Well, after an awesome birthday, I woke up today feeling like total shit. I’m almost positive I ate something bad at some point yesterday and I’ve missed class today, which is making me feel worse. So, in an attempt to forget that I’m feeling terrible, I’ve been surfing blogs on Blogmad. Using these traffic exchanges always makes me think about the blogosphere as a whole. It seems that Blogmad, Blogexplosion, Blog advance and the like are taking over the net! Everyone uses them, I’ve come across several of my regular haunts on these exchanges; WordPress tells me I get a LOT of hits per day and most of them are exchange traffic. I suppose I’m wondering how many of you actually use traffic exchanges?
When I’m surfing around, trying to earn credits for traffic, I do my best to read (almost) every blog I come across. The failing of these exchanges is that they tend to show the same blog repeatedly, which annoys the hell out of me. Now, I’ll admit that I’m guilty of not reading financial blogs and while I give my all to reading “geek” blogs, I’m usually at a loss as to what the heck they’re rambling on about. My personal favorite is “personal” blogs. I love to read about the lives of others, and if it makes me a web voyeur, so be it! I only have one life, and frankly I don’t feel like it’s interesting enough. I can’t be everywhere, living everyone’s lives, so reading about others is my way of becoming more worldly, one blog at a time.
One of the blogs I ran across this morning, the name of which I cannot recall for the life of me, was talking about breaking your blog in, comments, and hate mail. After reading it over, I felt a little disappointed. I’ve never gotten hate mail, so does that mean that my blog isn’t “broken in”? If it does, then someone send me hate mail, I’m waiting. No, really, please don’t. Hate mail means you’ve angered someone, and while I don’t necessarily care if others are offended by my ideas, I’d hate to think I’d driven someone to writing something nasty and hateful and wasting that ten minutes they’ll never be able to get back to write something that I’m just going to junk.
So a question…Do those of you who use traffic exchanges read the blogs your surfing or do you just click past to earn credits? I, personally, believe it’s bad blogging karma. For every blog you just click past without so much as consideration, someone is going to do that to yours. I get lots of hits per day (when I bother to surf for traffic) and I don’t get anywhere near enough comments to satisfy the number of hits. So, just for shits and giggles, if youre reading this, leave me a comment.
Wonder how many I’ll actually get??
KristynMarie
I use to surf blog explosion but then I just stopped as I kept getting the same ones over & over again and I wasn’t getting comments although I was commenting on others. Or I’d say something in opposition & they’d leave an ugly comment on mine.
Now that I do those Monday Memories, Wordless Wed & Thursday 13; I’ll look at the blogs they read. And for that day, I get lots of hits & comments.
I find that i dont get many readers from the exchange things,Mind you i grabbed a comment you.
Have a good one.
I usually take the time to read at least a little. However, you see, let me explain, this is how it is… what I have to say is much more important than what anyone else has to say so therefore and wherewith it behooves me to spend as little time as possible on each blog so as to surf to as many blogs as possible so as many people as possible will get the benefit of the important stuff I have to say. Get it? Got it. Thanks.
I love the personal blogs too, I wish I could send you some hate mail, but I can’t. I enjoy your blog!!
I read 65% of the blogs I see.
20% are political blogs, which I hate for the most part, and the remaining 15% are repeats of the 65% that I do read. I rarely leave comments, though, because someone else has always managed to say what I wanted to and much more succinctly.
I can’t remember where I came from to get here, but am doing as requested and leaving a note.
I don’t get too many from those traffic tools, though I’m only (now) subbed to one of them. The rest just spammed me. :\
You caught my eye. Or my ear? So I came in and posted a comment. I guess that’s what it takes!
I try to read a little of each. Some (especially the ones I’ve seen a million times and have no interest in) I just click past. But usually if I make it through an entire entry, I try to leave a comment.
I think that being interactive (leaving messages, replying) while using blog exchanges has been most helpful in getting regular readership
I read them and usually go over the time I have to be there. I have picked up readers from exchanges and have become readers because of blogs I’ve read there. I get impatient with people who don’t update their blogs for weeks and still continue to surf for readers. I’ve read your blog several times and I enjoy it, but don’t always comment.
I love to comment randomly on blogs. I have yet to leave anyone hate mail.
I once lost a blog due to personal hate mail. Sigh.
Hi there,
I just cam accross your blog whilst surfing BlogMad. I’m on both BM and BE and I do see your point. I hardly surf at all and mostly get my credits from doing the games and such but when I do surf, I do tend to hit the same blogs over and over again.
