The Bloggers With The Most To Say
Does Size Really Matter?
Why are a lot of people generally so worried about getting a lot of readers?
I'm not really saying it's a bad thing, I'm just curious as to why it matters so much?
It seems to me that when you have a large amount followers, it's easy to miss out on who everyone is.
I emailed a blogger today that has almost 9,000 followers, and I got back an automated response. I can understand the need to do that with so many emails coming through in a day, but I found it kind of sad and impersonal, as well.
Is it more important for you to have a good relationship with your readers, or is having a large number of followers more important to you?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Whitney on -
I blog more for myself/looking back on stuff & to keep up with friends/family scattered across the country. Anything else is just gravy :)
I get wanting to be heard though.
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Permalink Reply by jay. on -
I get it too, I really don't think it's a bad thing. It just frustrates me when the amount of followers someone has is their main focus, instead of what they're actually writing on their blog.
PS - I love your blog, and how completely honest it is.
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Permalink Reply by Joseph Allan Clift on -
I think a lot of the time people associate readership with the quality of their writing, when it has everything to do with promotion. It's flattering to have a lot of views, but you gotta write for yourself first and foremost.
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Permalink Reply by leilani on -
I mean I think people in our generation, especially bloggers, have an exaggerated sense of self-importance that they'd like to have validated by others (e.g., by those who "follow" them)... if we're being honest.
I think my mom and boyfriend are the only people who read mine... and my boyfriend, probably like half the time? I don't really care, I just like to play around on it, you know?
So I would say I am in the former category, because it's really important to me that I have a good relationship w/my lover and mother. ;)
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Permalink Reply by Brian E on -
I think this is true. I've had my own theories about the influx of technology and our exposure to it at younger ages... As most of us 20-somethings were probably online in our grade school and middle school years, I think it may have changed how we mature out of the adolescent "invisible audience" phase. With the potential of a worldwide audience via the web, that stage gets big quickly. It's common for adolescents to feel like everyone is watching them when they aren't and I wonder if perhaps some of us cling to a vestige of this through our blogs.
-Not a bad thing, necessarily. Just a thing, maybe.
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Permalink Reply by Dominick Bonny on -
I think there's readers and then there's READERS. I don't want a bunch of people to follow my blog just because they want me to follow theirs. I want people to actually read it. I think Joe is right, getting followers is more about promotion than anything. All the badges, guest posts, memes, etc. is just window dressing – something to get you to the blog. What counts is what you have on the blog once you get the reader there. And it better be well written because if it's not I'm gone ...
I definitely blog for my readers but your voice counts for soooo much. And by voice I mean the personality, or tone, of your blog. It's gotta be charismatic, like a person, for people to want to be a part of it.
And seeing the word "I" being used excessively is a big pet peeve of mine because it tells me the writer is pretty much the equivalent of that person who won't seem to talk about anything other than themselves ... So yeah, I think audience awareness is kinda a big deal.
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Permalink Reply by Chatterbox on -
Some excellent points there :)
Thank you for sharing them Dominick :D
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Permalink Reply by Holly Renee on -
Blog mostly for myself. When I got my first comment a few weeks ago I was surprised that anyone knew my blog existed. I suppose it also matters what your blog is about. Mine is about my personal development and spirituality, so not expecting to many people to get into that, but when people are it's nice. Different strokes for different folks I suppose.
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Permalink Reply by jessica druck on -
9,000?! holy cow.... I think it's a matter of what someone said below. There are readers, then there are people who actually read them. I am a writer myself with goals in the journalism field...my blog is a hobby to let lose from my Journalistic obligations of writing...kind of like casual Friday but in the blog form. So if people follow me because they enjoy my writing then my job is complete. I value appreciation over bulk and fluff.
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Permalink Reply by Andhari on -
I blog for myself but if people show their interests in me, I'll usually check back. I mean that;s how blog friendship started. You can always tell when someone is genuine or not though. I'm definitely thinking that relationship with readers are more important.
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Permalink Reply by Johana Hill on -
I prefer having lots of comments to having many followers. Because I want my readers to participate. Given I write for myself but it feels good to know that you're not alone and there are many like you in the blogosphere. It's sort of a validation of 'I thought I was the only one who think like that or I'm not crazy!'
The number of comments will also reflect the number of people actually reading my posts instead of just clicking on the follow button. Many click on the button and then forget about you and your blog or just skim through without really paying attention to what's written. I don't like that.
I put my hands up and admit: I would like to see the number of comments in each post grows...
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