1) How important are blog friends, blog rolls, and an internet "network"? With consideration given to "real" friends, rolls, and networks? Are they typically the same people? Totally different? Is your blog a secret from those you really love, or hate?
2) How many times have you done up a hilarious post only to watch it float down your front page and get lost in the archives along with that silly post on sexy costumes, or a photo of you in a mirror... Don't you wish you could hang on to it, and feature it for others? What are some ways to do that? A must read section?
BONUS: How important is offering an RSS feed? Specifically Feedburner?
1) I've noticed that people seem to average about 30-50 people on their blogroll. Personally, I like having both real friends and blog friends on the blogroll, and I list them out into a few different categories. For me, this 20 Somethings network has opened up many ongoing friendships with bloggers, rather than just the random comment here or there. I'm open about my blog to everyone.
2) Lots of people feature a few of their favorite posts on the sidebar, and change them semi-regularly. This seems like a good way to direct people to your best posts.
Bonus: I personally use Google Reader, so an RSS feed is sort worthless. Most bloggers I know have some sort of web-based reader.
1 - important. blog friends are important, because they provide you with an online network of expertise, experiance, and (hopefully) inspiration. i suppose this is dependent on your motivations for maintaining a blog, but i think online friends can be very intimate relationships, very mutually beneficial, and can really add a component to your offline life that isn't possible otherwise.
2 - i don't get attached to posts, but i do like the idea of keeping track of the good stuff. i don't do a very good job of it, but when something i write gets featured elsewhere or a ton of attention, i'll try to link it...this is really mostly so i can go back and read my better writing.
3 - feeds are crucial. completely necessary, and feedburner makes it quite easy, so why not. a blog without a feed is like a library book you can't check out.
1. I think blog friends are extremely important! I know there are a couple bloggers that I'd miss if they stopped blogging alltogether. My blog friends, though, are just internet people. No one I know in real life reads my blog (or, if they do, I don't know about it).
2. As far as I'm concerned, once something is archived, that's where it will stay. I don't feel the need to hang onto and advertise special posts. History is history, if you ask me.
Bonus: I OFFER an RSS feed, but I don't really use others'....
1) I think a blog network is extremely important. It is really where most of your readers are going to come from, and they can provide both thought provoking commentary and support when needed.
None of my real life friends, outside of my boyfriend, a fellow blogger who got me into writing in the first place, know anything about my blog. I like the top secret aspect of it in that regard, though it kind of sucks to have to be so private with my readers.
2) I have actually been thinking of setting up a "best reads" section in my sidebar. There are a few things I'm really proud of floating in my archives.
3) I just use a feedreader, so I don't really worry about RSS feeds, since Google Reader does it all for you!
I think feed are important I have a lot of my readers reading me via feed. I love feedburner . I also read a ton of blogs via the my feeds which is Google.
My blog was started separate from real friends for the most part and most of my friends do not blog so IRL is really not a consideration.
My blogroll is on a separate page and includes some daily reads and some people I've had on there forever and just some general interest links - so people if they choose can get a general idea of my interests.
1. Very! By expanding my own set of blogs that I regularly read and comment upon, not only have I been able to have more than a teeny handful of readers (hi, Mom!), but I have also been able to make some pretty great blogland friends. For most people that I know from work/school/whatever, my blog is not something that I talk about that much, but I think that's something that happens more by chance than by design-- hell, I DO have the link up in my Facebook profile, so I suspect (and have had confirmed, a couple times) that many people I know in non-blogland life read, or have at least seen, my blog.
2. I definitely have something in my sidebar to link to previous posts-- I sometimes even link to past posts in new posts, if the topic is related. Blogger also has the handy tagging tool, so that readers can click into all posts that are, for instance, about shoes.
BONUS! Quite. I am a Google Reader convert and am a little bummed out when people don't have feeds. It's pretty easy to set up, so there is little reason not to.
I like to link to previous posts in new ones; if I talk about a friend I usually link to the first place I introduced him or her in my blog, or to the most relevant story about him or her. I hope it's helpful for people who don't have my friends and acquaintances memorized (which would be everyone).
I also have a "best of" on my sidebar, since I had some (I think) funny posts from before I had even the few readers I have now.
#1 - blog friends are some fan-freaking-tastic people! i mean where else can you get to know a person so personally without ever meeting them in person. (well, some people have been fortunate enough to meet their "blog buddies" in person.) My "real" firiends don't know I have a blog...I don't know why I haven't told them, truthfully. I have no reason not to.
#2 - HAHAHA!! that's happened to me a couple of times!!! I know some people have a "my favorite posts section" on their blog...so you could do that.
***I do have feedburner but I'm not sure if it makes any difference for my blog. I do subscribe to everyone's reader that I read.