Content or Networking ?
Am sure most of us bloggers will agree that Content does not necessarily mean visibility or popularity of a blog. Networking does bring comment but can't sustain for long.
I have many questions but looking for answers.
I have put them on this post called August Extrospection. Please add a comment if you have something to say on this topic.
i am not agains't networking, networking is essential when done in the right spirit,what i feel strongly against is networking morons manipulating things for their 2 minutes of fame,this is very easy all you need is a handful of motivated morons to hijack something.Such moronic actiivities does not happen on indivine,however i have noted that the option to demote a submission is not given on indivine,i am hopeful that this option will be adressed to.
I log on to some networks to pull down some submissions for which you would have to pay people to read.
methinks it is rather a debate between content and packaging.Rather than Content and networking.
Typically if you have a low need for approval - which is to say - you do a good job, you know you ve done a good job - you don't need some else to reassure you about that. If this is the case then whether you have 10 or 100 it really doesn't matter.
unfortunately, in our society a low need for approval is often taken as arrogance.and a high need for approval as a suck-up-tability. So pick where you fit in the best.
There are two types of bloggers.-One who write for a audience and other who writes for himself.
A write who writes for the audience may or may not succeed always but a person who writes for himself and still succeeds is the man to look out for!
networking groups are everywhere digg,propeller,reddit,mixx, they are there digging each others submissions,this is unavoidable.I hope the new indivine which is in its second month is free from such scum of blogging.
I am pretty new to the world of blogging. Been active since about July. I do feel that initially networking really really helps. But you need decent content to keep it going. But networking does matter a whole lot, in my limited experience.
you are absolutely right.
Content and networking both are important.
Good content needs an initial networking push without which the good blog may get buried in the jungle of blogs.
On other hand , if you don't back your blog with good content , the visitors you get through good networking will go waste. A visitor may visit once but if he finds nothing interesting , next time your networking magic may not work on him.
it depends on what are you blogging about. But for me content is the king coz thats the only thing I care ,good content means people will get help from it and it satisfies.
@Udathahaathi -This thread has suddenly become networking hub 
...lol
Hi guys and gals,
Comments are welcome on my blog at http://devashishvrao.blogspot.com
I am still in the process of improving and want to earn money throught blogging. Kindly help me out in the world of blogosphere.
Regards,
Devashish Rao
Software Engineer & Blogger
Blog at : - http://devashishvrao.blogpsot.com
@Udtahati
Really, networking matters. thanks that you read my post. The Indiblogger is a good begining for Indians. A forum of this nature was lacking. I am in many forums but filled with a majority of americans. it was really very difficult to discuss any India related issue there as they belonged to a different culture. Here only Indians or who knows India can take part and share a peice of their minds. I came late to this forum for lack of knowledge or darkness dont know. But this is a very good site. In days to come we would have many frutiful discussions on various topics related to blogging and cultures.
thanks
@Madhu
Kartick proved you true.... ;)
Now, this content vs networking is a phenomena being discussed almost world wide. Check these two blogs out. They are from reputed bloggers who give two different perspectives about blog networking:
http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/09/01/the-myth-of-great-content-marketing-itself/
http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/08/25/let-me-show-you-inside-a-secret-blogging-alliance/
Hello guys, I have written a post titled " Love lost at first sight" about a guy who had never fallen in love before falls for a girl at first sight.Hope u feel good after reading it.http://allifeel.wordpress.com/2009/09/02/love-lost-at-first-sight/Please do read and comment
[udtahaathi], It is content ofcourse!
If the content is good, networking will follow. You are lucky, you belong to the "content" group.
The popular literature, movies, art etc. is always B grade. You can't expect the masses to enjoy - War and Peace.
One interesting question is, what is the purose of your writing?
1. Is it make money? or
2. Your self satisfaction?
The bestsellers are not classics (White tiger, 3 mistakes of my life), compare them with The catcher in the rye, to kill a mocking bird, remains of the day. The best sellers are no where near.
You have great a style. Keep writing. It will be a fullfilling experience.
I have added your blog in my favorites. Some of your lines are gems, I may as well steal them( I will let you know, if i do so)
"But life is not a best-seller & I am no hero."
I like your "about udthahathi" section. It is very nice.
And i liked your Yezdi: Roadking, though i don't know anything about bikes. That is the power of good literature.
When i see a lot of formal comments on a crap post it seems that content is not that powerful. Very often a crap content attracts a lot of comments. This happens for successful networking or some people dont want to lose their visibility. They would not read the post proper but must leave thier signature.
