Famous?
I like to read blogs. I enjoy my blogbuddies and the world that is created by all of the super creative people out there. But, I have a problem with famous blogs. Once a blog gets beyond a certain size I stop caring about reading it or commenting. Back in the day I was one of 10 people that followed Knit and Tonic. Now I can't read her blog. I'm almost there with French Press Knits. I feel terrible for jumping ship - but the quirky nature of the blogs seems to disappear after they grow to a certain size. What do other people do when blogs become so mainstream that they write for the masses instead of the few loving, caring readers?
I confess to skimming a lot of the more popular blogs...many of them are on my bloglines just so I can keep track if exciting new patterns come out.
ReplyDeleteSo THAT'S why no one reads my blog - it's too mainstream!!! I would have never guessed that pics of the alpaca were geared towards the masses...
ReplyDelete:)
When I first discovered blogging, it was when I made my own. I didn't read anyone else's until I was well established with a (small but passionate) group of readers when I realized most of them had their own blogs. I started reading theirs, and then eventually stumbled upon hundreds more blogs that caught my interest for one reason or another. Since then, I've weeded them down to about 20 or 30 that I check up on daily, but I keep them in my Google Reader so that I can watch them all in one place. If a post captivates me, I visit the actual blog post and comment, like I've done here. :)
ReplyDeleteOne of the blogs I found during that time is dooce.com and I haven't stopped reading; it's been about a year now. At first, I loved the fact that she's so "famous". It made her writing different than the small-time blogs (like my own) that I was used to reading. But now, I've found that I don't bother to read everything she writes anymore. I'm not waiting for her next post like I used to find myself doing. Because I know she makes a living off of that website, I usually won't even bother clicking onto her actual blog, because then I know I'm contributing to her way of making a living (which maybe makes me horrible, I just know how I feel).
Sorry for word vomitting all of that, but that's what you get for asking such an interesting question! :)
Love,
Ester
It depends on the blogger. Some bloggers are well read but haven't given in to their own PR and the fawning comments. Those people are the ones I usually stick with. Once you believe all the nice things people say about you and start to expect praise at every turn, I'm done.
ReplyDeletexo
my own take is that I tend to feel like a good blog is like a friendship. I want to know a bunch and be there, but I don't want embarrassing information unless I'm being asked for help. I want to hear about the person's life, not be endlessly entertained. In short, I was not the popular girl in school. I didn't hang out with the most popular kids (nor did I avoid them) -- so I am not surprised that as people become more well read, they try to appeal to more people.
ReplyDeleteSo, in short, I read blogs of people who either are my friends in real life, or should be!