The Power of the Blogosphere

I certainly relate to the "low-level" blogger. All the advice to "grow" your readership basically says:

1. Find other low-level bloggers and post with them.

2. Send interesting stories to high level bloggers to get a post.

I've sent a couple of posts to instapundit and never gotten a link. I still curse myself for not being present when GW Bush spoke at USC admist protesters and counter-protesters and instapundit was asking for on-the-scene commentary. It could have been me.

I haven't found many "low-level" blogs worth posting to. I actually don't search for "low-level" blogs like myself. It's simply a matter of time and effort.

What I've done to promote a readership is basically word of mouth and tried to get whom I think are interesting people with interesting voices to read and interact with my blog. I've encouraged people to start blogs themselves, but that's usually doesn't work much.

Drezner, Sullivan, and Instapundit all frame blogs within the context as a challenge to big media, uncovering unreported stories - famously the Trent Lott fiasco, the criticisms of the New York Times, and now the Swift Boat veterans issue. More importantly, however, blogs seem to be a big hit AMOUNGST people who work in the media. They read blogs and figure out the issues people are talking about - the stories which ought to become news. Drezner points this out in the article above - blogs frame the debate.

There are others who think blogs are personal online diaries. I woke up today and ran two miles. So-so talked to me last night at the bar. This type of thing.

I tend to think of blogs as somewhere in-between. The analogy I've been using is that blogs are an ongoing online college dorm room discussion. The point of talking about personal things isn't to record what happened, but to analyze it. It's sociology and psychology. The political angle is about ideology and the way in which we ought to interact with others.

College is probably one the best American institutions. The Dorm Room discussions are probably one of the biggest intangibles of one's college experience, beyond classes and parties and significant others and all of that, it's the late night discussions about beliefs and dreams and hopes. Blogs can do that for free, whereas college costs an arm and a leg and ends after 4 years.