There's an old conundrum:
If a tree falls in the middle of the forest and there's no one around does it make any sound?
Does a similiar thing apply to blogs that don't have any readers?
There's an old conundrum:
If a tree falls in the middle of the forest and there's no one around does it make any sound?
Does a similiar thing apply to blogs that don't have any readers?
Oli
Written Feb. 22, 2007 / Report /
Hehe... I've got readers (the stats can't be lying *that much*) but the amazingly low amount of feedback sometimes leads me to believe I'm the only one there.
I'll post some pictures of my pole dancing and see if that gets people screaming at me to take them down =)
Google, technorati and feedburner still read my things though... I'm happy to entertain bots.
ConnorWilson
Written Feb. 22, 2007 / Report /
Well, I think your point is proven by the insane amount of blogs created a day (I think it's in the thousands, I forget), and the the number of blogs that either you personally read, others read or stumble upon some how. That leave millions of blogs of just some random guy or girl posting away to no hits or subscribers. That was basically me a year or so ago :P
These people either get tired of it and do something about it, continue, or quit and claim that this entire "blogging" thing isn't all it was cracked up to be. Stupid media (lol)
biscuitrat
Written Feb. 22, 2007 / Report /
There might be some kinda strange butterfly effect. The shockwave of a blog's collapse could be pretty widespread, theoretically, because every blog has been read at least once (if you think about it). The likelihood of a very small blog making the news, or something similar, however is not as likely.
Personally, I'd prefer to think of blogs as upright trees, not dead ones :)
Devin
Written Feb. 22, 2007 / Report /
Some people don't do it for their readers. I do it for myself, my entertainment, and hopefully there are people out there that think, act, and enjoy the same things I do. Therefore, I'm glad there are some people out there that hear my tree fall.
But if they weren't, I wouldn't care...
Kamigoroshi
Written Feb. 22, 2007 / Report /
I've had this debate plenty of times before. It's impossible to say that you blog for yourself and you alone without a care of who reads it. Cause if you really don't care about who reads it, then you might as well not publish your stuff online at all.
The net means exposure and all bloggers to some degree are narcissistic people.
So it applies to blogs too. Without readers, it's very different. A blog needs that interactivity to grow and to nurture itself. Like a seedling without water, blogs without readers, blogs either die off without a sound or just remain as they are, unable to flourish and be all that they can be online.
Written Feb. 22, 2007 / Edit / Report /
Lol, that's a fantastic topic. Seems very true. I just posted my first ever blog and to be honest, I don't think it will ever get read. But hey, blogs are all about mind dumps (and emotional dumps). It's a great way to get it all out regardless of readers or no readers.
rickcurran
Written Feb. 22, 2007 / Report /
Heh heh, I'm glad people found the idea amusing! It was just something that came to me the other day, mainly due to my own recent efforts to blog more. I started blogging in Sept 05 and there wasn't many people reading it, not that I was so bothered as it was just fun to do.
@biscuitrat: I like the butterfly wings reference!
paulbjensen
Written Feb. 25, 2007 / Report /
*Oli "-I'm happy to entertain bots."
A spot of robo-p0rn perhaps? or 'bayesian filters do amazing things'?
silvertje
Written Feb. 28, 2007 / Report /
I've also read the comparison with small islands somewhere. This would make a trackback a bridge and a comment a visitor on a ferry?
I am also on my own little island, always happy whenever a visitor arrives :)
I think I should water my tree more though...
Tchakra
Written Feb. 28, 2007 / Report /
At the moment, my readers, that i know of, are my house mates but hopefully it will grow.
I like to reassure myself that the traffic i get isn't just from the bots and that there are few ppl lurking waiting for the perfect moment to make themselves appear.
superrats
Written Feb. 28, 2007 / Report /
Yes, blogs are like trees then, but it would apppear for some blogs, the tree is the reader so it makes a sound. But, I'm not one of those exclusively blog for me people. I want someone other than me to get a kick out of what I do and if nobody does, then there's not much point in posting.
silvertje
Written Feb. 28, 2007 / Report /
If we add to this comparison could we see the blogosphere as the forest?