new frontier for journalism. It is our hope to be apart of this new movement. That said the more followers we have the higher our credibility to strangers. The higher our credibility the more we are able to qualify for better items for giveaways, be picked up and linked to by other sources and have our voices heard. For us this is an experimental venue for Abbey to work on establishing her literary voice. That said we covet your comments. Not really for grammar feedback (due to the speedy process of posting) but rather for content. And as a follower we are able to put the criticism or praise in context. Comments also help steer the direction of a blog. What is it that resonates with our readers, is it helpful and/or different; all of which can change the direction of a blog. Trust us, the powers that be are watching blogs carefully and from them they are taking their cues. Personally we have gained much from the blogs we follow. Product reviews, parenting ideas, homemade ideas, travel tips. You name it we have learned it is possible to find a blog post on the topic. As followers we now trust the sources in a way we hadn't before.
Phew, lecture done. As we have said, we hope to be of help to those out there. And we know you are reading. Yes you are being tracked. So why not take part in the perks of following (giveaways, etc..) and help us at the same time? We are so incredibly grateful to those that follow us, whether you have clicked to "officially" follow or not. Our welcome to the blogging world has been warm and we are excited to see where this takes us!
*This information is for blogs written using the blogger.com format, which we are most familiar with and are using.
Great post, Abbey! I totally agree. I now love following, being followed and commenting in a brand new way. :)
This is the best summary of blogging I have seen! Well done!