To pick a topic

Like many bloggers I have started blogs that floundered and died. They were creatures of the blogosphere that were doomed to short pointless lives, and got quickly recycled into the vast servers of the internet. No readers mourned their loss. They didn't live long enough to have any. I didn't mourn their loss, but I did wonder if I was cut out to be a blogger. I now successfully shepherd five specimens of domesticus bloggius, so I guess I am cut out to be a blogger. What changed?

What changed is my discovery of the topical blog. Notice I said discovery, not invention. My blogs have specific purposes, and they don't cross. Arvil Bren's Journal has never been marketed to other bloggers. It has over a hundred readers every day, most of which think that 'blogger' is a strange word made up by whatever domain managers carry AB's Journal. Those readers don't write blogs. They don't read blogs. They don't know what they are. AB's Journal is a story, period. Serial fiction that they read over lunch, or breakfast, or when their boss isn't looking, usually two or three entries at a time. If I miss a day they e-mail me to ask what happened.

But I want to talk about ...well, stuff. That is probably screaming through the mind of the typical blogger right about now. It certainly screamed through mine. When it screamed into my head that I wanted to talk about...stuff...I didn't challenge Arvil Bren's faithful followers to plod through what I had to say...I started another blog. One of the beauties of the blogosphere is that there are a multitude of providers who let anyone start a blog of any kind at any time.

As an example of the 'almost' topical blog, click here to visit Tildemark Blogs. This is a good blog that a blogger would like. Bloggers generally (being bloggers) enjoy reading blogs. The eclectic mix gives us that sense of adventure. Not knowing what today's entry is going to be about is part of that. A regular visitor to Tildemark gets that charge, because it might be a film review, but it could be a really useful bit of info about web services...or most anything else. Bloggers operate in that world of wonder at the unknown, but how do you recommend the site to your non-blogger friends? "Oh, you liked that review in the Times? You should check out Tildemark. They do reviews there. Well, most days." Then your friend checks it out and the top item has nothing to do with film. That just doesn't really work. In my opinion Tildemark would be well served to have a film review blog, where readers (not bloggers) could count on film reviews, and a second blog for the eclectic spouting that is blogging.

When I wanted to have a base of operations for my Blogshares game I started another blog...this one. So the examples you find linked to here are not chosen at random. They aren't chosen because they are bad, or good, they are chosen to illustrate my points; chosen from blogs that will also give me an advantage in the game. I will be building a link list here. Well, actually over there. ---> It will be in sections. For example, I can foresee having a film review section. Many blogs have a link list that amounts to here's a whole bunch of blogs any one of which could be about anything today. To bloggers that's a little random sample shot in the dark, but what does it offer to readers?