I have been browsing a lot of blogs lately and thinking about why I read the blogs I do. I don't read many blogs but my selection is diverse. I wondered what made these blogs special.
Another reason I got thinking about this is that LJ wrote a post about blogging. She asked:
What draws you towards particular bloggers? What keeps you going back?
When checking Blogger profiles I became frustrated because it is impossible to search categories unless they are listed in your own profile. Blogger doesn't have a 'search engine' like Xanga has. You can't type 'indie music' in a text box and find all the bloggers listing indie music as an interest. In some ways this is a good thing. We can put ourselves in 'blog ghettos' if we limit what we read.
When Iooking for blogs I tended to be more open to style and creativity rather than specific topics. I also found myself returning to my 'reading roots' and looking for 'good reads' rather than sticking to popular blogs I didn't like.
Once I learned what I liked I began looking farther afield for good reads. I wanted American and British blogs that I could relate to. My goal was to get different perspectives from different places.
This all sounds nice and methodical but in reality subjective whim and chance played a big part in my selecting what to read. A 'perfectly good', well written blog, would attract my attention and then I would lose interest in it. The blog lacked something I needed.
Several times I found myself asking the questions that LJ asked. What brought me to this blog? Why am I still reading it? What makes it special?
I know I like diversity and well written blogs. There is more to it than that however. In part two I will discuss what attracts me to blogs and keeps me reading.
Continue to Part 2.
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