Mar 16 2007
What Do Your MyBlogLog Communities Say About You?
I log on to MyBlogLog every morning. It’s a great way to check out my statistics as well as see if anyone has stopped by to look at my profile.
I have to admit, I like MyBlogLog because having the avatars of my regular readers show up on my site is like having a friend stopping by to say hello.
I try to check out the communities of blogs that I’m a member of in the hopes to discover more great blogs.
If you were to look at my MyBlogLog communities you will see that I haven’t joined many.
I think of my online communities in the same way I do off-line: whom I associate with is a reflection of who I am.
When I read the profiles of others and I see that they have joined over 50 communities I start to wonder. At this point I can’t even imagine my joining so many communities.
When I come across a blog I like I go through the archives to get a sense of the blogger’s style, personality and focus. I then try to visit regularly to see if I continue to enjoy their blog. I think of joining a community as making friends with someone. I believe that’s the way it’s supposed to work, right? When I see someone who has joined over 50 communities I take a quick look at which ones.
For some members I am a bit surprised at the communities they have joined, as they don’t seem to match who I think they are. For example, a blogger’s online presence leads me to believe they like technology, personal development, humor and photography. I then see that they have joined celebrity watch blogs, fashion blogs, a womens’ health blog and maybe even a blog in a foreign language.
If the blogger were a woman all these communities might be an expression of other interests. If the blogger were a man, I’d think he had some pretty eclectic interests. I do know it’s a bit of a stereotype but generally men don’t follow celebrity news or womens’ health issues.
If someone has joined over 50 communities and they don’t add up to me as a true reflection of their taste, I don’t consider that they are recommending the other communities.
If I see someone who has joined few communities I take a closer look at those communities. If we are members of one community or even several, I look at their community list as a recommendation.
What do my communities say about me? They say I’m interested in personal development, blogging, technology and good writing. I regularly read the blogs of communities I have joined.
What are your thoughts? Do you join a community because you enjoy the blog or “just to be nice?”
I’m glad I was able to find you through MyBlogLog. To be honest, this is the first blog post I’ve read of yours and I really like your style. Also, the quality of the content was good to the point where I’m going to go through my MBL communities and filter out communities that I don’t think fit my demographic of readers. Thanks for the tips and Keep up the Great Work!
Hi, Gary – Thanks for the compliment! I’ve been stopping by one of your sites (MrGaryLee) and your bio is funny. It’s nice to find another person who sometimes slips and begins speaking about himself in the 3rd person.
Ms. Q can totally relate.
Nice post and Blog. I have been here almost everyday since joining MyBlogLog.
I have a bunch of communities that I belong to but I never thought that was a reflection of my taste or recommending them (except this one of course) to anyone that might visit my page.
I get added to them automatically after I visit a few times. If I see something interesting or something that made me laugh I join the community as sort of bookmarking tool to see if that is what I can expect everyday or if it was a fluke.
I also look for writing styles and to take a peek into a community I normally would not be a part of. There are a couple in a foreign languages that I don’t even understand but have some very cool features. I ran across one the had a picture of a bunch of full size R2D2 robots. I ran it through a translation program just to figure out what was going on.
That is one of the great things about blogging and MyBlogLog. I can look at many more blogs than I ever thought possible. Even if I don’t agree with them or their topics it’s still an interesting read sometime.
Don’t judge some ones communities as what they are in to just what they are curious about or what caught their eye.
uptil7000: Thanks for being a regular reader!
You bring up a valid point about joining a community as a way of bookmarking. I have never been much of a joiner which is why I look at the MBL Communities the way I do.
I noticed that the bloggers I enjoy reading run the gamut from joining only a few communities to several hundred. I get a bit overwhelmed when I see hundreds!
I do like how MBL allows me to discover new blogs. I’ll see the same avatars at several sites I frequent and I’ll click on them to see what type of blog they have.
I started doing that also. It’s almost like walking into a room of strangers and thinking hey I know you.
I must admit though there are a few sites I visit I sure would not want my friends know that I go there. I found a cheating on your spouse blog. I am very faithful and would never consider cheating but I was really curious on why someone would, and any tips I could use if I ever decided to be a Private Eye.
If the wife saw I was going there I am sure a long discussion would come from it. I nerver found another way to check out other blogs like this until now. I almost feel like a kid in a candy store.
uptil7000: Great analogy about walking into a room full of strangers!
After you mentioned the cheating spouse blog I have to check it out, too.
Your wife? Based on your avatar I thought you were a woman. Then again, some men have had busting-out-of-the bikini-top avatars.
A reminder that one should never assume!
