I confess that I covet my neighbors’ blog traffic.
I’ve known for a long time that if I want readers for this blog, I’ve got to be a reader (and commenter) on other blogs. It’s hard to do simply because I feel like I have to scrabble for time just to post every other day on my blog, which I understand is a way to keep readers once you have them. But, I do try to visit the blogs on my blogroll and leave a comment or even post my thoughts here with a link to them. However, there are times when reading other peoples’ blogs and seeing the volume of comments that they get just brings me down.
Yesterday I visited Suddenly Christian for the first time in a while and enjoyed this funny post. Then I saw that there are 44 comments and I thought, “My blog sucks.” Last week, I visited the iMonk and again I saw the massive amount of comments that he tends to get on his rather long posts and again I was discouraged.
That’s the thing about coveting; it saps me of my drive. I tend to covet other people’s lives more than their possessions. When I look at other folks and see their exciting careers, formidable intellects, and genuine talents, I tend to say to myself “Why bother?” and want to quit doing the things that I do. Especially when they are similar to the one’s that I covet.
This probably comes across as rather lame and perhaps I would be more embarrassed than I am for posting it if I thought more than 10 people would see it. Then again, do I really need 44 comments from folks saying, “Yeah, you’re right. You are lame.”
By the way, that’s a rhetorical question…but I leave the comments open just the same. 🙂
ArMchair TheOloGian 
Now, amtog – I leave more comments on your blog than you do on mine. 😉
Then again, you did devote an entire post talking about my interview with Emery, so I shouldn’t complain.
good point…
…i once had a correspondance with a blogger who didn’t allow comments on his blog at all. his rationale was that comments tend to be insuffuciently thought out and that he preferred people to respond to anything he wrote by posting their thoughts on their own blogs….it reminded me of the way old newspaper and journal editors once used their respective newspapers to denounce, decry and defame one another.
Well, you know, a big reason I get whatever traffic I do on my blog is because my WordPress site is essentially a mirror site of the stuff I put up on Crosswalk.com. THAT site gets a lot of hits: about 2.5 million views a month. So if I write something Crosswalk decides to highlight, it’ll automatically get tens of thousands of views. So then at least SOME of those people will come check out my WordPress blog. So that helps me out, numbers-wise, I guess. I mean, for sure.
Blogging’s so weird. It’s like a whole universe of … pen pals. It has surely done more for sheer LITERACY than anything since the printing press. Is there anyone on the planet who DOESN’T keep a blog??
Anyway, your stuff has a real nice feel. Keep it up, and you’ll have monster traffic ‘ere long.
That Michael Spencer/Internet Monk is one serious blogging FACTORY, isnt’ he? He’s been really good to me; he reviewed a book of mine not long ago, and had fantastic, really thoughtful, full-on complimentary things to say about it. That was soooo sweet.
And I am soooo babbling. Sorry. But keep up the good work! You’ll be King o’ the Blogosphere before your sore, callused fingers know it!
aww maaaan!
i knew this would happen! i knew that, thanks to the trackback, John was going to read what i wrote and probably leave a comment. sure enough,he shows up and leaves this really kind, encouraging and long comment (the longest so far)and now i’m all embarassed. if there were rocks in cyberspace, i would be tunneling my way under one right now.
John, you’re welcome to babble here anytime.
BTW: my wife enjoys your blog too.
But even if there WERE rocks in cyberspace, there’d be no DIRT. It’s space. There’s no dirt in SPACE.
Man. No wonder no one reads your blog.
(Um. That was me being funny. I hope.)
true. there is no dirt in cyberspace, but there’s lots of FILTH…um…er, not that we Christians would know anything about filth on the internet…um…uh, excuse me; i need to go clear out my cache…i’m mean clear out my CASH…to, um donate to the porn. doh! I mean POOR…
(chirping crickets denoting awkward silence)
sigh
note to self: leave the funny stuff to the guys with popular blogs.
Not that I would know anything about such sites (I’m shocked, shocked!), but are you allowed to access such unsavory sites in the (edited) in the unspecified Muslim country you are in?
first, sorry for the edit WFO but i’m paranoid about getting into trouble locally…and yet, not paranoid enough if you’ve managed to figure out my host country.
second, the “overlords” frequently look the other way when it suits them, so there are some means to get around the government filters still available for those who want to seek them out.
all kidding aside; i take advantage of such work-arounds primarily for commercial purposes. that being said, occasionally i will visit a religiously themed site which would normally be filtered out by the gov’t, so i use the work-around for that too. and generally, it’s more secure.
now, let’s drop the subject or i’ll be forced to pray to God and you’ll be doing all your blogging with a “writing tablet“. Capeesh? 🙂
I thought I was discrete enough that just you would know that I knew and everyone else would be just guessing, but I totally respect the edit. I’d do the same to you!
(edited)
thanks for understanding.
a couple of days ago, i was washing the cars and i realized how folks could discover my geographical location. of course, i hope that those who figure this out will refrain from referencing it in the posts.
again, it’s not like i’m spouting anti-goverment sentiments or vitrolic rants against the religion of the host country, but we never know when or why the authorities will decide to make a case where previously none has been made. it’s a capricious situation and caution is wise.