Networking ?

I guess there is some form of Ego involved in the process of maintaining a blog.  One wants to be read. So, like many bloggers, I regularly check my visitor stats. I can usually track frequentation directly to emails I send to harp-l or the DEREK mailing list announcing reviews. But yesterday, there was a strange peak I couldn't explain.

Typepad gives me some simple yet thorough tools, so I was able to track the origin of the traffic, and it was a blog entitled Bifurcated Rivets, that of Lindsay Marshall who (as I understands it) plays chromatic and was intrigued by my mini-review of Brendan Power's "New Irish Harmonica". He linked back to me and that generated a lot of traffic. Cool !

Then later that day, I had trouble concentrating at work so I checked the stats again, and there was yet another originating address generating lots of traffic, so I checked that one out and it turned out to be Reflections in D Minor, another blog maintained by Lynn S, which talks mostly, but not only, of classical music. Lynn also left a nice comment on Harmonica Ramblings, for which I thank her.

Beyond the simple pleasure of being noticed, I found it interesting that these recommendations came from other blogs, and it got me thinking (instead of working) on blog networking. I'm really a blog newbie and I keep meaning to read the Typepad manual, but I haven't found the time and energy yet. Still, I need to look into that. If only to boost my Ego.

Additionally though, the thematic content of both links to me gave me ideas for future posts, so in the coming weeks I will try and do a post about Brendan, and a post about harmonica in classical music. The latter will most likely require more research for me, so expect the former sooner !

Comments

[Lynn S]

Networking is THE way to build traffic. When I first started out, the only blogs I could find were either political or nearly un-readable teen diaries but culture blogs are spreading like wildfire. (if you'll forgive the cliche) Check out my huge links page. (http://www.aeternam626.com/links.html) The second group is all music blogs, (about 40 of them and I'm going to add your's the next time I update the list) most of them classical but there is a blues blog, a country music blog and several other non-classical music blogs.