As Hung mentioned on his blog, the 9rules Network recently reworked its membership agreement to require that members participate in their new social networking thingamajig… or else.
The primary reason I joined 9rules in the first place was because I was asked nicely; fellow blogger Michael Ono was trying to get an anime community established there and asked for my help. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I joined. I did so, however, with the expectation that I’d keep blogging the way I’ve always blogged. After all, I had already figured out how to attract the sort of readers I wanted to attract, and since I’m not trying to make money here, I’ve never worried all that much about increasing my traffic beyond the healthy level I already receive. So, business as usual.
However, the new membership requirement didn’t really allow for “business as usual,” and seeing as I was getting little to no benefit out of my 9rules membership as was, I didn’t see any reason to change my methods in order to remain a member of their little club. So, business as usual continues… except, I’m no longer a member of the 9rules network. Que sera, sera.
Of course, this little episode got me to thinking: what makes a good member of a blogging community? Contribution? Or participation?
I’ll come right out and state the obvious: as a member of the anime blogging community, I’m more focused on contributing interesting content than I am on participating in the discussions that naturally arise in response to that content. It’s not that I’m anti-social by any means. Rather, I’m just not one to speak unless I have something worthwhile to say. Last week, a colleague at work described me as having a “quiet demeanor” - this was compliment, I should add - and it made me think, “Gee, I hope people understand that I’m just as involved in what’s going on as anyone else.”
In other words, even though it may seem like it at times, I’m not off in my own little world here. I could probably do a better job responding to comments or participating in discussions with other anime bloggers, but my lack of participation isn’t something born from arrogance. Not by any means. It’s just my personality.
But as our anime blogging Author points out, the anime blogging community is full of people like myself. I’m not surprised, really. I’m sure anime fans are more likely to be introverts than extroverts, and the oddball nature of our hobby probably leads us to hold our passions and opinions close to our chest, even when amongst our own kind. And if you consider that there’s little money to be made or recognition to be gained from anime blogging, why make a special effort to stand out from the crowd? A successful political blogger may one day net herself a sweet gig contributing to a newsweekly. An ambitious tech blogger may one day find his name on the shelves at Barnes & Noble. A dedicated link blogger may eventually grow fat on ad revenue. But an anime blogger?
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: the anime bloggers I enjoy reading most are those who write with a distinct personal voice. When an anime blogger can effectively convey their passion for anime in words, I pay attention. And I don’t think I’m alone in feeling that way. If you collected the authors of the most popular anime blogs in a room, I think you’d find yourself amongst a pretty opinionated group. Not a group that’s focused on ad revenue, recognition, or other personal gain, but rather on sharing their love for anime with anyone who cares to listen. And there’s no shortage of people out there who care to listen.
Does it get any better than that?
I don’t know. Everyone has their own idea what makes a blogging community successful. Perhaps the anime blogging community could benefit from more structured (or spontaneous) discussion and less lecturing from the front of the classroom. I recognize that there are anime bloggers out there who are trying to change things, and I suspect that as more and more anime fans jump on the blogging bandwagon, the increase in diversity will likely lead to an increase in interaction. I’m pretty well set in my ways at this point, so I doubt I’ll have much to contribute in the future, but I still want to see what becomes of our little community.
And that’s your monthly dose of pointless meta-blogging. Next time, we do battle with the Ministry of Gundam and Agriculture.
Hey Jeff, sorry I haven’t been around to comment much. I suppose I could have done more to support the community.
“I’m sure anime fans are more likely to be introverts than extroverts, and the oddball nature of our hobby probably leads us to hold our passions and opinions close to our chest, even when amongst our own kind.”
Yeah I know what you mean and I think that this is a fair assessment. It’s too bad because I was hoping that other anime bloggers might see the value not in traffic but in the chance to broaden their horizons. But I also a person’s decision to life their life the way they want to live it.
Such is life. :) I’ll see you around Jeff.
Michael
I have to admit, I’ve always found the concept of formal blogging communities to be a little silly. If you’re a member of one, but your writing stinks, it won’t matter if you have a gazillion people coming to the community: nobody’s going to read your blog.
Conversely, a fantastic writer who ISN’T a community member… will still eventually have a lot of readers.
Of course, I’ve never been invited to join any such community (save for mu.nu, back when there were only a handful of blogs run by Pixy Misa {ai.mee.nu}, and mee.nu was just a dream), so this might sound like sour grapes.
I’ve not tried to join any blogging communities, but then again I don’t think my writing is up to snuff yet. I’ve also been too tired this past couple of years (job stuff, relationship stuff) to hold forth on anything I have strong opinions about. Therefore my journal is currently a just-for-me thing, an “aide memoire” more than a source of entertainment for others. And the less said about my sad-sack excuse for an anime blog, the better…
Enforced community, however, doesn’t sound like very much fun.
I resurrected the Anime Blog Muyo forums a while back, and while I’m sure my rendition will never rival The Big Anime Forums for membership or posting numbers, what we have going right now is a nice little group of crazy anime fans who get excited about a few different things and like to share that excitement. That’s what I wanted, that’s what I’m getting. There’s something nice about having people who participate when and because they are excited about doing so rather than because they feel like they “have to.”
Okay, so a forum isn’t a blog comm, but still.
“Next time, we do battle with the Ministry of Gundam and Agriculture.”
I’ll look forward to it. :)
“And if you consider that there’s little money to be made or recognition to be gained from anime blogging, why make a special effort to stand out from the crowd?”
Internet bragging rights?
I’d like to think that my thoughts are unique and important enough for people to take notice even when they aren’t. That’s one of the reasons why I blog, and why I’m involved enough to do things like post comments, go on IRC channels with other animebloggers, do collaborative posts on the same topic, and so on (and probably one of the reasons why I’m not honest with myself sometimes). Yet even then, I only focus on certain things in the blogging culture usually relating to the interests I have, which you and Michael hit on.
I think that contributions and participations matter to expand and further connect the anime blogging community to each other. But I guess what also needs to be done to further “progress” is to find ways to get out of that “comfort zone”. Focusing on something you wouldn’t consider, or trying to write about it in a noticeably different way (like a bunch of blogs posting something on the same topic at the same time). Maybe bridging the gap between known and unknown, like cross-linking blogs of different topics, or ones that people wouldn’t have checked out before. But actually having more involvement in the community depends on how willing someone is to attempt things like that, how willing others are to try and persuade people to make the attempts and so on. How do you get people to care enough? It’s never a simple answer. :/
I never realised anyone thought about the concept of anime blogging so much. But I guess I’m not part of the ’scene’.
Success, community, whatever. Blogs are blogs, regardless of the subject matter. They’re interesting or not. People write them, others read them, I didn’t realise there was anything more to it than that.
Even thinking about some kind of… right or wrong way to do something, or obligation to contribute or… anything, kind of puzzles me here. Well, whatever :)