Apologies for the relatively light blogging of late. Since Easter, I've had a sort of 'Murphy's law' period in which everything that could go wrong did go wrong, and my brain has been frazzled trying to work out the consequences of it all. One brief respite was when I went to see Scottish Ballet's new production of A Streetcar Named Desire, which I can highly recommend. It's a very dark piece, which somehow suited my frame of mind. But then on the way home, yet another freak calamity befell me!
Anyway, while I'm busy getting my brain unfrazzled, I thought a poll on people's blog readership habits might be quite fun. What put the idea into my head was this misconceived taunt from a member of the ever-delightful Tory Herd over at Political Betting -
"What a whining, posturing, self-dramatising bore you are, James. You come here for one reason only: because if you post your incoherent and commonplace political musings on your own blog you get a readership of two (including you). You need us more than we need you. so stop pretending people are trying to martyr you for your beliefs, because they aren't, they are laughing at you for being an arsehat.
Sorry if that sounds a bit tetchy, but I do dislike being accused of groupthink by a complete twit."
Hmmm. Alas, I actually have access to this blog's stats, and I know that of the tens of thousands of absolute unique visitors who have come here since I installed Google Analytics in July 2010, a negligible percentage have been referrals from PB. Which is a profoundly depressing thought - it would be nice to think the torture I've put myself through over there has at least produced some kind of side-benefit. In reality, the vast majority of visitors come here direct, from search engine queries, from links on Twitter, and from other Scottish political blogs. And of course I know that many of you also use this site as a hopping-off-point to visit blogs listed in the sidebar.
So I thought it might be interesting to know which are the most popular sites with readers of Scot Goes Pop. The voting form is at the top right of the page - this time multiple voting is enabled, so you can include all the blogs you read, no matter how many there are. I know I'm bound to have omitted some people's favourites, so apologies in advance! Looking down the list, I realised I've become slightly ghettoised in the nationalist blogosphere (although my time spent at PB probably makes up for that, and then some). The only non-pro-independence Scottish blogs I visit fairly regularly are Better Nation and Caron's Musings, although of course I pop by to some of the others now and again.
Can I add
ReplyDeleteWings Over Scotland to the list
Yep
ReplyDeleteWings over Scotland also should be on the list.
Steven Noon's blog is so infrequent, as I suppose he has a real life as well, but is always well written and apposite.
In fact of the three of Scot goes, Wings and S Noon make a good read.
For dry wit none can beat or come near Conan's Pseudepigraphia adn its Hottmon headlines. His diary of Iain Gray was a masterclass in irony ad contempt
need to decrumb my keyboard
ReplyDeleteSo three people read my blog? Ace!
ReplyDelete(Although I'm one of them... Still, two folk!)
And I'll "third" Wings over Scotland. It's one of my favourites at the moment.
I'd add in Wings over Scotland too.
ReplyDeleteStopped reading (I can't believe it's not)Better Nation a long while ago, and PB a shorter while ago.
Sorry about the huge omission of Wings Over Scotland - unfortunately once the poll is underway it's impossible to amend it.
ReplyDelete(a little O/T)
ReplyDeleteThe thing about PB is that the comments are the content. For whatever reasons, Smithson's format (particularly a bit of inside track combined with an openly speculative tone) works to produce a forum with a high throughput from commenters. That community of discussion in one location is like a standing wave that forms around the blog.
Sad to say that the closest I think we've had in Scotland was Brian Taylor's blog prior to the comment blackout. There is a wee digital diaspora dispersed throughout various blog comment threads now.
A good 'non-aligned' forum for Scottish politics is a huge hole in the McBlogosphere IMO.
James wrote " sorry about the huge omission of Wings Over Scotland"
ReplyDeleteI believe RevStu is penning an article on the Scottish blogosphere as we speak and this may not go down that well. Refills popcorn bowl...
OK, no need to rub it in!
ReplyDeletelol. Could be a case of "Stu goes Pop".
ReplyDeleteDoug which blog is yours?
ReplyDeleteMunguin, Alba Matters is mine, although to be honest most of the blogs I write tend to go straight to Bella these days since it has a wider readership!
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should put them up on my blog as well anyway...
If you make this an annual event you could maybe add Slugger O'Toole as well.
ReplyDeleteApologies to Conan as well. And to any other regular commenter who has a blog. I've really opened up a can of worms here, haven't I?!
ReplyDeleteWell, it is the USA election year so we can have have write inb votes here as well. One vote for Wings and Stephen Noon. .
ReplyDeleteWhy thanks Wolfie;¬) WOS for sure, but may I make another suggestion?
ReplyDeleteWitterings of a Weegie Warbler.
Weegie Warbler of course
ReplyDeletePB is good if you want to hear the SLAB spin straight from the horses mouth because it now appears to be the home of Tom Harris posting as Devo Max.
ReplyDeleteSadly Tom seems to have learned nothing from his last internet debacle.
I don't think all those posts on PB would be approved by labour but Tom obviously knows what he's doing since he is protected by Smithson from criticism.
Interesting list of blogs folks. Will check them all out and thanks for the recommendations.
Can I withdraw my vote for Moridura
ReplyDeleteI have unfollowed him and delted my link as he has been getting particularly sanctimonious of late
"Sorry about the huge omission of Wings Over Scotland"
ReplyDeleteWell, I should blooming hope so. But thanks to everyone who noticed :)
Doug: You're on Munguin's Republic's blog roll... I've added Bella Caledonia and Wings too.
ReplyDeleteHave you got TWO whole readers, James?
ReplyDeleteAhhh... maybe one day.
I see I've been left out....Grump grump ;)
ReplyDeleteOf course it doesn't help my grumping if the comment box has me down as anonymous!!! :)
ReplyDeleteAuld Acquaintance is a thoughtful blog. I just forgot to mention it, as I associate it more with or through Facebook, where a lot of cybernat activity has now migrated.
ReplyDeleteSo another infrequent, but nonetheless very readable blogger would be
Peter A Bell
at
peterabell.blogspot.com
and Peter Thomson's
Tarff Advertiser
You seem to have missed Ian Smart too...
ReplyDelete"I believe RevStu is penning an article on the Scottish blogosphere as we speak and this may not go down that well. Refills popcorn bowl..."
ReplyDeleteI finally got round to it. I have not exacted vengeance :D
http://wingsland.podgamer.com/courage-and-convictions-the-state-of-the-scottish-online-media-and-blogosphere/
It might have been worthwhile to just start the poll again with all the omissions included, though...
This'll teach me to have bright ideas for 'easy' blogposts just before I go to bed! Apologies also to Auld Acquaintance and Ian Smart.
ReplyDelete"It might have been worthwhile to just start the poll again with all the omissions included, though..."
I think maybe what I'll do is add a second poll with the missing blogs people have mentioned. It would be unfair to the people who have already voted to start again completely from scratch.
Fair enough. If nobody mentioned it yet, A Sair Fecht looks interesting.
ReplyDelete