How many times have you published a really good post, something that you thought was a finely crafted model of trenchant wit and amusing scholarly insight, only to have it sink into the vast waters of the blogosphere with barely a ripple? How many times have you thought that here at last is something that will get me a bit of recognition from the blogerati, only to be wrong? I think that this happens to almost all bloggers, big and small. Sometimes it’s just timing. If you put up a really good post about your kid or some arcane bit of knowledge on the same day that Britney Spears assassinates Yasser Arafat, it’s not to get the attention it would have otherwise deserved. Sometimes there is no good explanation, as the child of your mind sits there, ignored, a wallflower at the school dance, while everyone around you dances with the popular kids.
Frustrating, isn’t it? Don’t you just want to find the nearest water tower, climb up and start taking potshots? I know I do, and I’ve got at least a half-decent record at attracting attention from my betters. The problem is that there is no proven acceptable way of saying Hey you lot, take a look at this! And admit, you know you want them to. Blogging, if nothing else, is the bleeding edge of vanity publishing. If you didn’t think you had something valuable to say, you wouldn’t be doing this.
Trolling referral logs is slow, and the bigger the target, the less chance it has of working. Bill Quick’s referral logs move so fast they smoke. Your visit to Instapundit is viewable in his logs, if you get lucky, for about a minute.
There’s always e-mail, but it’s frowned on, smacks of desperation, and you still have to hope that somehow your letter stands out somehow from the crowd of hundreds or sometimes thousands of other e-mails.
That’s one problem. Here’s another. I’d link to you more often if I was able to read you more often. Making one circuit through the blogroll over there on the left takes a week, at a minimum, and that’s with me reading just the stuff on each blog that was written that day, and I am nowhere near as busy as the big guns. If the best example of your skill appeared a couple days before I showed up, I’m going to miss it. Deep down, this grates at me. I’ve read enough of you to know that that there are extremely talented and knowledgeable writers in my blogroll that not only don’t get enough attention from everybody else, they don’t get enough attention from me.
So I have a request, one that I think might go a ways towards solving both problems. If you think you have a good post, e-mail me the link. I’ll read it, and once a week, I’ll link to the ones I’ve gotten. It’ll be an index of what you and other bloggers think is their best stuff. At the worst, you’ll be exposed to Silflay Hraka’s crowd, such as it is. What will likely happen is that people who are looking for stuff to link to, but might not have a lot of time, will drop by, find something that interests them, and link to it. Your memes are guaranteed exposure, and the more people that participate, the more people will pop by to take a look.
I’ll post the first index next Friday, and I’ll probably mail this around to the blogroll sometime this weekend. If you’d like to have a link posted, just e-mail one to me, along with a category for it, like Family Life or Domestic Politics or alt.misc.fetishes and a teaser line, like the model Blog Critics uses on its front page. On the off chance you decide that all of your posts are deserving, try to winnow it down to one, ok? People who like your stuff are going to stay awhile, so you’ll get more exposure for the rest of your blog, and you’ll pick up permanent visitors at a faster pace.
Let me know what you think, and I’ll adapt the whole thing as it goes along. I think it’ll work well, and will shed some light on stuff that have been otherwise overlooked.I’m looking forward to linking to some of the best stuff in the blogosphere.
Of course, that’s assuming someone reads this.
Update: Information on the latest Carnival Of The Vanities, as well as upcoming hosts and the vast variety of other Carnivals, is posted to the main page of Hraka every Wednesday. The latest update may be found here.
If you’d like to host the Carnival, drop us a line. Information on how to join the Carnival can be found here. If you would like to be added to the Carnival announcement list, send an email to cotvanities-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY says:
CARNIVAL OF THE VANITIES #48
Will be hosted right here at OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY. The results will be posted the morning of August 20th. Those wishing to participate should e-mail…
9 August 2003, 10:19 amPoliBlog says:
Parade of Trolls
First, there was the Carvnival (current edition here, next edition here). Then, there was the Bonfire (current edition here). And now, the Parade is Coming–the Parade of Trolls. We extol ourselves with the CoV, we make fun ourselves with the…
21 August 2003, 4:23 pmCreative Slips says:
Pre-Weekend Thoughts
Jason, Jon and Priscilla are here! I met them at the airport yesterday, rode along with ‘em to their hotel,
22 August 2003, 4:57 pmdcthornton.com says:
Carnival of the Capitalists
Inspired by Silflay Hraka’s Carnival of the Vanities, BusinessPundit has launched the Carnival of the Capitalists….
