Noted Blog

Last year (okay, really, it was only a week or so ago, but I just like saying that because it sounds so much more important or meaningful that way...), I queried whether there are criteria for being featured in DC Blogs Noted. The owner of DC Blogs--a generous guy who goes by the initials KOB--sent me a lovely email in response. He also linked my query on DC Blogs today. In prefacing my blog, he wrote that he is disquieted by "any perception that some blogs get more attention then others."

There have been several comments in the DC Blogs comment section that have been insightful. Reya pointed out that DC Blogs is "an art blog" and KOB is the artist. His aesthetic, if you will, is to be "humanist and democratic"--a statement I agree with fully. She also noted that KOB's choices center around those who have likely been "posting longer, post more consistently, and write more about life in D.C." Other commentors ventured that what KOB chooses is the best of the best, but I, and others, would counter this. Sometimes, the writing ain't so hot, but it can be funny and astute nonetheless.

One of D.C.'s best writers and most popular bloggers, Kathryn Is So Over (formerly KathrynOn), noted the converse. That is, that bloggers who are noted repeatedly at DC Blogs have to work hard at remaining consistently good and interesting. In other words, they have to work at their craft. A perceptive observation that highlights for me how much I take for granted the good blogs I read already.

Kathryn Is So Over also queried if, perhaps, I hadn't blogged about this as a way to be featured on DC Blogs. I'm known among my friends, family, and professional and academic colleagues as the one who asks the questions that everyone else is thinking, but no one wants to ask. I have a propensity for stirring the waters a bit; sometimes because they need stirring and sometimes because I'm just being a ass. I'll let you decide which you think I was being when I pondered criteria for being noted. (As for Kathryn's query, no, I wasn't trying to wrangle my way into being noted since I detest those blogs that use tricks like "10 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Blog" as their blog of the day. It was funny once, but only once.)

I emailed KOB in response to his email and said this:

I hope I wasn't overly critical or harsh. I tried to be thoughtful and objective in what I posted. I enjoy the service DC Blog provides in bringing to so many of us not only a near comprehensive list of every one and his dog and her brother who blogs in this area, but by highlighting some of those folks every day.

I don't envy the job you do and I know you're pretty much one guy out there trying to cull the best of the best (or at least the most interesting) out of hundreds of blogs. I'll make a better effort to direct your way any good reading I find, rather than just bitching! The irony is, I'm not proposing the establishment of some kind of system or 'criteria' per se, but I have felt like I keep reading from the same bloggers over and over. I think the solution lies within all of us to pay attention to what's out there and then share that with you and the others who help out (Reya and Washington Cube, right?!?)

Finally, I think I owe you an apology. I failed to remember that DC Blogs is a FREE service to bloggers and isn't influenced by advertisers, subscribers, or shareholders. I'm glad it's an equal opportunity space. I'll keep that in mind as I cruise around the DC blogosphere and as I read DC Blogs.

Thanks for responding to my query. I really appreciate your time.

Janet Kincaid a.k.a. DCRushHour