The blogroll is a tricky creature. For me, it started as a way to organize all the great blogs I wanted to keep reading but didn’t want to bury in my cluttered bookmarks folder. It also began as a way to connect myself to people who’d established their blogs. In the beginning, the blogroll was my attempt at gaining some footing and I won’t deny I was hoping for a reciprocal link, and reciprocated a link to my blog more than once. When I figured out what the heck RSS was for, my blogroll served as a recommendation to my readers where they might go next if they were looking for more reading material. But recently, the blogroll has turned into something of a beast. Mile-long blogrolls are frowned upon by many. I think most of us have seen blogrolls so long we wonder how anyone can truly read all of them. I’ve often thought, “Surely they don’t read that entire list? Why don’t they trim it back a little?” Which is a rather stupid question, isn’t it? I know why.
Not long after I’d started this little blogging venture, I de-linked someone. I didn’t think she was icky or smelly or boring or talentless. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her. I simply wasn’t reading her. Whatever sparked my interest and caused me to add her to my list wasn’t there for me anymore. Or maybe I was digging some new finds and didn’t have time to keep up with everybody and hers was the blog that I couldn’t keep up with. I don’t know for sure. But I do know she wasn’t very pleased with me and returned the favor by removing me from her blogroll. She also wrote about it, which was understandable. Removing her link and her subsequent post cost me some traffic and probably a few readers, as well.
I would like to have a blogroll that changes with me. A list that isn’t static. A fair representation of what I’m really reading right now and who I’m enjoying getting to know. But to do that, I’d have to delete links sometimes and I know that no matter how much I say it’s not personal, hard feelings are unavoidable. I’ve been de-linked and I know it’s a bummer. Especially when that person is a pretty popular blogger who runs with the big kids now and WHAT DID I SAY!? Did I fart or something?
I’ve also seen some discussion regarding how we should use our blogrolls to promote each other. Especially for the lesser-known bloggers. For example, some think I shouldn’t link to Dooce because DUH, everybody knows Dooce AND Dooce doesn’t link to me. Or anybody else, really. Instead I should be linking to those people I read who have only a handful of readers. The little guys should stick together and help each other up and share traffic and inspiration. But I really DO read Dooce and I don’t mind that she doesn’t have a blogroll. So then what? Don’t link to Heather because she’s popular? Is that appropriate? And where does one draw the line? “Pardon me. I was considering adding you to my blogroll, but I suspect you are quite popular in the blogosphere. How many unique hits do you get a day and are you willing to link to me?” How would you determine such a thing without asking or doing some homework? Why would you want to?
For now, I’ve decided to open up my previously private Bloglines list for public viewing. Other than the two or three feeds I’ve marked private (a friend from another lifetime and a family member who doesn’t know I’m spying!), this is what I’m really reading. You’ll see it’s longer than my blogroll. You’ll also see there are categories. Those listed under “Daily” are those I usually read within a day or two of Bloglines picking up a new post. Those under “Bookmarks” are those I might read today, or I might save them for Saturday morning when I make a pot of coffee and catch up with everyone. Or I might just read their summary (complete entries are appreciated!) and not click through for the rest. It’s not about liking you more or less. It’s not about thinking someone is better than someone else. It’s how I organize things so I can enjoy my hobby of blog writing and reading in my own way.
Other people talked about this previously and I didn’t work them in the way I originally intended to. Life got in the way of sitting down and organizing all of this. For more on this topic, please refer to the links below. Also, I’d love to hear what you think. Why do you have a blogroll? Do you hesitate to remove links from your list even though you don’t really want to point to them anymore? Should “popular” bloggers maintain blogrolls? Should we only link to newbies and lesser knowns? How should we handle deleting links? Should we take each other out for dinner and say, “It’s not you, it’s me. We can still be friends. I just don’t know if we need to advertise it anymore.”? Am I asking for a giant ass-kicking from the Internet because I’m a nobody and I deleted my blogroll?
Could I use the various forms of the word “blog” more in one post? YES! BLOG BLOG BLOG! There you go. Blog. Ribbit. Blog.
Tish G.
Halley Suitt
danah boyd
Dylan from Dallas at
Something Requisitely Witty and Urbane
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