My avatar is just to get people intrested. Maybe click and see what’s going on behind the curtain. It always seems like pics of women just get more clicks.
I did try a little experiment on myspace with instaed of putting up a picture of a hot girl almost wearing nothing I went the other way put up a picture of a muscle bound stud and boom a buch of hot women want to be my friend.
I was a little suprised at the demographic that came in also. I now have over 500 friends from an older demographic than I thought exsisted on myspace. I have been marketing on internet for over 7 years and I am still shocked at what makes people click and what does not.
The thing that got me on this site was that rock with a hole (I think that’s what it is) and the hillside graphic you have at the top. The rock really got my attention since I was wondering what the heck is that. It really made take a look to see what you had to say.
I guess a picture is worth a 1000 words is true even if all those words aren’t.
uptil7000: Thanks for sharing what drew you to my site. You’re right, it’s a rock with a hole. I wrote about Spot-the-Rock earlier in the week. I had no idea that Spot would be intriguing! I don’t know if it comes across but my site is about seeing beyond the obvious, my attempts at understanding the human condition and really, seeing life in a compassionate and humorous way.
I like stones. I have them scattered around my home. I feel they contain the history of the world in them and I find that soothing.
I chose a stone to replace the original image because my site isn’t so much about me. It really is about giving my readers something to think about.
The photo in my header is of the hills in Northern California. A friend of mine took it and I immediately asked if I could use it for my blog. I’d been looking for a replacement image for a long time.
Funny how different avatars attract a different demographic. It makes total sense, though. If all we have is an avatar to judge someone by, we’ll do our darndest to weave a garment out of a few threads!
500+ MySpace friends? Wow. I can’t even imagine. I know what you mean by no understanding what makes people click and what does not! I have had posts which I thought were not as good as I would like somehow resonate with people. Of course, this is because I feel that I have to somehow spend a long time writing a post in order for it to be a good one!
I appreciate your taking the time to write a longer comment.
Been real busy around here but I did not want to leave the comments unfinished. It seemed like we were in the middle of a conversation and I just walked away. Sorry about that.
The what people want thing is really bothering me today. I am starting ANOTHER blog. I have my general one and this is more in line for what I do to pay the bills around here.
Of course, your blog came to mind AGAIN.
I HATE looking through wordpress templates. It never seems like I can find one that fits what I am trying to get across.
Thanks for explaing the rock. That was bugging me too.
I’ll be back often,
Steve
Steve: It’s the nature of blogging to leave in the middle of a conversation but I appreciate your sensitivity about it.
So you’re starting another blog? Wow. That’s work! I barely have enough time to write a post a day.
Yeah, I’m not into looking for Wordpress templates. That’s nail-in-the-eye fun.
I’d like to update mine but the MistyLook one is really solid – accepts widgets, lots of features. Part of me wants to tweak my own, another parts of me wants to get a professional! But blogging isn’t a business for me so the idea of spending money on designing a new template – ngh.
Good luck with finding the right template I’m happy that you visit when you can!
Ms. Q,
I am new to bloglog-but so far I am really enjoying it. = )
Shama: I’ve only joined a few of these community services – Million Dollar Avatar, MyBlogLog and StumbleUpon and so far I have the most fun with MBL. SU is pretty good but I have to log in – one more step!
I even signed up for the Pro version – it’s nice to see the realtime stats. I could check the Google analytics reports but MBL is more my speed. I hope you continue to have fun with it!
I use certain ways of developing contacts. I love MyBlogLog because it is full of people that want traffic, and love blogging. I have met numerous people there, and see it as just that…a way of meeting people. I will join any community with a web page I liked, or even one post I liked. Restricting yourself in the communities you join can be an advantage if this is how you find and identify with blogs you want to frequent. I just don’t use it for that reason.
Many blogs represent political or social stands I disaggree with, yet drop in on anyway. For me personally, the list of contacts I have does not reflect on who I am whatsoever. If others see them as a mirror of sorts, that’s OK too. I do not take blogging that seriously. It is a “for fun” hobby, and nothing more.
BTW…Hi Ms.Q!! You are one of the people that I am glad to have met. Your insite is always interesting to me – and I am a member of your reader community.
Yo. Speedcat! Thanks for joining my community! I tend to forget to join as I am not a “joiner” type. I can tell you don’t take blogging seriously, at least with respect to your blog. It’s very funny, bizarre, sometimes sweet and sometimes wise.
I joined your community as well. See – I also join communities that don’t reflect my interests – in your case, GOLF. However, you blog has stuff I do like: humor! You definitely poke fun at yourself.