Meta Madness: Diaries
by kos
Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 04:09:28 PM PDT
It pains me to write the word "official", since this site was always very organic in self-governance, without a strong hand from dKos HQ. But given the site's growth, it was inevitable that something more official had to be put together. And with the help of the irregulars and me, DavidNYC put together the guidelines that I'll be rolling out throughout the week and adding to the dKosopedia.
But I'd like to make one big sweeping statement about diaries. Many people criticize the Recent Diaries list for scrolling through so quickly. They feel that their content doesn't get fair play on the site's homepage. Jotter's numbers in that diary confirm that -- the site averages 248 diaries a day, most of them I'm sure crammed in during the daylight hours. There's a lot of noise to break through, and as such, many people begrudge those diarists that have developed "star" power on the site (Jotter lists those people out as well).
But here's the fact -- every person who has risen to a position of prominence in the diaries started with the exact same limitations and challenges. Everyone on the site has equality of opportunity. If your words resonate with enough people, chances are you'll separate from the masses. If not, then you won't. It's like anything else in life. And even if you're not one of the star diarists, opportunities to shine exist and happen all the time. From Jotter'sdiary:
Interestingly, of the 117 [most recommended and commented] diaries shown, corresponding to 5% of total diary impact, 90 different authors are represented. Of these 90, only 35 are on the list of 117 top impact authors.
So people can stand out from the crowd when their content warrants it. But generally speaking, no one has a right to be read or heard. You have to earn that respect. If you are writing for personal accolades and fame then you have absolutely the wrong motivation. The same goes for bloggers in general.
But note that even 30 minutes on the Daily Kos recent diaries list represents 25,000 visits during normal traffic hours. That's not insignificant. But people's expectations have become corrupted by the success of a few. And while that is inevitable, it's also a bit tragic. The beauty of the blogs and this site is that you have a voice and can share it with the world. There is intrinsic value in that whether 10, 100, 1,000 or 100,000 people read you. And given the fierce competition in the media lanscape (online, offline, and broadcast) for reader and viewer attention, getting anyone to focus on your material is still a remarkable accomplishment.
Without further ado, the "new" Diary guidelines are below the fold.
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