Just nod if you can hear me
MiamiGirl posits an interesting question: Do Miamians read blogs? Outside of the insular (some might say incestuous) circle of bloggers* reading each others' sites, how many people make blogs part of their infotainment routine?
I know that Hidden City gets a fair number of comments from people who don't have their own sites, which is something I appreciate. I also know that there are people who read and never comment, both from statistical analysis and direct e-mail comments and remarks. Once such reader, who providentially called as I was composing this entry, said she is intimidated by the "regulars" and the cliquishness and in-jokes. I can understand that feeling. When the Miami blogging community was "created" last fall, I felt like the mad old cave-dwelling hermit in the woods coming out of exile and finding a whole new town full of recent immigrants had sprung up like a fairy circle. It took me a while to feel like I was sufficiently up to speed on the communal dynamics to leave comments.
So here's a(n insignificantly small) challenge. Do you visit but avoid commenting? Well, shake off that shroud of shyness and say something, just this once. Use a pseudonym if you like — I wouldn't blame you, particularly if you read from work like most visitors — and say hello.
And my fellow bloggers, please chime in with your own views. Do you think anyone is out there reading blogs in South Florida?
*Damn, I still hate that word.
20 Comments:
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1. I post lots of comments on a few blogs.
2. I don't have my own blog
4. I never read blogs.
Thank you for my input.
I have the feeling Miamians do not like the blog scene as much as other parts of the US- Here is why- There aren't as many affluent people living and working down here. There aren't enough big industries, fortune 500 companies, and just big business in general to support a progressive culture. This is also why I think our public facilities are is such deplorable conditions.
In any case, I'm reading, though I rarely have time to post comments...Use Google Analytics or WEBCEO if you really want to see how many hits you are getting. My numbers go through hot and cold spells often...However, I think that will change when blogs begin to get more media attention here...
"I was recently diagnosed with a case of comment whoring."
Dr. Annie Steelclit, professor emeritus of Colin Farrell studies
I gave MiamiGirl my 2 cents (basically, no, most Miamians don't read blogs), but I can relate to the caller who feels intimidated. I don't know any of you personally (through e-mail or real life), I'm new to the scene (because any previous blogging was not in a typical blog format and viewed by my friends and family only), and quite frankly, I feel young and frivolous and dumb around everyone else.
I'd say that out of everything I read that makes me want to comment, I end up commenting 5% of the time. And in order to do so, I have to slap myself around a bit so I can get to the point where I just don't care that I have no wit and am frivolous and dumb.
My personal pity party aside, I really want non-bloggers to read all the local blogs. I keep sending e-mails to my friends and family to click the links on my blogroll, but I don't know if anyone has and has gotten hooked on any particular blog. I'm doing whatever PR I can, but I have no clue as to the results of my efforts.
Oh, and MKH, regarding your comment on MiamiGirl's post: I've got a page on MySpace (cringe), and the truth is that MySpace is 85% 16-year-olds. Seriously.
And everyone's ex- boy or girlfriends.
I do read your blog and Stuck on the Palmetto - that's it for SoFla blogs. I don't have one myself, but enjoy reading those....
A little over a year ago, when Alesh started up Critical Miami and invited me to contribute posts, I didn't know even know what a blog was. I'd heard the term, is all. Now I read and enjoy many local blogs, including this one, as well as blogs aimed at national audiences, blogs from cities where I grew up or spent time, and even blogs based overseas. If I can contribute a comment that I think will help the dialog or create some amusement, I'll do it. On my own blog ("Klotz" As In "Blood," he plugged shamelessly), it's the comments that make it all worthwhile.
I think blogs in south Florida are still in their early stages, and given the transient population, language differences, and overall educational levels, we're not likely to achieve the comment-intensive plateau evident elsewhere too soon. There are exceptions: look at artblog, a no-frills, straightforward, and clearly defined forum, where Franklin has built an excellent constituency. IMHO, the rest of us need to keep plugging, supporting one another, and encouraging newcomers.