But as far as Search engine performance is concerned i dont think this kind of post fairs well. Comments no doubt encourages a blogger or writer to write more. It recharges the writers to churn out more quality content. Quality content means that has got some stuff, a beautiful begining, a thoughtful body and a questioning or happy ending. In this kind of post care is taken on grammar, syntax, proper wording, fruitful sequencing and proper credits to sources. Before posting such content a lot of ground works are done.
But regretably this kind of post does not seem to attract those casual readers or site hopers who leave their signatures. That is why Rakhi Sawant, Mallika Sherawat and all crap contents of Telivison always happen to have good trp. The Reality shows that we see are nothing but similar run of the mill contents but the demand of the time.
Content is must. if we are blogging for friends and relatives and our blogs are not visible in search engine then anything can be written and quality can be kicked to the back. But when we write for community then contents should have quality and orginality.
I have a post entitled "A commentary on Comments" If fellow bloggers want to go through that here i quote the link. http://thatlovedflower.blogspot.com/2009/08/good-post-keep-it-up-nice-post-good_01.html
Comments obviously encourages but lack of comments should not discourage a writer. half or more than that comments happen to be lolly pops that happen to be signatures and delicious spamming. Quality comments happen to discuss the content from own angles and summarising the same. Very often this kind of comment enhances the post as it gives additional materials regarding the theme. Thank you, keep it up, Nice. Hi hello all these are but lolly pops.
thanks
Sudama, Very well analyzed. I guess ultimately it boils down to what the blogger wants to achieve- a close circle of few friends to create a chatroom environment or towards a larger audience showcasing his/ her talent and with solid information and reserch based content.
I read your post on comments, very well organized. The fact is most ofthe comments are lollypop ones and i wonder if all of them actually reads the complete posts.
@udtahaathi :Well,I use my blogs as a journal to store mostly my stories and poems since I can't really write about how I drank my tea in the morning and how many hours I spent convincing the boss to accept my business proposal, so yes,I have sustained myself since May 2006 in the blogosphere without really having many friends but some genuine content lover who come back to read what i write and give a feedback :)( who doesnt like being appreciated )...I tried looking at too many blog to network at one point of time to see how it works but guess what,it gave me headache,so now, I am happy writing what I love to write and few feedback that I receive are bonus points 
Will surely look up your post.
@ Neeraj- 'Content is the King' is not beleived by majority.
See my comment section for different views- http://udtahaathi.wordpress.com/2009/08/23/august-extrosepction/
hmm, very thought provoking and interesting thread. and i agree with lots that has been debated here.
Here are my two cents : We all need to know why we blog. Some have a need to be popular,some need to be visible and some need to be heard & seen both. and some,like me,use this space as a journal of some serious writing that I would like to do and since I do not indulge in back scratching or so called"reciprocation" to appease others ,whatever visitors I get are like bonus for me ,people who are genuinely interested in reading whatever I write.
That's how I have attained my Nirvana. what do you say
Request you to read my post and check if you know some of the answers. If you can continue serious blogging and stay motivated w/o readership, hats off to you.
Also check my thory of Blogger's Life Cycle.
Man o Man! I had to read the whole thing... only to get lost in between... then to find the S**T in my name... and finally to nothingness.
We have digressed! Was there supposed to be a conclusion... or some discussions followed by obscurity?
Anyways, I am completely new to the blogging thing. I would like to share my take—request ya'll to take my take.
I think, the first and foremost step is to identify why you're blogging. What is the objective? Some do it for money, some for networking, some to prove a point (i.e they are talented), some to share their experiences, some to help others, some to spread awareness... and one more category (my most-hated) - some to tell others what they did, felt, did not, and all other things of personal memorandum...
Once the objective is clear.. then the answer to the question about networking or content takes different routes. I am sure all of us here agree.
At a personal level, my idea is to have very good content in the beginning (talking specifically about my first two posts)... followed by networking... and then mixing both... :)
One other thing that is important is to find the right kind of people... which you can't do... so you have to find all the people you can rope in to pay at least one visit... the right kind of ones stay and the rest run away :)
And yes, it's true that we often leave comments expecting a visit from the person... but, I dont see anything wrong in it... as long as our comments make some sense to the person.
K****ij
K****ij - Could you summarize that in a SINGLE line? I guess, that deserves to be your next blog post :)
Ksh*tij- do check th ecartoon on my post. What you have said I have probably pictorially depicted.
Btw- i can't comment on your mitti-ka-sher blog, some open ID problem it seems.
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