A recent post I read somewhere on the blogosphere made me wonder about blog stats. Based on observation, many of the bloggers that blog for the bigger numbers get a daily ego enema and I think they get caught in some tragic cycle they can’t break away from. They spit out several topics a day that quickly evolve from critical analysis to controversy to shit stirring. And boy do people love shit stirring; it is the tabloid equivalent to blogging. To get higher stats all you have to do is say something that is the opposite of reason and logic, and then claim that your so called argument is both reasonable and logical. Or doing the exact opposite of that: saying something that everyone generally agrees with.
So riddle me this…
Is an inflated ego inevitable with the higher stats? Does it all just, you know, come with the territory? Does it render one incapable of carrying on a conversation without mentioning their blog’s stats in that “oh, by the way” kind of way? Or have their Technorati and Alexa rankings printed on a t-shirt?
When does pride in the success of one’s blog become vanity?
And is success truly success if it is declared in a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly reminder to one’s readers of just how great they are?
Heck, is success of a blog even defined by higher stat numbers?
Riddle me this…
What came first? The blog or the numbers?
The desire to blog for the sake of blogging, or the necessity to blog out of upkeep?
I don’t know.
The successful blogger does read their stats but it’s what they do with those numbers that matters. Sometimes I’ll read something or see something and think hey, this might be interesting for my readers to read, but then I stop myself and wonder more importantly if it’s something that I’d be interested in writing about, in talking about, in ranting about.
If the second doesn’t apply then the first will almost always fall short. This is something I’ve actually noticed with some blogs; the topic is a lot of shit stirring but you can tell the blogger doesn’t really care for the topic in the first place.
All that being said: this wasn’t a post designed with a laid out plan; an intro, a body and a conclusion. It’s just something I noticed lately and felt like ranting on about on a Sunday morning (when I should be working).
OMG!
OMG!
OMG!
I’ll start by apologizing for the length of this comment. I’m very sorry
By the way, I wrote about this like 6 or 7 months ago on how many bloggers brag about their numbers, Showing maps, number and all the rest of the deal. The reasons differ from one to the other. Some proudly brag about these numbers, while others use this information to better address traffic requirements or targeting better interaction
It’s obviously very important to many people. That’s some sites (including this great one) have views per article, or for the whole thing.
I personally don’t see anything wrong with that. except if it becomes just a topic for bragging.
Recently, I’ve posted a status report, on what Qwaider Planet, a community service that I have created. I felt it’s my obligation to every one who participated in the effort to be at least notified.
I do it in the most “out-of-your-hair” manner, by posting it on my personal blog. I don’t shove it down people’s throats through Email (like Blogflux for example, or a number of other good service). I respect people’s privacy and the choice not to be bothered in their mail boxes
There are many reasons to start a blog. Some people want or need the interaction with others. (like people in the west, which might not be able to do this around them). Others use it as a vent. While others use it for no reason at all.
For the first type these interactions are just what they need, and more traffic means, more interaction and maybe better time spent.
Does this mean everyone gets ego boosted? I don’t think so, but maybe it does happen.
Numbers should mean something, but it shouldn’t be the reason why one is blogging, I blog because I want to share something, an experience an idea, a feeling or a piece of news. I care about the people who stop by and comment but I don’t care about how many. The figures might be an indication about how much is the responsibility i have towards my audience.
the post doesn’t apply to me, sa7:D 😛
Anon: wow, you must really like God 😀
MOA: I share a similar viewpoint actually and i agree with you about the responsibility part.
Lubna: lol no of course not. this is an observation that spans well beyond the realms of the jordanian blogosphere.
Qwaider: “Does this mean everyone gets ego boosted? I don’t think so, but maybe it does happen.”
yeah see it’s not simply the ego boost but what happens as a result of it. it becomes a slippery slope where bloggers end up slaves to their own numerical popularity and thus tailor their writing to simply cater to those numbers.
this is the vicious cycle that emerges.
its an insult to what i consider the art of blogging
it becomes simply
tabloid.
