New Blood Blog Roundup

In his fine piece on blogging at The Sharpener, Nosemonkey had this to say:

The better – or simply more popular – bloggers end up reading each other and linking to each other and, increasingly, finding themselves less able or inclined, due either to time constraints or the knowledge that their current blogrolls contain enough good people to find most things so they shouldn’t be missing much, to pick up on newer blogs. Equally, the more people that link to you, the harder it is to notice new ones, or new good ones – especially as the likes of Technorati and the other blog search engines are currently having so much difficulty in keeping up to date and accurate.

I’ve only come across two new blogs in the last few months that I read regularly: the mighty Rachel from North London and the excellent Kitty Killer who hasn’t posted since late September (if you’re out there mate, give us a shout). So, to find out what other new blogs are out there, we’re inaugurating a one-off New Blood Blog Roundup.

If you run a political blog of whatever flavour that was created after August 1 this year or would like to recommend one, please email chickyog@gmail.com before midday on Friday December 9. I’ll then present the list both here and on my own blog. As a further incentive to potential third party recommenders, other than the rosey glow of a good deed well done, I’ll also give a hat tip link to your blog.

This isn’t designed as a patronising, patriarchal pat on the head or beauty contest for the “little folk” from self-styled “big boys of blogging”. It’s a genuine attempt to broaden the circle of blogs that many of us are reading right now. There will be no judgements made and all recommendations will make the list. It’ll then be up to everybody using the list to decide who’s cool and who’s fool.

13 comments
  1. In my experience, new blogs force themselves into the consciousness of the existing blog community rather than being picked up and noticed by people who went out scouting. This is certainly how I became noticed in the Muslim blog community – by posting comments on other blogs that were around in early 2004 (not all of which still exist), leaving my URL, and by posting “by the way, I’ve got my own blog now”. As for my other blog, A Qt (pronounced cute) Blog, I drew attention to it by emailing people who run sites and blogs in the Qt community. I think Google and Technorati play a minimal role in bringing blogs to people’s attention; it is basically a social-networking phenomenon.

  2. Justin said:

    I agree. I did much the same with CY and reciprocal linking did the rest. But nobody seems to be making that push right now. At least not on any of the blogs I’m reading.

    It’s just with the proliferation of blogs, time being short and me being lazy, it’s getting harder to find these people.

  3. I agree with both of you. I am relatively new to blogging but I do the social-networking thing. Most people who are serious about their weblogs will automatically do this I think. However, with the explosion of blogs, it is extremely hard to get noticed and therefore to get readers. The mega-blogs and yes, “the big boys of blogging” do dominate the scene. It is also harder for women’s blogs to get attention. I have changed my daily reading list since I started and make a concerted effort to choose by women and “minority” blogs which don’t figure very often in all chatter in Blogland.

  4. Peter said:

    What a difference a day (or two) makes…

    The Apollo Project blog (http://liberalism2010.blogspot.com/)started up on 29 July 2005 so I guess we are not elegible (unless you are flexible). I suppose too that you already know about us, because you have picked up on some of our posts on Lib Dem tax policy (we are Lib Dem modernisers, I think…)

    We put together a monthly round up of good things on lib dem blogs – and the november top ten is out today.

    All readers welcome…

  5. Gosh. Thank you Justin. I am very grateful for your support and I am honoured that you have been dropping by my blog
    *curtseys*

  6. MatGB said:

    But nobody seems to be making that push right now. At least not on any of the blogs I’m reading.

    Depends, I see a few every so often. Plus, by your criteria, I’m a ‘new’ blog; started late September, but I just got on with it, the 4 blogs I read the most have linked to me in posts already, and the debates are fun.

    I approve of the idea, but there are definately blog spheres out there that I’m not picking up on still, including stuff like Peter’s Apollo Project, that a nominal left-LibDem like me should probably be reading. But I do think the way to get yourself noticed is comment on other blogs and critique them using trackbacks; it’s working for me so far, and I’m not exactly trying that hard.

  7. Sunny said:

    I’m with Yusuf on this one too, to a certain extent. Yeah you do make yourself known by commenting on other blogs, but its generally a very short-termist strategy.

    Content is still king. Either for the comments, or for the articles – once people come to your blog they have to have a reason to bookmark it or add it to their feed. If one is just writing a few lines linking to stories already out there in the media, what is the point exactly? TBH I wouldn’t bookmark that blog. I want original content dammit. Or at least a perspective/niche that not many others are covering.

    Nosemonkey’s article was excellent though. In fact I need to write something about that when I get some time… hmmm..

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  9. I’m back BTW :-P :-)

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  11. Laban said:

    Good new bloggers will still be noticed if they

    a) link to existing blogs, whose traffic software will flag up the new link – that’s how I discovered the wonderful Curmudgeon Joy

    b) have influential mates like Norm who will (rightly) link to them (eg Clive Davis who I read daily)

    c) leave a comment/link on a ‘known’ blog – and via David Farrar I’ve just found The G-Gnome Rides Out, a we’re-all-going-to-the-dogs-blog after my own wizened heart

    http://theggnomeridesout.blogspot.com

    “Galloway is a member of that section of the British public born between 1945 and 1955. Some call them ‘the luckiest generation'; I would call them the greediest. There are, of course, many exceptions to this observation – but as time passes the more easily my conclusion comes to mind.

    They were mostly born in clean, brand-new NHS hospitals. Their parents never had to pay for healthcare. Mostly, they received excellent educations in selective grammar schools for no charge. They either went to university to gain a meaningful degree or learned a trade and could go straight into stable long-term employment. The state made no demands upon them to perform National Service. They rebelled against their parents, avidly embracing drug culture, sexual licence and the permissive society, sowing the seeds of the present pensions crisis by campaigning for the legalisation of abortion in 1967.”

    Without one of those three full many a blogger will be born to blush unseen. But if they keep going, and they are any good, or say something people want to hear (especially if its not articulated in the MSM), people will get there eventually.

  12. Laban said:

    PS – I’ve just read Rachel’s blog – and her links.

    Phew. I think I’ll have a sit down and a mulled wine.