The Reader Appreciation Project

When we talk about Reader Appreciation we generally mean appreciating the people who read, and comment, on our own blogs. In much the same way as a parent knows his or her child to be gifted, I am sure we all consider our own readers to be intelligent, personable, and much like ourselves, but what about the readers of other blogs?

The Bad

I’ve lost count of the number of sites I have stopped visiting because of the readers. I’m sure you can think of several sites off the top of your head where the readers routinely indulge in OS flame wars, sexism, racism, stupidity, or are generally unable to string together enough words to form a cohesive, or rational, argument.

So if readers can make such a negative difference can they also make a positive difference and turn their comments into an essential part of a site? I think they can, and I have a site in mind.

The Good

I am a big fan of Formula 1 motor racing. I never miss a race or a qualifying session, and there is so much to discuss that I talk about it, read about it, or think about it every day. A significant amount of this discussion happens at F1 Fanatic

When you open your feed list I imagine you do the same thing as I do: go straight to your favourite blogs and check out their content, leaving the rest for later, or at least after you have read the favourites. Am I right?

With F1 Fanatic, however, I found that I actually lose out by doing this.

If I come to a post late in the day I find between ten and twenty comments featuring extra thoughts, more information, and different viewpoints. If I get there first I miss all of that. The readers provide so much added value that it is better to wait.

For me this blog stands out for me as a prime example of how a blogger and their readers can work together to create something larger than the sum of its parts, how great the conversation with a blogger can be, and how a reader focussed blog can prosper.

The Contributory

Blog communities like these probably owe as much to the blogger for fostering the relationship as they do to the readers for coming back and commenting in the spirit that was intended. It may be that this is the natural result of great content, a great subject, and great reader appreciation.

As a reader in these communities, which sites do you value more because of the contributions of other readers? How much of this effect do you think is down to the blogger, and how much to the reader? And do you think it is possible for a blogger to achieve this without appreciating his readers?

I’d like to share with you something that happened to me this week that demonstrates to me what reader appreciation is all about: appreciating you readers.

Have you ever written something you thought would offend?

Writing can be difficult when you are talking about subjective topics, matters of style or taste, or even just good practice, so it is no surprise that from time to time someone takes what you have to say the wrong way.

What do you do then when you write something and realise when you read it back later on that you have just criticised something that a reader does, even though it wasn’t meant to apply to them?

There are a few options:

1. Nothing, if they are that easily offended perhaps they shouldn’t be reading it anyway;
2. You can wait, and hope they understand you enough not to take offence;
3. You can be extra nice to that person, possibly adding a link;
4. You can can go back and add an update to your post;
5. You can e-mail them directly and explain;

So which would you choose?

Be Honest

What happened to me this week is that someone e-mailed me to tell me that their comment didn’t mean to apply to me, and clarified their meaning. I hadn’t read it as being critical of me, and even if it had been I probably would have agreed, but regardless of the original intent that e-mail spoke volumes. I, the reader, was appreciated.

I probably wouldn’t have been so forward thinking. I might even have opted for the head-in-the-sand approach. The web is full of people who like nothing better than to shoot you down so a few days under the duvet, sneaking furtive glances at the comments page when you think no one is looking, is a fairly easy choice to make.

So what would you do? Any of the above, or something different again?

Do you take a break from blogging at the weekend?

The Blogging Commitment – Five Days a Week

When someone starts a blog with the intention of making it a success there is usually a mental commitment that comes along with that. A commitment that means that missing a day when one intended to post makes him feel as though he has messed up, or failed in some way.

Somehow though that feeling goes away at the weekend and there doesn’t really seem to be a good reason why that should be.

I have written a few series on various blogs now, and every time I do it I plan to post on the weekdays and enjoy a nice relaxing weekend where I can ‘get away with’ not posting. This has never been a conscious choice. At no time did I think that no one would be reading, or that people would want to catch up on the week’s posts or anything as logical as that. I just took a few days off.

However, I Miss the Weekend Bloggers

At the same time though I would stare at my feed reader wondering where all the bloggers have gone.

So why are the weekends so slow? Are bloggers deciding not to write because the readers aren’t there? Or are the readers not there because the bloggers aren’t writing? Are we in the typical Catch-22?

Do You Skip the Weekend?

If you skip the weekend, what are your reasons? If more bloggers wrote on the weekend, would you want to read more? If more readers were around to read, would you want to blog more? Or are two days a week of lax blogging a nice break? Please weigh in.

This is my first (and hopefully not last) post for the Reader Appreciation Project and so I thought I would try to take the outsider’s view. I imagine that after a few months of blogging everyone has questioned at least once whether it is all worth it and so the proposition I am going to examine is this:

The ideals of reader appreciation are great; but to do so much, for so many, for so little reward just isn’t worth the effort. Someone who is putting in so much effort must have an ulterior motive.

So why is it that people expend so much time and effort for the benefit of others?

I think it is a combination of four reasons:

Fear of success

The problems of success are no less than those of failure; they are just different. Giving away content for free and hoping for advertising revenue lets you succeed or fail in private without obligations to others.

Avoiding the mundane

One of my favourite shows is one where amateur cooks compete to prove they can cut it as great chefs and, without fail, they all want to convert their passion into their job.

Not everyone can successfully transform their hobby into work, and many shouldn’t. There is a risk of turning something you care about into an obligation and ruining it in the process.

Fame

Blogging can do wonders for your reputation as an expert. If you want to be considered an expert, get published, headhunted, or just gain the respect and adoration of your peers, then giving your content away may just help you achieve that.

True community spirit

I’ve left this until last for a reason. I am in awe of bloggers who appear unconcerned with power, fame and money, and they do exist, but I am a sceptical soul and I think this is usually only a small part of a blogger’s motivation.

All four of these reasons play a part in my motivation; fame is at the top of the list. I live and work in an environment where I am known for my knowledge of regulations, but it is one where people just don’t understand my knowledge of programming and the internet.

Blogging is my way of gaining respect for that aspect of my life.

If you are a blogger, what is it that motivates you to give back to the community and to appreciate your readers? Do these four come into it?

If you are a reader, do you think any less of me, or any other bloggers, because their appreciation of you may be driven by selfish desires or fear?

Finally, is there any motivation for giving back to the community that you would find unacceptable?