15 October 2003, 2:20 amTao of Dowingba says:
Carnival of the Vanities
This week’s Carnival of the Vanities is being held at Begging to Differ. I already made my submittion, but quickly wished I hadn’t been so hasty. Sigh. So many entries to choose from. If you don’t know what the Carnival…
30 November 2003, 3:11 amBegging To Differ says:
CARNIVAL OF THE VANITIES # 63
To those of you arriving at Begging to Differ for the first time, we offer you our warmest welcome! Have a look around. Feel free to find out what we’re all about. Browse the comics. Take a look at some…
3 December 2003, 2:48 amTemperantia R3 says:
Carnival Of The Vanities
The Carnival Of The Vanities, a sort of roving compendium of blog entries created by Silflay Hraka, is being hosted at Hypocrisy and Hypothesis this week. Click here for the permalink. Among the entries for this week is Yours Truly….
31 December 2003, 10:27 amAmerican RealPolitik says:
Carnival of the Vanities
This wednesday we will be hosting the “Carnival of the Vanities”, where some of the best under-read blogs provide the reading material. The most recent Carnival was hosted by Hypocrosy
5 January 2004, 4:12 amYap Away, Jay! says:
blog this, blog that
there are so many new (and some not so new) fun things to do with your blog! From the BestofMe Symphony to Blog Madness 2003, there are all types of things to get in on. Here are some others I’ve…
21 January 2004, 11:16 pmA Perfectly Cromulent Blog says:
Carnival of sorts
A Perfectly Cromulent Blog will be hosting the 72nd edition of Carnival of the Vanities next week. February 4, to be exact. What is the Carnival? Info can be found here. Consider it the natural evolution of vanity publishing, in…
30 January 2004, 12:21 pmDa Goddess says:
Next Week’s Carnival
I’ll be hosting next week’s Carnival of the Vanities. If you would like to submit an entry, it’s very easy…
20 February 2004, 8:07 pmAzarok.com says:
Carnival of the Vanities
It will take me through the weekend to read through all the entries hosted by Da Goddess for this week’s…
25 February 2004, 8:04 amJeff Doolittle dot com says:
Spread the Word
Well, March was a great month for blogging. Jeff Doolittle dot com has now moved up to become a Large Mammal in the TTLB Ecosystem thanks to you, my faithful readers and fellow bloggers. I’ve also had the privilege of being included in the Carnival of …
5 April 2004, 12:54 pmCreative Slips says:
Pre-Weekend Thoughts
Jason, Jon and Priscilla are here! I met them at the airport yesterday, rode along with ‘em to their hotel,…
30 April 2004, 1:49 pmDe Rerum Natura says:
Tangled Bank #4
This is the fourth installment of the Tangled Bank, a ?carnival of the vanities? focusing on biology. We have seven entries this week, covering cavies to Spartina. Are you a pet lover? Birdie of Beauty Dish who details escapades with…
2 June 2004, 10:43 amA Single Southern Guy In America says:
Carnival II
In what will now officially become an annual event, The 92d Carnival of the Vanities will be hosted here next week. A year ago next week, I hosted the Carnival for the first time and took the Carnival “backroadin.” I’m…
17 June 2004, 12:27 amChromatic Musings says:
A Rushed Carnival of the Vanities
Normally, the Carnival doesn’t get a lot of attention from me. But this one is all Rush themed….
16 July 2004, 1:41 amseldom sober says:
Carnival of the Vanities
<Sober Post> Carnival of the Vanities Jeff Doolittle is hosting the 97th Carnival of the Vanitites. I’ll be hosting the 98th here next week. Send your submissions to seldomsober@gmail.com. What’s the Carnival you ask? Mr. Hraka, the Carnival’s fo…
28 July 2004, 2:12 pmAccidental Verbosity says:
Have Those Recipes Ready
Another carnival! Mmmm… recipes are good. I like it.
It’s amusing though, how “carnival” became the standard meme identifier. Rob and I chose Carnival of the Capitalists for
19 August 2004, 12:14 pmConservative Dialysis says:
Carnival of the Vanities #106
The 106th Edition of the Carnival of the Vanities is up at Last One Speaks. Go on over and browse the posts; you’re sure to find something that interests you. Just a reminder that Conservative Dialysis will be hosting the…
29 September 2004, 3:43 pmConservative Dialysis says:
Canival of the Vanities #107 Is Up!
