Posts
Around the time I decided to start a blog on the motherhood experience, I also thought it would be helpful to find some other parenting blogs to read – to see what others are doing and how they are getting through the trials and joys of parenthood. Given the huge numbers of parents out there, I thought it would be easy to find some good stuff. I was wrong.
I have sorted through hundreds of blogs in order to find a couple worth reading regularly. I went to Technorati, looked at the blogs under parenting and copied the top 200 or so. Out of those, I liked only about five of them. And most of the ones I liked were at the bottom of the popularity list.
What I am looking for in a blog?
1. Honest, intelligent and insightful writing
2. Not a laundry list of I did this or child did that
3. A focus on sharing information or experiences rather than a focus on trading links, gaining a larger audience or appealing to the masses.
4. A voice I can trust rather than someone beholden to sponsors
I think it’s number 3 that turned me off of so many of the blogs. Technorati rates blogs by “authority” by counting the number of blogs that link to that particular blog. So in an attempt to get more links, more authority and more readers, blogs find all ways to get people to link to them. Ie. put a link to my blog on your blog and leave a comment and you’ll qualify to win A, B or C. Number 4 often becomes an issue after a blog has reached number 3. Once they have become popular, they are able to attract sponsors and their posts may begin to spend more time advertising than providing quality information.
I also suppose that the more popular a blog becomes, the more the blog owner is pressured to appeal to the masses, which can mean refraining from stating unpopular opinions or fearing to criticize something some of the readers believe in.
Here are the blogs I’ll be checking in at in the near future.
All and Sundry
Ask Moxie
Crunchy Domestic Goddess
Frugal Fu
Her Bad Mother
IzzyMom
Suburban Bliss: Birth Control via the Written Word
Unruly Scrawl
Velveteen Mind
I’d love to find others, especially among the less popular blogs. If you have a favorite, please share.
13 comments:
Based on my posting schedule of about one post per week, I suppose you could say I am beholden to, ummmm, no one. That being said, I am now holding myself accountable to you and will try to clear my head of its recent sludge and actually post ASAP.
It's not that I don't have plenty to write about, but after years of journal writing for me and me and me, I forget that you and you and you are actually checking in. I should become more aware of my audience, which sort of goes against what you are looking for, I think.
Thank you for taking the time to find me. I don't know how I ended up on your radar, but I appreciate it and will have to think of some other blogs to recommend to you. You are off to a mighty fine start, though.
I just have to say that I love Crunchy Domestic Goddess and Velveteen Mind.
Jennifer
www.thesmartmama.com
Hey, just found my way here. Someone posted you on twitter. Those are some great blogs! I also like:
http://catherinemcniel.blogspot.com/
http://frogandtoadarestillfriends.blogspot.com/
http://droolstreet.blogspot.com/
and
http://madhattermommy.blogspot.com/
they are my everyday reads. nice to find you!
A good list.
I'm less popular.
Read me?
Two of my favorites are http://carolynonline.blogspot.com/ and http://postpicket.blogspot.com/
Now I'm following you, thanks to Velveteen Mind. Feel free to check my blogroll for others.
Hi there, I'm not popular, and I'd love to know what you think:
www.threebrightstars.com
It's a constant effort to avoid falling into the pitfalls you mention in your criteria! I'm trying HARD.
Thanks so much for the mention! -I will strive to live up to your trust in me:) -I'll look forward to investigating the others that you've listed!
xo
Those are all excellent blogs! I'll add a couple of my favorites, which tend to be of the "funny & insightful" type.
I love Mir at "Woulda Coulda Shoulda." One of my all time favorites. (http://wouldashoulda.com/)
I always find something to think about at "Okay, Fine, Dammit."
(http://okayfinedammit.com/)
And, sick puppy that I am, Anne makes me laugh harder than almost anyone. (http://annenahm.com/)
Oh! And you can't forget Yvonne! (http://joyunexpected.com)
I came over from Velveteen Mind via Twitter. I think those that you have chosen are all great blogs. I have read, and in most cases, continue to read them all.
Might I also suggest Attack of the Redneck Mommy? Tanis is amazing. Really. I think she may have restraining order out on me by now, but you should be fine.
There are still a lot of great blogs out there that have still not "jumped the shark".
Good luck in your blogging endeavors.
Interesting post. I am a fan of some of those blogs, but I don't have a problem with sponsors, etc. Writers always have to deal with patrons, customers, editors, etc. Blogging is no different. I am definitely not in the Technorati top 200, but hope someday to be, and I don't really understand what's wrong with that.
Here are some you might like:
Tinsenpup
Flutter
Ordinary Art
Suburban Kamikaze
Petite Anglaise
Momo Fali's
VM Megan mentioned this post over the weekend and I thought I would hop over and see what you had to say. I have to agree...it often feels like the big bloggers jump the shark when they get popular because they worry about staying popular. Glad you were able to find some good mommy blogs and I will check out your list...I already read a couple but hadn't heard of them all.
Post a Comment