Nature Blog Network

I’m not surprised that the most popular answer to last week’s poll question “why do you blog?”  is “To build a network with those who share my interests.” It looks like creative outlet may be second, based on comments to the poll post. Of course, the two are not mutually exclusive. However, it appears only a few of us are blogging because we’re required to do so as part of our job, and no one will admit to blogging to make money. (This last is undoubtedly a good thing, since for most if not all of us, blogging is a don’t-give-up-your-day-job occupation.)

We are fortunate to be part of a creative, knowledgeable, and interesting group of people. I very much appreciate the civil tone of conversation and the supportive and helpful ethos of the nature blogging community. I’ve met a lot of nice people and learned a lot about nature, as well as a lot about blogging, writing, photography, communicating, and community building. I myself am not an expert at any of these, but I benefit from the company of those who are, and who are so willing to share what they know. Through blogging, I’ve re-energized my interest in birding, broadened my horizons, and met a terrific group of colleagues who share my interests. “Networking” is the answer I personally would pick as well.

So how does this relate to the Nature Blog Network?

First, we want to be as effective as we can be in connecting people. The obvious use of a list is to help us find one other. With 580 members, I’d say we’re doing well in that regard. The breadth and depth of interests here is amazing.

Second, we also want to share information - both giving and receiving - and we want to advocate for nature, birds, wildlife, and the environment. It’s important our voice be heard. Otherwise, it’s too easy for our views to be overlooked or discounted, or assumed not to exist. How often have you heard someone say in person or online, “but nobody I know thinks that?” Most of us do this sharing and advocating through our individual blogs, the comments we leave on each others posts, our blogrolls, and our participation in festivals, carnivals, and memes. We have only begun to investigate what more we can do by coming together as a community, and how we can leverage our individual voices to be louder and more effective in the larger political, social, and environmental arena.

Third, many of us want to learn how to be more effective and reach more readers, not as an end in itself, but as a useful step in building a network and amplifying our individual voices. Again, this is an area in which we can help each other, and the NBN blog is the first of several community tools we’ll be building to facilitate our getting to know each other and having the opportunity to work together.

Fourth, but only temporarily finally, we want to capitalize on the social aspects of social networking. Whether it’s your local Birds ‘n’ Beers (thank you, Birdchick!) or an opportunity to get together at a birding festival out of town, it helps to have a ready-made introduction and finding tool.

So, where do we go from here? I’ll start by saying I know I won’t have everyone’s full attention until after the holiday season. We’ll wait until the new year to start conversations about how we connect within the NBN, what tools we’ve found useful, and how we improve our writing and photography skills for our own and our readers’ greater enjoyment. In the remaining weeks of this year, we’ll continue to talk about blogging and community and to enjoy each other’s company as we get to know each other a little better.

Now, for this week’s poll:

In their interview last Monday, Andrew and Benny said “… if you want build something serious, don’t intersperse your crustacean blog with pictures of your new baby or pet cat, Mr. Fluffernutter. Your readers don’t give a crap.”

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If you’d like to add more detail or explain your answer further, please leave a comment below.