Blogging in the political world is not easy

I'm going to make another attempt at boosting my friend Nikki's ego by linking to her blog once again today, not that my audience is yet large enough to generate much of an audience for her. I wish it were different, but that's the way it is at this point in my political blogging career, and thus the purpose of this post. So read on, I have a good point to make.

Before you read further, however, I would like you to jog over to According to Nikki and read her latest post, "Political Bloggers," where she writes about how most bloggers tend to want to write and be read, but spend very little time, and may even have very little interest, in other people's blogs. She even comes up with a definition for such bloggers: blog poachers.

You know who they are, and they know who they are. They are the bloggers who go blog to blog making comments like "I agree" or "cool" just to advertise their own blogs. I have to confess, though, that I have been known to do this from time to time. And I have been known to make some very intelligent comments where they were due, and to not return to that blog again for another month or so.

I know she wasn't referring to me, however, sometimes I might give the appearance of a blog poacher. While I don't intend to do it, I sometimes feel that's what some people might be thinking.

I know there are many medical blogs I go to maybe once a month, most times to not leave any comment. If there's nothing worthy to comment on, then I read quickly and pass on. If the reading is not of any interest of mine, then I have been known to simply glance at the first few lines, and then move on. I don't mean to be mean, but that's life.

Occasionally there have been people who have made comments on a regular basis on my blog, and when I click on to theirs it's nothing more than a cooking website, something I have very little interest in. Occasionally I go there and hope to find something of interest, and when I do I try to drop a line. Does that make me a blog poacher on that site. I don't think so.

There are some blogs I will go to as often as I can, and because I have little control of my priorities in life, which are God, my wife, my children, other people, work, and then other things which include blogging, fantasy baseball and my other writings. If I were a fast reader and a quick writer I could probably read more blogs than I currently do, but that's simply not the case.

The way I like to write, putting great care in every word, I am usually unable to whip up a post in anything less than an hour. And, most days, by the time I fill that hour, my 4 year old wants to go outside and play soccer, or my son wants me to play catch with him. Now, how could a person in his right mind not put his kids as a priority over blogging? This blogger places his kids first.

And, unfortunately, that means that I usually don't get to as many blogs as I want to on a daily basis. In fact, many days I don't even get to my own blog, let alone the blogs that are among my favorites, such as Nikkis and respiratory therapy 101 and the other blogs I have listed on my two blogs.

Another thing of note is that I place my medblog as a priority over this blog, especially when I'm working. I think if I got caught on the Internet at work I don't think I'd have to explain away why I was going to medical blogs, which are work related. However, if I were political blogging at work, I might have to do some explaining. Not that I don't do both when it gets really slow at work.

So, I just want you to know, that while it might appear as though I'm avoiding your blog, that's not what I'm doing. All the bloggers that comment on my blog get a return comment, or at least a good thorough perusal of their blog. And all bloggers who I link to on my blog are on my reader, and when I finally manage to break free from the hustle and bustle of life, you guys might find that all the articles you wrote in the past three weeks have my stamp in the comments sections. That's how I blog.

If I had the time, I would sit here and blog and read blogs all day. My interest in learning is so great, I love to read just about anything. And I think that all bloggers have something interesting to say. It's just that I also have to keep up on the news, and, well, I have to spend time with my family. After all, even though I try to limit my time here, they already complain that I spend to much time on this darn thing.

I suppose you guys are the same way for the most part. You, like me, are simply respectable people who love reading and writing, and are taking advantage of this really cool opportunity we have hear on the Internet.

I stated this on my other blog after I reached the 10,000 clicks plateau, that when I started blogging I never expected I'd be writing to anyone but myself. So even if I had one person reading my blog, then I'd consider that a success.

Now I think I'm almost to the 20,000 clicks on my medblog, and the reason for that is probably because I spend most of my blogging time over there in the med blog world. Over here, in the political blog world, my blog counter says 2,138, which is a puny amount compared to Nikki's respectable 12,111. The reason for this is simple: Nikki is a far better political blogger than I am.