Bloggers As Tribal Leaders
It’s a rainy, windy Saturday afternoon here in the District of Columbia, and in between bouts of surprisingly successful housecleaning, I found myself thinking about the recent revelation I had–that I was the leader of a particular tribe, and my blog was the meeting place, the community space where we gathered. The town hall, as it were–the rock around which I spoke, others argued, ideas were shared, and we all evolved as a result.
What made me realize this was a post from Seth Godin on how successful bloggers become leaders in their specific “tribe” or community. It’s usually the person who got there first and staked their claim–few would argue that Josh Marshall is the leader of his particular tribe of Washington-based investigative journalists/bloggers, etc., given that he recently celebrated the eighth anniversary of his monstrously successful franchise, Talking Points Memo. But not always. Sometimes people rise to the top simply out of sheer dogged persistence–commenting on others’ blogs, aggressively marketing themselves to anyone and everyone who will listen, and making sure to be included in any discussion. Others do so simply because they are, as Triple H legendarily said of himself, simply “that damn good” at what they do–so much so that you are literally compelled to stop and listen to what they say, and then to respond in kind.
And once you get outside the measures of success as we define them–pageviews, Google search rank, etc.–we see success measured in more intangible ways. For my little blog, it comes from the fact that I can step completely away for a conversation–sometimes for days–and come back to see it still going strong, without the slightest bit of involvement from me. Readers from all walks of life–hardcore anarchists to equally hardcore conservatives–converge here to discuss, debate, and dissect the issues of the day.
I’m in the middle of reading “Here Comes Everybody,” by Clay Shirky (highly recommended if you want to understand social networks–he gives a lot of shine to LiveJournal!), and he makes the point that these successful “tribal leaders” don’t try to involve everyone in the conversation. Rather, they simply start the conversation with themselves and their friends, and others join in. Shirky equates it to a bunch of friends sitting at a table, shooting the shit–and occasionally, someone will overhear the convo and horn in. (Interestingly, we often discourage that as rude in personal, face-to-face contact, but on the Internets, we actively encourage it as a way to increase our blog’s “reach.” Go figure.)
Ultimately, I wrote this piece mostly to thank all of you who continue to habit this small corner of the tubes, and to remind you that even small conversations have enormous effects when amplified and carried to different parts of the world, as we can do here. I’m always gratified and honored (and more than a little humbled) that my work has caused a “tribe” to coalesce around me, and I will continue to do all I can to live up to the honor of being the focal point for as long as possible.