Nas,
Eventhough I only recently started blogging I agree with you 100%, it is not only ego that grows,sometimes they even begin to have double personalities, you see them say something, then they try to fix it. Even some of them begins to judge people based on their comments and also starts a phsychological analysis..
Anyway nas, If it is only egos that grow we are fine becasuse at the end it will explode and they will realize that they are just one of those people who only talks and does nothing, he/she becomes just like a big mouth on the loose..
Who let the dogs out:D
Nas, I remember when you warned people not to look much at blog stats. Wish I had listened. 😀 Sometimes I think something I write will be very interesting, and it isn’t, so I am disappointed unnecessarily. then sometimes I am very surprised!
So what is Technorati? And what does it mean when ‘statcounters’ visit your blog?
As much as I like to know who is reading (and with wordpress, I really don’t know who, just from where they clicked)and it is fun to see numbers jump or what topics interest people, I’m in this for relationship, communication and understanding.
What I don’t like is the wierdos who find my blog through searches like ‘naked Jordanian girls’. Makes me feel like my blog was tainted or something.
Thanks NAS, but the definition for “the art of blogging” is really very vague. What’s the art of blogging? Writing 1 line posts? copying and pasting from some other source? Adding a tad of news from some source and adding one word comment on it? Posting a single image? Posting a single video?
I see these all day long and from all levels of bloggers
There is one fact that we can’t deny, the higher the numbers are the greater the reach of a blog. It’s just like that. Tabloid work is really based on scandals and made up news. Blogs on the other hand especially the high traffic ones usually have nothing like that.
I see nothing wrong for people taking it seriously and blogging for stats. And to get better ranking. Many bloggers are really poor. And the only way to get some extra cash is by…. yes, having a high traffic blog.
Personally, I don’t mind going to such a blog and reading it on a daily bases. If it has what stimulates me, and caters for my reading pleasures. The motives for the blogger at this point become irrelevant and I just get consumed with the article itself. Not the real motive behind the blog’s existence
Nas, I apologize again for my long comments, but this is my way of respecting what people write, and this was quite a good discussion.
Thanks again
Qwaider: i dont have a set definition for the art of blogging, hence my use of the words “what i consider”. nevertheless there is a general consensus about credibility and trust and an element that readers embed in a certain blogger; an x-factor. it is lost and gained based on how they blog, what they talk about, what their appeal is.
one can have a high traffic generating blog but behind the numbers is a whole other science bloggers, as i’m arguing, shouldn’t concern themselves with unless they are doing it primarily out of objectives such as earning money or even a false sense of pride. for example: one could get 10,000 hits a day but it wouldn’t mean much if 95% of visitors are first time visitors and stay for only 10 seconds tops. this indicates that one problem has been blogging for awhile thus many of one’s topics are “out there” and all these people are coming in through having searched for something, which leads them to a blog, where they inevitably discover this isn’t what they want and so leave.
that’s one example.
my point is, once bloggers start putting the numbers ahead of the blog then they lose a sense of respect and/or credibility. even an increase in their readership might be deceiving to the point. taking myself as an example, anything i post on this blog is something i really find interesting, whether it’s personal, political, current, or even a picture. i blog it because i truely am in love with it for the moment. whether others enjoy it as much is up to them.
if however i wanted to focus on the stats, then i would post photos of girls and talk ridiculously about things like sex or how i want to overthrow the government. i would feed the masses exactly what they want to hear or exactly what they don’t want to hear, instead of having a blog that’s about the things i want to hear and others just happen to want to hear it (or not) as well.
Mohanned: self destructive egos are not too common, and generally the readership ego-centric bloggers have will tend to be like a school of fish swimming with the tide, chasing the next junk food enema such a blogger(s) has/have to offer.
kinzi: i completely agree, there is a certain joy that comes with looking at numbers jump but it should remain something for your own entertainment. once you start using that as your guide then you’ve already “lost your way” and in the long run it will come back to hurt you.
I personally feel an ego boost when I get more stats 🙂
You are right Nas, sometimes I have fallen for it and posted something that I am not so proud of just because I thought it would be trigger more traffic to my blog, but I am trying to avoid this now as much as I can.
Observer: congrats man, you just made the first step towards recovery 😉