Just as you did this with this post.
As the godmother of insanity, I am obliged by honor (and pleasure) to read everyone who is in Manola's Mafia. You are a member of the Manola Mafia if you live in SoFla and rest assured that Manola peeks in everyday, even if she refrains from bla bla bla. I also pop in to Manola Lovers a few times a week.
Steve, I'm not even sure that having a thousand people comment on one's site is a sign of something being 'better' ... in fact, if I go to a blog and I have to read a thousand other comments before adding to the discussion, I get really turned off. I won't even go into the comments section. Sure, if I do end up posting a comment I feel like a comment whore (a term a friend and fellow blogger in NY state just introduced me to) who is commenting just for the sake of commenting. Today I read a post at Waiter Rant that had 500 + comments! Holy Mother of Blog! And quite honestly, which blog reader has time to read a gazillion comments? By the same token, is the blog writer going to sit there and read each comment? Most likely the comments just take a life of their own and off they go ...
Yeah, yeah ... I know it's good for business to attract as many people to your blog as possible, but the bottom line is -- I prefer a few well written, insightful and/or humorous comments that add to a post.
Maybe we don't have a the quantity of blogs other cities have, but I say that those of us who post consistently are doing a damn good job of providing quality informative and or 'fictional' content. And that's far more important to me. Quality over quantity. (OK, don't get me talking about SIZE ... ) Also, I gotta say, as a Miami native, I sometimes resent the fact that people expect shit to come from this city. Heck, I was educated here in a public school. Just because only asswipes make it to the news, that doesn't mean there aren't intelligent and creative people in this town FROM this town -- as well as those from abroad.
Which brings me to Transit Man's point -- again, just because we focus on the drivel of politicians and moronic city policies and horrible commutting and real estate diarrhea etc; -- doesn't mean there aren't real people doing creative things in Miami. I know we're not NYC, but there IS an affluent community that donates millions of dollars a year to major and not-so-major cultural insitutions around town. Agreed, it's really hard for the little guys to survive here, but then again, so it is for the arts in general everywhere. As well, may I remind everyone that even with all the problems, we have two major universities here, as well as not-so-major ones, one of which is yours truly's alma mater. I'm always impressed by what I read in my alumni magazine about what kind of research UM is doing. Yeah, yeah, the janitor strike and all that crap ... very true ... but really good stuff is coming out of that university too. So all this business about Miami being a cultural wasteland ... I call bullshit. Again, maybe it's not NYC, but why should it be? You want wasteland: talk to my friend who moved to the midwest to teach literature. Scary. Xenophobic scary. But that's another story.
So relating this to blogging, I think Miami should develop its own blogosphere organically and with its own style. We're not NYC, Philly, LA or anywhere else. We're Miami. Ultimately, it will come down to the commitment of individual bloggers to keep developing their style.
Regarding the shyness of new bloggers, I think it's a normal reaction. It's like walking late into a dinner party, you don't know anyone and suddenly having to catch up on the conversation. But I think all of us are always happy to hear new voices -- so Tere -- don't be shy, speak your mind girl! When I started SATB as a joke last October, and only because I had just discovered a free forum for organizing some writing (seriously I had no f****ing idea what a blog was until my first post), I didn't feel shy at all about commenting. I believe Alesh said that by sheer force of will and sitting in front of my computer I was ingratiating myself with the local blogging community. And the thing is I wasn't doing it to be a comment whore. I really loved (and still do) the opportunity to dialogue without having to lift my ass from my seat.
The very nature of blogging would make a clique out of regular readers and I think this is inevitable. In fact, one of the pleasures of writing and reading blogs is that you become familiar with your fellow readers.
And if many Miamians don't read blogs, it's probably because a) they don't know about them (which doesn't make them stupid -- I know many smart people who don't read blogs) or b) they simply haven't incorporated blog reading/writing into their lives. Again, I think it's just a matter of preference. The fact that a gazillion people "do" blogs in NYC is not necessarily a sign of a more enlightened population -- quite possibly just a sign that there are a gazillion more people in NYC, period.
