- Author
- Tracy Durnell
- Published
- 30 November 2023
- Kind
- Personal blog post, with quotes from other bloggers
- Original
- tracydurnell.com/2023/11/30/building-community-out-of-strangers/
- Subject
- Future of computing
What it is
Tracy Durnell writes a personal blog in the Seattle area. The post explains why the author added everyone from a feed reader to a blogroll. It was written for the November 2023 IndieWeb Blog Carnival, on community and belonging.
What it says
- The author says the blogroll now lists everyone in the author's feed reader.
- The author says feeds are now chosen for connection and sociability, not for gathering information.
- The post argues that personal blogs are more authentic than performative social media.
- The author says long reading of one blogger builds a real, one-sided connection.
- The post says linking generously is the blogger version of being friendly.
- The author says blogrolls have become less common, and wants to restore and reinvent them.
What evidence it gives
The post offers argument and personal experience. It quotes several other bloggers and Danah Boyd on networks. It cites one blogging meme with more than 200 participants. It has no survey, test or measurement.
Interests and limits
The author belongs to the community the post praises. The view is partisan. Nothing was tested. The claims reach only blogs and readers on the indie web. The comments and trackbacks were read, but the post is the main source.