I lived in Washington, D.C. for almost seven years and am very familiar with politics based on that proximity. Politics is a game of favors. Blogging is not that different. Someone does me a favor by posting a comment and/or following my posts and I reciprocate by doing the same. This forges a friendship or relationship that can be beneficial to both sides.
I'm excited to see where this "campaign" goes. It already has a cool logo - let the campaigning begin.
Maybe this is why I have trouble networking--I'm looking at it the wrong way. To me, the person who follows another person's blog is not doing them a favor. The person who writes a blog worth following is doing the favor to the people who get to enjoy that content for free.
ReplyDeleteThe whole in-networking thing also seems suspiciously pyramid-like to me, too. I feel that just as the basis of any marketing plan should be people who want to buy the product and have no interest in selling it, that basis of any good blog should be readers who aren't there in order to garner more traffic for themselves.
Heidi - I see your point and if I were selling widgets or services I would totally agree. My blog doesn't exist for either reason. I blog to chronicle my attempts at authorship and to connect with other aspiring authors. I also blog about food just because I love it. I love followers because it means that when I ask a question, raise an issue, or share a recipe I can get the opinions of several outside people free-of-charge - sort of. This is where my favor idea came from. By following me you agree to give me your attention, even if only for a brief moment. I return the favor by doing the same. If you comment you agree to share your opinion so I can benefit from your insight. I return the favor by sharing my insight when you ask a question.
ReplyDeleteThe blogging experience, at least for me, is about a forum for discussion and not the buying or selling of anything. It gives me more than my small circle of friends and family to bounce ideas off.
For me, it works best when it’s a two way street. Who want to invest time when the investment isn’t returned.
ReplyDeleteSure the content is good, but the interaction is key to growth on both sides of the fence.
But, I blog to create that relationship; rather than just to learn or read the information posted on peoples blogs.
To each their own.