Who is in your Blog Tribe? Do you have one?
Image by coyenator via Flickr
Do you comment on blogs?
Somehow in my wandering around the blogosphere, I discovered the Middle Zone. From there I met several other people and started to notice something. The same names kept showing up in the comments on several different blogs. It was kind of neat. I have seen some blogs where one person (the blog owner) starts the conversation and everyone else continues the conversation in the comments section, but they never visit each other’s blogs. That is essentially a fan-club, but this was different. Everyone (it seems) goes to the posts of everyone in this group and comments on their posts.
This group of bloggers has formed a tribe!
This tribe does not seem to be centered around one individual. I referred to it as the Hruzek tribe a couple days ago since his blog was the first one I discovered, but there are several others that seem to be central to the group also. Some common attributes I noticed are that most of the members write as part of their job or are pretty active hobbyist and they write really well, their blogs are mostly G-rated, they are tech-savvy but not tech-centric, they are happy (i.e. very few rants), they are non-didactic, and they are interesting. Uhm… I have a little work to do before I really fit in.
What is a blog tribe?
Well since congress has not gotten around to defining the term, I guess the definition is a bit open, but here is my attempt at a definition.
A blog tribe is composed of three or more bloggers where each member regularly comments on a majority of the other blogs in the tribe and the majority of the comments on each blog come from tribe members.
Because of the high level of connectedness, it would be really unusual to find a tribe larger than 20-50. Larger groups, usually referred to as communities, may have overlapping tribes but also have a lot of other people that are only loosely associated. Larger, loosely coupled communities and fan-clubs are much more common than tribes, but finding or forming a tribe of your own is worth it.
Here are some the members of the tribe. In this case, I am specifically talking about regular commentators on multiple blogs in the group. Can you help me find the rest?
http://www.wordsellinc.com/blog/ – Brad Shorr
http://ullahennig.wordpress.com/ – Ulla Hennig
http://middlezonemusings.com/ – Robert Hruzek
http://lillieammann.com/ – Lillie Ammann
http://confidentwriting.com/ – Joanna Young
http://www.brainleadersandlearners.com/ – Ellen Weber
http://wordsforhirellc.com/blog – Karen Swim
http://www.sayleadershipcoaching.com/talkingstory/ – Rosa Say
http://www.consultcameron.com/ – Jackie Cameron
http://brainbasedbiz.blogspot.com/ – Robyn McMaster
If you regularly comment on one of these blogs, which of your regular commenters also comments on the same blogs that you comment on?
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Well Luke, if, as you say, this is indeed a tribe, then here’s a few more that should be mentioned:
Karen Swim
Rosa Say
Jackie Cameron
Ellen Weber
Robyn McMaster
Thanks, Robert. I will add them, too.
Luke,
Thanks for including me in the Hruzek tribe and for the complimentary description of our blogs. I’m honored to be among so many excellent bloggers who are also outstanding people.
Luke,
thanks also for mentioning me as a member of this tribe. I am proud to belong – and, you know, there is always the possibility of enlarging the tribe… I can’t speak for the tribe in general, but I myself would be very pleased if you would join…
Lillie and Ulla,
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. It is so nice to really get to know people as people instead of WP Stats.
Ulla, I think I am going to have to work on my writing style a bit before I really fit in but you all have given me something to aspire to.
Luke, your concept of a tribe is something new – group dynamics on the Web would be a fascinating area to explore. I feel a close connection to many of these bloggers because we started blogging around the same time. We helped each other learn and gave each other moral support to keep at it. I’ve grown to really like these folks as well as admire and learn from their writing. I can’t imagine starting a day without making the rounds. My circles of connectedness seem to expand slowly but surely, and I’m very happy my circle intersected with you. (Geometry is not my strong suit.) I hope you will honor Ulla’s request!
Brad, the general concept of a blog tribe is not actually new. I think, I have tightened the definition a bit, based on what I have seen in this tribe, but I think this tribe should be the model for what a good tribe looks like.
I honestly have seen very few groups that have such a tight community. What you all have, is something very special. I replied to Ulla via email that my problem, is that I tend to be a bit boring, including a tendency to over-explain. I won’t try to explain that one further
.
I have been quite well received, and really enjoy the warm welcome. I just feel now that I need to rise to the occasion and start writing in a more interesting way. If you or anyone else has suggestion for how I can improve I am all ears.
Luke, “Write in a more interesting way”? I think your writing already is interesting! I find your take on things quite unique and quite sensible. That’s a hard combination to find.
hmmm interesting… well this kinda reminds me of cyworld.. myspace… or facebook then.. only w/o the whole blogging thingie.. well you know what i mean.. commenting each other.. making friends….. yeah nvm i’m off in my own world
Luke, what an insightful post and I’m honored to be part of tribe Hruzek. May I just say, you fit in perfectly!
I have become more interested in tribes as a result of Seth Godin’s great work. This blogging tribe has been a tremendous blessing to me. Their help, support, encouragement and inspiration have helped me to become a better blogger and better person. I am energized by their ideas and learn from their perspectives. I would also add Amy Palko, http://www.lessordinary.org.uk/ she’s working on a thesis so has been absent but is very much a member of this tribe.