Normally I try not to worry about how many followers (readers) I have but with a gadget like the Followers at the footer of my blog, it's hard not to notice since I use my blog's blogroll and also I preview my posts so that I scroll down a lot and often see that Followers gadget. It shows a number which I know not to trust. Most people follow blogs but they don't actually follow through (ie, make visits or leave comments). I think having fewer readers is better because then I know who commented and not worry about getting bad comments but that may be a lie I tell myself. (Note: I used Google's Blogger platform.)
Most of my readers are female, at least, it seems that way. Also, most of my favorite bloggers are female. Years before, I had more male bloggers on my reading list but most had stopped blogging. I subconsciously or perhaps consciously is often draw to female bloggers. I am a female so it makes sense to want to be friends with other females but that's my upbringing or maybe habit. Of course it shouldn't matter if you're male or female (or others) – blogging is blogging.
If you're a blogger, do you worry about how many followers (readers) you have? Do you find there are not as many male bloggers around?
I don't worry about the number of followers. I have a small following and I like that. When a blog has more of a presence, it's more likely to get spam and nasty comments. However, I do like when I can share my blog with people, so I guess maybe I really want a moderate amount of people--whatever that means.
ReplyDeleteLive and Learn: It's true, if your blog is very popular, you do get more spam. I also would like a moderate number of readers - not too many and not too little - I guess I prefer to be a mediocre success blogger.
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No, I don't worry about blog stats, whether it be numbers of followers, comments, visits/views or whatever. I have quite a few male readers so I don't notice any real imbalance between male/female readers. What I DO notice is that comments usually represent about 10% of however many views a particular post receives. So many, many people (or bots, I suppose, lol) read but don't comment. That's why I always strive to leave a comment on whatever blog posts I read, because it's an acknowledgement of the time and effort the blogger took to amuse/entertain/educate me.
ReplyDeleteDebra: I think it's true that many readers read blogs but don't leave comment so we don't even notice them. It's not easy to tell even with the stats if you have real readers until they comment. But I also try to leave a comment when I can so bloggers would know I've visited.
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I share my blog on Facebook so it's possible, I suppose, that more than a few read it without leaving a comment.
DeleteAl Penwasser: It's probably true. Some people just read blogs and not comment.
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I don't worry about the number of followers - I don't even know where to find this ;)
ReplyDeleteBut I have noticed fewer readers, fewer comments and most of all fewer blogs in the past five or so years. I find this very sad.
Male bloggers? I do not always know, as pseudonyms and names in other languages often makes it hard for me to find out if the blogger in question is male or female (for instance in Danish Kai and Kim are male names ;) ) also I do not greatly care, it's the contents that matters for me.
I had to look for followers. I found the gadget. It was quite depressing. I have 55 followers, of whom many are dead or very old, most of them are not active bloggers any more. I deactivated that gadget again.
DeleteCharlotte: A lot of people said blogging is on a decline and it might be true but we will continue blogging to stop that.
DeleteYes, a lot of bloggers uses pseudonyms but most you can tell if you interact with them enough.
I don't think you can believe the Follwers gadget too much. It's sad so many bloggers are gone or not active.
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Jamie (jannghi.blogspot.com): I wonder about the followers who are on my blog, how many of them are still active.
ReplyDeleteJamie: It's hard to know who the followers are since some of them aren't active bloggers.
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I never check how many followers I have, I know that in the early days people "followed" just to pad their own stats or something like that. I only follow those blogs that I am interested in reading every day.I don't always comment because sometimes I can't think what to say.
ReplyDeleteRiver: I also only follow blogs that I'm interested in. And sometimes I don't have anything to say so I don't leave comments.
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Outside the writing challenges I don't feel I have "followers", so I pretty much stopped posting. I definitely encounter more female bloggers. It may have to do with my content though?
ReplyDeleteTamara: I also don't think I have followers but I do think I have a few readers. I suppose your blog's name, hockey mom, might have something to do with your audience. But in general, it just seems like there are just more female bloggers.
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I do an annual blog statistics post, so I look at followers once a year at least, though I know full well a lot follow but don't really come back or rarely do. There's also the other way around in which some will visit regularly and even comment regularly but might not follow, which I'm guilty for (I think I figure if I visit regularly then I'll know the URL anyway or know how to find them). I don't check otherwise unless I get a notification since I'm on WordPress.
ReplyDeleteHannah: I don't do any annual checking. I think either people visit or they don't. But you can't really tell who does visits unless they leave comments. But we shouldn't have to worry about followers unless you depend on your blog to make a living.
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I do all my blogging and blog hopping on my computer. I am not of the cell phone generation, but I do follow via Feedly. I like not having a list of posts from the bloggers I enjoy. Now that you mention it, I have only one male blogger who visits.
ReplyDeleteSamantha: I'm also not into using my phone to blog or read blogs. I'm sure there are plenty of male bloggers but maybe we just haven't encountered them.
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