Things look a little bit different on the Nature Blog Network today, don’t they? They should! A slick new theme is the least of the changes around here. I’m excited to announce that the NBN has just taken a giant leap forward towards the dream of becoming the true nexus for every species of nature blog.
I believe that most of you know me. I’m Mike Bergin, part of the 10,000 Birds triumvirate (I’m the devilishly handsome one) as well as founder and editor-in-chief of I and the Bird. I’m also a big fan of yours. It’s true… I’m crazy for nature blogs, which is why I created the Nature Blog Network back in January 2008:
Anyone who has browsed around our site has probably noticed the bright badges promoting Bird Top 100 and Fatbirder 500. These sites, called toplists or topsites, are designed to rank members based on pageviews or other metrics. The badges themselves record site stats for the toplists while at the same time advertising them to new readers and prospective members. Rather elegant, really.
10,000 Birds does receive readers daily from these toplists, although not very many. Still, I took notice when Bird Top 100 was down for a few weeks and missed the 1 or 2 international visitors that came through every day. Rather than drink myself into a stupor like I usually do when dealing with blog frustration, I wondered if I might be able to construct my own toplist, one that might better serve sites like mine. You see, other birding toplists put blogs together with forums, static resource sites, merchant sites, photography sites, and even pet bird sites. Blogs are special. We deserve our own toplist, don’t we? And ours shouldn’t isolate birding blogs from our natural (pardon the pun) allies exploring topics like invertebrates, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, flora, fungus, and ecosystems of every kind, right? That’s right…
And thus, Nature Blog Network was born. Now, eight months and 523 members later, we’ve coalesced into what is unquestionably the finest aggregation of nature bloggers in the world. The next step is to turn this collective into a true community, one that actively aspires to make each member better and more successful.
To that end, I’ve invited some of my favorite nature bloggers to help transform this toplist into something more essential, more engaging. The list stays of course, but now we’ll also offer a daily blog to serve the community. What can you expect in the NBN blog?
- introductions and instructions for the top blog tools and technology
- focused looks at different members of the NBN community
- nature carnival announcements and deadlines
- nature news and special announcements
- interviews, polls, etc. etc.
We’re going to write about what interests you so don’t be shy in sharing your thoughts. My co-bloggers, while they need no introductions, will be introducing themselves over the next few days. Then we’ll be jumping right into must-read content, including the State of the Nature Blog Network on 11/5.
So don’t miss a post - subscribe to the Nature Blog Network blog feed! This will be the channel for all important nature community announcements as well as the place where we can all come together in order to achieve our individual blogging goals!
So, are you as excited as I am?
20 Comments
Wonderful job!! This is definitely one of the best resources for finding amazing nature blogs!!
Thanks for all your hard work on this. It’s really exciting to be a part of, and I have found it a great way to connect with fellow nature bloggers. To know that your team is continually tinkering with it to make it better, more influential, and ramp up its technical capabilities makes a huge difference: it’s a ship and with crew members that I am privileged to be on-board with.
Wahoo. Am I excited. I Stumbled it, BTW. (appears I was the first, is that possible???) nice new look and next steps. Bev
Nicely done!, Mike!
Nice design and a good team, too!
Cheers, Klaus
Awesome! This redesign is sweet & easy on the eyes.
Great idea Mike! You are one innovative dude! I look forward to reading the NBN blog. And to seeing your smiling face in Texas next week!
Thanks, all!
Bill, we are going to have a blast next week no doubt. Anyone else who will be at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival next week should give a shout. We’re going to have a special bird and nature blogger get-together which should be mandatory for anyone within, say, 300 miles!
Great value-added feature. The feed is already on My.Yahoo!
Ken
Oh, gosh - we did it! We’re live! This is so cool!
And I’ll wager I’m nowhere near as excited as Mike is.
Sounds and looks cool!! Despite living in Costa Rica where the birding is always exciting, I still wish I was going to the Rio Grande Birding Festival! Have fun!
I’m delighted to have you encourage interest in observing nature in whatever form. I’ve had such fun being encouraged myself (by blogging) to be a better nature observer wherever I am.
I think this will be great. I really enjoy surfing the blogs on the Nature Blog Network and think it is a wonderful way to showcase all the informative blogs out there.
Mike,
Only the best from you! Fantastic new blog and attractive new NBW. Thanks for all you do, from one of the little bloggers :o)
Mary
Congrats! Sounds like a great venture!
Well done Mike - your improving and excellent resource for all the bloggers and readers online. Keep up the great work!
Nice idea to add a blog here. Good luck with the project. It’s looking really good.
Great work Mike. I am sure things will become more exciting as we go along…
You have a great network and blog community started here Mike. Keep up the great work!
Nice positive changes, I will be a part of it. Thanks
I love your new look. Thanks for doing such a good job.
Jamie
2 Trackbacks
[...] Blogs and Carnivalia Posted on October 31, 2008 by declan/mooregroup Today - a new (to us) carnival we’ve come across - Carnival of the Blue, ‘providing a community for ocean-related blogging and bloggers’ hosted this month by Cephalopodcast.And in other Nature Blog news, Nature Blog Networks now has a blog… [...]
[...] hope you’ve all seen the new Nature Blog Network Blog launched last Friday by Mike, N8, BABW, and me. We’re just getting started, so I hope [...]