Before I go on, please go and vote your favorites at the Nigerian Blog Awards.
In my opinion, blogging is about reaching out and personally, that is why I blog. That some people promote their blogs, or are nominated for awards is nothing to be ashamed of. My blog for instance is not a diary, and was never meant as one. I started off in late 2009 to share the stories I write, and I have published two books along the line, counting it a blessing that blogging brought me this far. It was since I became more comfortable with the community that I started to share my thoughts and the person behind the pseudonym.
Still, this blog is quite different from a lot of blogs that are about deeply personal experiences. I respect some of such blogs, many of which have added to my perspective on different issues. However, when some anonymous bloggers complain about popular blogs, I wonder why they're public? If really you're not seeking comments or traffic, why not ensure you're only writing for yourself by making the blog private? Once your blog is public, and has the sharing button, you're speaking from both sides of your mouth.
On the Naija Blog awards, some people are drawing parallels between 'real' and 'Twitter' bloggers and between excellence and popularity. I don't believe these are mutually exclusive; excellence can lead to popularity and vice versa. If I visit a tweeted blog a few times, and think it's rubbish, I'll likely stop. If I unfollow because I think they're too popular, and though I love what they blog, na bad belle. I'll prefer to let a million blogs start up, and let time and the readers do the rest.
In most blog communities, what matters is that people find a platform and are able to build supportive networks. I'm a big fan of the NBAs and don't think Nigerians have even begun to scratch the surface with blogs. The Huffington Post (sold for $315m), Belle Du Jour (Bestselling book and TV series) and BellaNaija, among others, started as blogs. So if you want a private or small blog, by all means do you and don't knock others. However, if you want to dream big, the sky is just the beginning.
All the best to the nominees, and especially to my blog followers and those I nominated.
Happy 4th of July weekend to my American peeps. Have fun, everyone!
________
ps, If you saw my name among the nominees and didn't see it again, I asked to be excused.
