My blog operates under certain conventions, the likes of which perhaps ought to be revealed now:
1. I do my best to post every day.
2. I likewise enjoy blogs that post every day.
3. I hold out my “The Usual Suspects” list to those whom I read frequently and who post regularly;
4. I don’t add to my “The Usual Suspects” list in order to increase readership. I actually possess some ethics. I only add you if I read you, or if I think you have a Voice. Capital V. Blogs that have hundreds of links bore me. Yeah. Like you read all those blogs every day. Yadda yadda yadda.
5. If you post frequently, you ascend; if you post infrequently you descend — or I delete you.
6. I used to make announcements for every addition or deletion. I don’t do that any more. Should I bring these announcements back?
Further:
1. I try to post daily. Occasionally I will make two posts daily. If I leave for a period of time, I make an announcement.
2. My masthead rarely changes. I am an HTML idiot.
TF was my first HTML guru; now it is Robert at
American & Proud who is my guru. I’ve figured out a few things; changing my masthead frequently
isn’t one of them.
3. I like links. I will make a link whenever possible, in order to ‘justify” whatever point I’m attempting to make at the time.
4. I very much
dislike minimalist obscure posts. Make your point. Make it soon. Don’t just provide links to other sites with a word or two. They’ve done the work. You
haven’t. If you constantly refer me to another site to make your point, then why am I reading YOU? You are
not Instapundit or
Powerline.
5. Why do I read most blogs? Easy: to acquire a taste and a sense of who you are. Aggregator blogs are gone from my The Usual Suspects list. I want you to editorialize. That’s why Common Cents is gone. Anyone can puke out a bunch of links. And, no matter what you might think, you are most definitely not Drudge.
6. I may like you. I may agree 100% with your philosophy. But if you don’t work at your posts, you’re gone. Be active.
7. Blogger offers to “monetize” my blog. Bullshit. I’m not “monetizing” anything. I’ve not made ONE CENT from this blog. I may enjoy politically-related ads on a blog, but I can certainly and easily tell the DIFFERENCE between a blog displaying random ads and one that focuses on Conservative issues.
8. Pay attention to your posts. Pay attention to your spelling. Pay attention to your paragraphs. Pay attention to how your post looks upon publication. If you’re on Blogger, before you publish a post you’ll need to click back and forth between “COMPOSE” and “PREVIEW” in order to determine if your paragraphs are full.
9. Make it simple. Make it cogent. Make it entertaining.
10. If you make your blog confusing or obdurate, I’m done with you. Life is too short for you, clearly. If you are nothing but an example for TechnoWhizBang, u b gone.
One of my favorite blogs in terms of layout?
TexasFred. I wish he’d use more photos and graphics, but that’s a minimal observation. His HEADLINES are clear, short, concise. I may occasionally disagree with his points or philosophies. He makes his reference quotes and then gets
right to the meat of the matter. You can CLEARLY delineate between his resources and his editorialization. He is
brilliant in terms of making and then backing-up his point. I submit that’s why he’s read so much. You may
hate him. You may
love him. But his blog is CLEAR, it is SIMPLE, it is OBVIOUS, it is CONCISE, it is plain. He is NUMBER ONE in my
TUS blogroll because he pulls no punches and he embraces these two very important points:
He is FIRM and he is CONSISTENT. You can depend upon, at minimum, a new post every day.
One of my favorite blogs in terms of background, depth, breadth, massive content, knowledge, is
A Jacksonian. I’ll write this up front: YOU don’t have the hours in the day to do the investigation that HE does on EVERY post. I’ve written to him and I’ll write to you: the entire federal STATE DEPARTMENT pales in comparison to his insight, training, education and experience. You think I’m kidding? Read his blog.
In terms of other Blog Conventions:
I enjoy posting, at the minimum, one photo per post. I’ve finally learned how to import photos and then drag and drop them into specific points on a given post. I’ve learned that the top photo can be clicked-on, and then enlarged. I’ve learned, through Blogger, that if you want to make ALL of your photos enlargeable, you must pre-load every photo and only THEN add your words, comments, links.
So many bloggers I’ve embraced over the past few years have left the realm. People start by thinking that blogging is child’s play. As you all know, it is not. I cannot tell you how many blogs I’ve found that I’ve enjoyed yet — they published two or three good posts then simply disappeared. To those not involved this seems silly but I realize it to be true: blogging is hard work. Consistent blogging is even more difficult. It can damned near take over your life. But, on the other hand, people enjoy visiting a blog that’s current and hasn’t let a post sit for a month. I sense the Blogosphere is in a vast upheaval right now. If you have a voice — and you can keep it — please let it be heard. We need as many Conservatives in the choir as possible.
My priority in my blogroll: it isn’t because I don’t necessarily disagree with you. It’s because you don’t predominatly post, at minimum, a number of times per week.
After all, honestly — don’t you enjoy reading an active blog?
BZ
