Blogging on Blogging

Joe Carter has had a bunch of good posts lately. For instance this one is on blogging metrics and how they influence blogging as a whole.

On Instalaunches -- I’ve been linked by Glen Reynolds exactly once. Being mentioned on Instapundit will not increase your site traffic for more than a few hours. Also, being mentioned on Instapundit does not impress as many people as you might think.

I've been linked by Instapundit twice. Unfortunately this doesn't mean I'm twice as good as Joe Carter. I can attest to the fact that you will get a traffic spike for about a day. It has a more powerful effect on my blog's readership than Joe's because an Instalanche nets me almost as many hits in a day as I would normally get in a week. I've been linked by Michelle Malkin, LaShawn Barber, and the Volokh Conspiracy as well. It is much the same. Things go back to the way they were and perhaps I gain one or two regular readers.

On the TTLB Ecosystem -- I spent a year attempting to rise to the level of Mortal Human in the TTLB Ecosystem. ... Though I rarely check TTLB anymore, I looked at it today and noticed that I was ranked #12 (oddly enough, behind two fellow evangelicals, Andrew Jackson and LaShawn Barber). ... From this lofty perch I can now share with you what such an honor means:

Absolutely nothing.

No, actually, that’s not quite true. What it means is that lots and lots of people link to my blog. I’m flattered beyond words that so many people would consider me worthy of inclusion on their blogrolls. I’m not sure why they do so, but I appreciate it nonetheless.

I agree. I drift between Marauding Marsupial and Large Mammal on the TTLBE. It is my experience that your TTLB rating is basically a measure of how many other bloggers have you on their blogrolls (and list your most prominent blog alliance) and not any real reflection on your influence or readership. Sitemeter is a little better. At least I can tell how many people are reading.

In the end, I don't really care anymore though. Blogging with the aim of getting popular doesn't do it for me anymore. Even if I got to the top, then what? Recently I've turned back to just blogging to blog. Perhaps it will get me somewhere, perhaps not. I'm glad you guys read this of course. If you want me to touch on a topic, let me know. But if you didn't I would probably still write because it keeps my mind moving and the words coming, which is why I started writing in the first place.