In 1990 I placed third in a lip sync contest at Suwon Airbase, Korea, for my performance of “You’re So Vain.” I do a pretty good Carly Simon (though top place went to a trio in drag who sang Supremes songs, and they were great).
So now I’m tied for third place with my real-world pal Librarian in Black in an “objective” evaluation of the top 25 librarian bloggers.
Based on the criteria, I would believe it if I were on the top 20 list, or even low on a top 10, but tied for third? I question that, particularly with some of the blogs that were left off… in several cases, because they weren’t listed in DMOZ, which is to the Web as ditto machines are to print on demand.
I’m not being coy; as Jessamyn makes clear, the issue is blog longevity. Among popular blogs, the blogs that have been popular the longest will have the most links and subscribers. (Also, using Bloglines for a measurement is probably not a bad yardstick, used relatively, but note that Feedburner says I have 3500 subscribers… a much different story than the survey reports.) I haven’t been around as long (and I haven’t posted as frequently) as some of the bloggers who aren’t on this list.
The survey also didn’t evaluate current traffic. In terms of raw web statistics, I had over 2.5 million page views last year and already have close to 3 million this year, at least as Dreamhost reports it. What does that mean? Without comparing it to other blogs, I have no idea, though I strongly suspect lil’ spammers had a role in that data.
In any event, this is all about popularity–which is not the same as quality and value. So when it’s not a weeknight, I’ll post a list of my own “top 25 library blogs.”
Posted on this day, other years:
- Essay, "Falling In," to appear in Kore Press anthology, "Powder" - 2008
- "Audible Wants You Back. What Would it Take?" - 2005
Don’t forget to fill out Meredith’s survey on favorite blogs at
At…? 🙂
And don’t forget the those of us who just have a list of bookmarks we look at on a regular basis (which is how I read FRL). I don’t think there is any way you can capture our reading.
Meredith’s survey is linked from this post:
To three library-related blogs survey
Ack! That should say “TOP three library related blogs”
I’d better have some more coffee…
I posted a comment to Meredith’s blog; I just don’t see the point of a “top 3” list. It’s far too short. In fact, I don’t know that I care about any aggregate list as much as I care about what my favorite bloggers read.
[…] The Online Education Database recently published a list of the “Top 25 Bloggers (By the Numbers).” Reactions generally fell somewhere between elation and modesty, with a healthy dose of skepticism. […]