A Good Question!

How we can, as Christian bloggers, begin to influence the wider culture rather than simply passing links around among the 4500 who are part of the Blogdom of God?

I'm getting a lot of good posting fodder by reading Tim Challies' blog. How can we influence the wider blogosphere? How do we get out of the Christian ghetto? I think we've been asking this question for a LONG time, and there aren't any easy answers.

I think the first thing we need to do is to get out there and interact with others. NOT just the atheist, anti-Christian blogs (though that's a good idea), but the normal, regular blogs. We DO have interests outside of religion, don't we? Whether it's webcomics, or surfing, or science fiction, or basket weaving -- there are blogs out there where these things are discussed. Get involved in the discussion, and talk about these things on our blogs. Even if you have a blog devoted to theology, you can inject some of your own personality into it as well.

Get involved in carnivals. Not just the Christian carnival (though it's a great one!), but the Bonfire of the Vanities, the Best of Me Symphony, etc. Even the Carnival of Recipes and the Carnival of Kids. Get involved and gain exposure -- but make sure you have something to say.

Blogexplosion. I know a lot of you are laughing at this one, but I have gained a few readers from this -- and have had some great discussions with people who would never have visited the blog otherwise.

In short, we need to be visible, and visible in places where people are looking for blogs to read. Most blog search engines divide blogs into categories -- get yourself listed in a couple different catefories. Sports, education, politics, etc. We don't do this enough.

And we need to have something worth reading when they get here. I've seen blogs that have all the buttons, are in all the directories and search engines, and have nothing to say. There is a potential audience out there, but they won't stay if we bore them to tears. Blogs are built on content (like you haven't figured THAT out yet), so give them content that will make them come back.

Posted by Warren Kelly at July 13, 2005 03:28 PM | TrackBack