I usually skip the political, religious and ones that look boring but I do skim to see if they are as boring as they look! I know thats bad but I think everyone does it and I know they definatly do it to mine (I hardly get any comments, I think I bore people).
I like your blog by the way
I would ditto all of the above. I have some regular readers…it’s more like the adage of it’s not what you know it’s who you know because I also have gotten regular readers from friends of my friends who blog. Occasionally I get a comment from strangers. Some stick around, some don’t.
I generally skim the blog to see if it interests me. My blog is definitely G rated, and maybe not so interesting to some…but my family reads it too to stay connected.
Your entry obviously interested me enough to comment! : )
I like personal blogs the best as well. I guess because I am so nosy! Political blogs and religious blogs I don’t read (although I am a Christian) I just have my own views on politics and religion so I dont read anyone elses, but they are free to have their views. I just wait out the time and then click the number. I know alot of bloggers hate “Mommy blogs” but to me, a mother, these are some of the best ones out there. My blog isn’t funny or interesting all the time, but I like it and it keeps my family updated, so I dont mind if no one else likes it, but I love when I get comments, who doesnt? If it catches my eye, like yours did, then I definitely read thru more than one post.
I used BE when I first started my blog, but since haven’t been back. I find it some what senseless having clickers come through, but no one really reading your blog. As far as hate mail goes. Well me and Greg co-author a blog that starts flame wars. We sit back and laugh our asses of. Try 30 comments for 1 post and all of them dripping hate. Flame wars are fun.
I get enough hate mail for the both of us. I use Blogmad and Blog Soldiers and try to read a little of each blog, and if there is any value I will try to post.
If the content is good, people will find you!
hey i seen ya blog its awesome i like your blog n if u like to i want to do link exchange with u this is my link http://somethingbeautifull.blogspot.com/
regard feroz
Surfed in via Blog Mad and yes I do read the blogs I surf to ..
Happy belated birthday.
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here
MIDWAY upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost. (Dante)
you see I read you while traffic exchanging.
the question is: have you ever read me?
thanks for the post, I enjoyed it, although lost time.. and remeber time is blogmad credit…
I came across your site via BlogAdvance and it’s the only one I use. I have my blog signed up with others, but I find BE has the same blogs over and over and BM whent hey crashed and I had to re-sign up with them, I just didn’t bother.
No need for hate mail. I admire your enthusiasm in reading personal blogs, but for me, sometimes, it gets too personal. Like, do I need to know what that person ate at 4:15 in the morning. I believe their just fillers. I also believe that posts should make sense and should help enrich the reader’s experience. Empower them, somehow. I dunno how to do that, but I will surely try.
Belated happy birthday.
WiLL
http://gormful.com
I’ve recently written a post that (very) vaguely resembles yours… my point was mainly about the validity of StatCounter stats, but, yes, I started off with “Would it kill you to comment?”. After receiving more comments on that one post than any other I was feeling all Sally Field for a moment.
I agree with many of the previous comments here – some of the blogs I actually READ, there are way too many repeats, I avoid the political and religious blogs.
I don’t mind spending my ‘precious’ BM time reading through a thought-provoking or funny blog, though I would be much, much happier if BM would answer my emails – how exactly do I get to .25 points? Why the heck does the ‘add to favorites’ button work, but the ‘block this site permanently’ button never work?
BM has greatly increased traffic to my site; I’m a hit-junkie. I wish I knew, though, who actually comes back of their own accord and who has added me to their favorites. I’d like to return the favor, you know?
I attempt to read at least the first post when surfing. I keep multiple tabs open though and if it’s a financial blog or way out there political blog, I happily skip it. I leave comments if I can identify with the post in some way, but don’t just to leave a comment.
I used to surf a lot more than I do now. I just don’t have the time. But, when I surf, I fly right past political, religious, and the genre I call “angry woman” blogs. You know the ones that start with something like, “I’m a b-t-h and proud of it, and this is what p—es me off!”
My favorite blogs have interesting, amiable commentary and/or pretty pictures! Your blog is interesting — you’re thinking, not just talking, and you’re not trying to gain readers by using the “shock-blog” approach. I appreciate that!
Sorry, I can’t leave hate mail for you, but hang in there; someone will! We all get some, sooner or later! I’ve only received two, so far. Just deleted them and moved on!
I consider myself fairly political, but I skip right over the political blogs. Political blogs tend to be at either end of the spectrum, so there’s nothing I really want to read there.
I’m all about the tech blogs though. There certainly aren’t enough on Blogmad.