My immediate goal when I started a blog about Blogroll Amnesty Day was simply to give a voice to some of the less powerful blogs that were de-linked or had never been linked. When I first did a Google search to find out what exactly B.A.D. was, the results page yielded a lot of posts with titles such as “Blogroll Amnesty Day: a great idea!” Because of those big blogs already being regarded as more “authoritative” in the various ways that is measured statistically, the point of view of those blogs had a better chance of being heard. This reminded me of the whole big money mainstream media situation, and I wanted to do what little I could to counter that trend. So, the simple, immediate goal was to get the other side of the story actually showing up via Google searches.
But what I’d really love to do is to create something positive. I was thinking that we need to create something that people can get hooked into, that will allow them to be part of a wider network, but still keep their independence. Also, I have long been disappointed that, for a large number of candidates and elected officials, posting (or having a staff member post) one one widely read Democratic political blog is what constitutes their outreach to the netroots. And I’ve wanted to find a way to start encouraging them to crosspost beyond that one blog-but then, where do we ask them to post? And if they pick one group blog over another, will that lead to additional hard feelings?
But if there were a central place, that was not “owned” by any one blogger or group, maybe that would take one obstacle out of the way.
If you’re interested in reading more, click the graphic below
Update: if you’d like me to add your blog to the blogroll there, just say the word. And if you’d like to be added as a contributor, contact me at ohiorenee(at)gmail.com. I want this to be inclusive and mutually beneficial. A community, rather than a business. But definitely *not* about attacking other blogs/bloggers.