I just suddenly thought to check and found, much to my astonishment and delight, that I have 34 followers. Now, that may not be enough to conquer even a minor City-State, but still. Which realization made me wonder: am I evil for not being a follower? I subscribe to any blog that I like, meaning I get updates whenever there is a new post. I make comments anytime something grabs my attention. But I honestly never think to be a follower of anyone's blog. I don't really even know what it means. Should I? Is it a sign of respect or just something to put on your virtual lapel?
Manners in the virtual age.
Being a follower is just like subscribing, it puts the blog on your "Blog Dashboard", allowing you to see who has recently posted, along with a preview of each post. This is just a convenient way of keeping tabs on your favourite blogs without having to check each one manually. I don't think it's bad manners not to subscribe, just the fact that you leave comments is good enough.
ReplyDeleteI vote not evil. I keep a blogroll instead. And I value commenters a crapload more than followers anyway.
ReplyDeleteEvil, yes, on par with history's greatest monsters--Genghis Khan, Col. Green, Kahless the Unforgettable,Zora--and you.
ReplyDeleteNah, just kdding ;). I would say, though, that followers do make a blog look "bona fide" and bolster folks to keep going (at least they did for me) because they're visible. Comments do the same thing, but comments are validation of one entry, not the whole blog.
But Blogroll serves that same function and you do that.
It's all a bit of a social game, I suppose. I don't think anybody faults anyone for not playing.
No evil for me. I usually try to follow all the blog on my blogroll, but knowing I need to re-check all of them in order to see which ones are missing is daunting.
ReplyDeleteBut I believe blogrolls and comments are better than following someone.
I like to follow a blog because the author writes things I want to read (most of the time) and I am showing my support for his/her efforts.
ReplyDeleteThanks all.
ReplyDelete