[7 September 2005 follow-up post]
I have found all the posts commenting on Walt’s list (I’m calling it this for brevity rather than accuracy – I hear Walt’s disclaimer that he never intended it to be a definitive top 60 list, just one possible top 60) to be quite compelling. At first I thought I wouldn’t comment, that I’d wait for this issue to go away, but I think that’s going to take a while and I’ve decided not to hold back.
The best thing about all of this, is that it’s helped me find out about a lot of other blogs that are worth reading. Some of these were in Walt’s list, others have been mentioned by bloggers in response to this list. I think it’s overall a good thing when we start thinking about the great stuff which people are doing in our library blog community.
When I look at the matter from a more personal, less of a big picture point of view, I have very mixed feelings. This is nothing new, I have mixed feelings about most things :)
There is a part of me which is very glad that I wasn’t listed on this list. Similar to what Rochelle mentions, I wouldn’t like people looking at this blog with hostile eyes, thinking or saying something like, “there’s nothing all that special about his blog that he should be listed ahead of X’s blog” My philosophy has always been that I blog for myself, and will continue to do so irrespective of rankings or recognition. If people don’t like me, do me and yourselves a favour and just don’t read me.
Of course, nothing is ever that simple. In an older post, which I still mainly agree with, I wrote about the different motivations of blogging.
For me at least, there are lots of different reasons for blogging. Some of these different reasons are ascendant at different times. I would be dishonest with myself if I didn’t admit that sometimes blogging is an ego-trip, and that it can be very nice when you receive positive feedback about your blog, or some kind of recognition.
That part of myself would have liked to be included on this list. I know that it’s a minority point of view, but it would be wrong of me to deny its existence all together. Besides, who are we to say that there are right and wrong reasons for blogging? If somebody produces a great blog, am I going to stay away if I suspect that they’re doing it for unsound reasons?
On the other hand, I think it’s possible to say that blogging for fame/ego is not advisable because it’s such a fickle game. One day the numbers the numbers are up, another day, the numbers are down. One down you can receive favourable comments and mentions, another day you can be criticized or ignored. If the ego is all that keeps you going, you won’t be able to survive unless you’re very thick-skinned or lucky.
