I love playing around on the blogosphere. It’s a fun and low-key way to socialize, at any time of the day. My enthusiasm might be because we are 40 minutes from the nearest city with sit-down restaurants, a movie theater, or a park; perhaps its because we lack cable or satellite TV and the radio is full of static. Personally, I like to think it is because the blogosphere is inherently cerebral – it takes thought to put together an intelligent post (no, don’t look at this one for a sign of intelligence) and a touch more intellect to read another’s blog and leave meaningful comments (and, yes, I am looking to you for that here).
So in blogging around, I look for a few things:
1) Content: I like to see what others think about books, especially scifi/fantasy/historicals. I also follow a variety of authors, indie and otherwise. But I can also be satisfied by pandas, farming, and knitting.
2) Easy way to follow: In general, I like to follow via email. Some of my fave authors are lacking an email follow button (sniffle, sniffle), but they almost always have other methods, such as following in a reader, via twitter, or via facebook.
3) Ambiance: I tend to lean towards the dark and somber, not in some emo goth kind of way, but in like a Sanctuary Season 1 kind of way. I like it quirky, but also a bit serious. Cussing and frank discussions of sex in a book don’t deter me from reading the blog. Bright colors and too many countdown-to-the-next-big-movie counters on the sidebar tend to drive me away.
4) Giveaways/Contests: I enjoy entering these and I enjoy them even more if they are interspersed with book reviews, commentaries on the bookish, and pics of fuzzy animals nuzzling your favorite books.
So with all that said, what draws you to a blog? What keeps you interested? Extra points if you tell me why you keep checking in with Darkcargo.
I’m all about content, and not so much about sparkles.
content = articles of any kind (book reviews, interviews, observations on the world, travel) that are well thought out, interaction with other blogs, shout-outs, fun links and interviews is cool too, anything that shows the blogger isn’t living on a desert island with no connection whatsoever to the real world. i don’t need to be interested or fascinated by posts every single day, but if there’s something that catches my eye at least once a week I’m going to keep visiting the site.
sparkles = the crap that keeps the content from being able to load, such as animated gifs in sidebar, multiple counters, music players that are hard to find/turn off, video advertisements, and general lack of interesting content.
why do i keep checking in with DC? because there is something new and neat here nearly every day. It’s like boingboing, without the politics (which makes it better!).
I like that last point best. DC thanks you.
Sometimes the sparkles drive me away even tho I like the content. Sigh….
A few of the blogs I like are simple, yet they have this striped motif going in the background and to my eyes, they seem to subtly move. It makes it hard to concentrate on the text.
Actually it’s ads that will turn me off. I usually won’t revisit a blog that is generating revenue. There’s the “use WordPress for free” ad that appears sometimes on blogs (like this one) but the ones that I don’t like are loaded with ads.
Something that will draw me in, or something short and sharp. Something that will make me think or something quick to laugh at. Something that loads and reads easily so I tend to avoid videos and too many sparkles.
Often I go for short and sharp for my lunch breaks. I’ll read longer articles on weekends over hot tea.
I don’t necessarily mind sparkles but it has to be backed up by good, interesting and thoughtful content otherwise it’s just fur coat no knickers.
I keep checking in because there’s always something different and more often than not it makes me sit and think.
Lynn:D
Sparkles = Fur Coat and Thoughtful Content = Knickers?
Thanks for the mental image!