The 107th Edition of the Carnival of the Vanities is up. This week it is being hosted by Incite. There are a lot of fine posts listed, so do yourself a favor and go check it out. The next edition…
6 October 2004, 12:58 pmConservative Dialysis says:
Canival of the Vanities #107 Is Up!
The 107th Edition of the Carnival of the Vanities is up. This week it is being hosted by Incite. There are a lot of fine posts listed, so do yourself a favor and go check it out. The next edition…
7 October 2004, 9:36 amConservative Dialysis says:
108th Edition of the Carnival of the Vanities
Hello and Welcome to the 108th Edition of the Carnival of the Vanities! I hope that while you browse this weeks entries that you will stay awhile and look around Conservative Dialysis. Be sure to visit the future editions listed…
12 October 2004, 4:10 pmThe Pryhills says:
The Carnival is coming to town
Next Wednesday, The Pryhills will be hosting the 117th Carnival of the Vanities. If you’re not a regular reader of the Carnival, you should be. It’s a great way for those with limited blogging and blog-reading time (all of us)…
8 December 2004, 11:13 amKaedrin Weblog says:
Stigmergic Notes
A post discussing some properties of stigmergic systems and how it relates to blogs.
13 December 2004, 12:02 amKaedrin Weblog says:
Stigmergic Notes
A post discussing some properties of stigmergic systems and how it relates to blogs.
13 December 2004, 12:05 amThe Pryhills says:
Carnival of the Vanities #117
Welcome to the 117th Carnival of the Vanities! With the holiday shopping season in full swing, I’ll be taking you folks on a trip to the Carnival of the Vanities Mall to get your weekly ration of rich, bloggy goodnessTM….
15 December 2004, 11:02 amCodeBlueBlog says:
New Year’s Carnival
Vanity, Thy Name is Carnival After the balloons are deflated and you need to rest and reflect, where should you go this weekend? For all the fanfare without the foofaraw, you can click over to The Radical Centrist and read
30 December 2004, 8:10 amWinds of Change.NET says:
Citizens’ Media in 2005: A Year to Dream Big
Tim Oren puts on his Venture Capital Analyst and Futurist hats to analyze ‘what is and might be’ for citizens’ media like blogs - and the implications for conventional media.
5 January 2005, 12:03 amThe Raving Atheist says:
Vessel of Truth
That fine Christian blog Vessel of Honor 2.0 is hosting this week?s Carnival of the Vanities. There?s a buffet of religious postings (scroll down to the ?Smidgeon of Religion? subheading), and a stray link to Revealed Truth?s post about ?about a screwb…
5 January 2005, 2:43 pmdustbury.com says:
The 125th
An eighth of the way to a thousand — and who could have foreseen it? Surely not Bigwig, who invented the Carnival of the Vanities 125 weeks ago. But here…
9 February 2005, 12:28 pmSoccer Dad says:
Carnival of the Vanities #126
Welcome to Carnival of the Vanities #126. Before we start out little excursion around the blogosphere there are a few things to get out of the way. First of all thanks to Silflay Hraka for originating Carnival of the Vanities…
16 February 2005, 5:01 amBusinessPundit says:
Thoughts on Hosting Carnivals
Warren Meyer recently hosted the Carnival of the Capitalists and the Carnival of the Vanities. Here he gives his thoughts on the experience, and advice for those of you who may consider hosting one of them. I can tell you…
3 March 2005, 2:29 pmKaedrin Weblog says:
Stigmergic Notes
A post discussing some properties of stigmergic systems and how it relates to blogs.
7 August 2005, 9:26 pmRiding Sun says:
The 150th Carnival of the Vanities
Welcome to the 150th Carnival of the Vanities. This week’s Carnival contains over 50 submissions. It should go without saying that the views expressed…
9 August 2005, 4:24 amSilflay Hraka says:
Carnival of the Vanities #211 - The Editor Cometh
Welcome to the 211th edition of the Carnival of the Vanities! There were a lot of great entries this week and I was really impressed by the quality of most of them. Some of them, however, I feel don’t necessarily…
4 October 2006, 11:09 amSneakeasy's Joint says:
Carnival of the Vanities 211: Questions of Belonging
Kehaar, of Silflay Hraka, brings us CoTV #211, and more on his editorial direction, and this leads me to ponder what, and when, will be my next contribution ( See Below. ):Some people might say that everything submitted should be
9 October 2006, 12:00 pm