PS ... maybe we could do an experiment. Pick one week out of the year and then track all IP addresses from Miami. Maybe this will give us a more scientific result.
There are 4 million people in south Florida. That is one of the biggest metro areas in America. But you can't count poor immigrants, poor native born people, people who can't read, people who can't use a computer, people who don't work at white collar jobs. You have fifty people. Some of them read blogs and a few write them. If my buddy was not a Miami blogger I would have never read one.
I sorta agree with anonymous on one point...I think we believe that because our lives are so "blogfull," we assume that other people know about blogs and are making a choice not to read them. I don't think that's the case. I think 90% of the population doesn't even know what a blog is or how to find one on the WWW. Line up 10 people representing a good cross sampling of the population and I'll bet you only 1 has an idea of what blogging is.
That being said, based upon what I hear from others and what little I know about blogging in some other major metro areas, I feel Miami is behind the power curve as far as sheer numbers of bloggers go. However, I think the content that we offer ranks right up there amongst the best.
I don't think there's any one good formula for a blog. Everyone seems to find their own special niche doing the thing that they like doing. I happen to like giving quick hits to some of the higher profile and quirky stories in South Florida and mixing it up with some local pictures and very light political commentary every now and then. What I despise doing myself is the long essays and the Alesh-like visits to concerts and local points of interests. I recognize that these things aren't my my bag and don't even attempt doing them.
I think it's the same for everyone. As a result we know where to go when we want to laugh, or catch up on the local news, or see what's coming up for the weekend or just take a look at how someone else is handling the day-to-day life in South Florida.
Regarding comments....comments are nice. Any blogger out there who says they don't care about comments is blowing smoke. But, personally, I would rather have visitors than comments. There are a handful of blogs out there that do get a number of comments on virtually each and every post they do. White Dade comes to mind. Critical Miami when it's not a bullet item. Klotz usually gets a bunch. And Manola, depending on whether she's singing or not. Some of that comment traffic depends upon the post frequency, too. In any case, comments just hasn't been something I've really been striving for over at SotP. Although, again I want to emphasize, they're great when you get them.
I, for one, hope that the South Florida blogging community gets more and more varied and diverse as we mature. And we need more female bloggers. We can never have too many.
:)
rick is right. most times i tell people you have a blog and they have no idea what that is. and if they think they do - they think myspace....
I'm so new to the blogging world (less than one month) and I don't get many comments at all. I visit about 20 blogs a day, mostly Miami or Vegan blogs. Commenting on blogs slows down my ability to read often so I don't really do it. I will work on that. Miamians do read blogs, there is more culture here than any other city in Florida. It will take a little bit of time for the word to get out, but once its out the blog market will be flooded. We can enjoy this small community while it lasts.
My readers are growing everyday so there are no complaints. Happy 4th everyone!
dear hidden,
you're on my favorites list, and i read you every day. even the sad awkward one about you ex.
nicholas spangler
Just reading all of you guys and these comments makes me so proud to be a part of this community.
mkh, i've been reading a very long time, and this is my first comment (but not first attempt) ever. i did have a blog, but i killed it because of lack of interest or anything to say. well, mostly because i can't be bothered to say anything. anyway, hello. i live in nj (and so having nothing to say about miami blogs other than yours, sorry), and i was also a faithful reader of mary/half mad for a long time where i did post very occasionally. a lot of times, i didn't feel i had anything to add that hadn't been said. i don't even really post on my friends blogs. well, here i am outing myself to you. cheers. :-)
You know my dear K that I still immensely enjoy your blog, though nowadays, I seldom comment. That makes me a blog-voyeur! - - T
Does idle browsing from London England count ?
mkh,
I just discovered your blog. I followed you here from the Miami Gradebook blog that Matt Pinzur writes. On the way here, I checked out the ACLU site and joined, as you suggested.
Your blog looks interesting. Thanks for the new place to read.
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