The Return to High School Gym Class.

The internet world never ceases to amaze (and confuse) me. It has so many… idiosyncrasies. The little traits and aspects that I can’t seem to understand, yet I find myself swimming knee-deep in them.

With millions of blogs scattered worldwide, some days you feel like a needle in a haystack desperate to get your words out there. When these feelings arise for me, I typically research how I can grow my reader base and make my readers’ experience more worthwhile.

The number one piece of advice out there on this subject? Become and stay an active reader on other blogs. The more you start conversations with bloggers, the more likely they will stop by your blog and interact as well.

I call liar pants on fire. This approach has created the largest game of tag that ever existed, putting all of our high school gym classes to shame. This time around, there is no running or sweating involved; you play this game of tag all from the comfort of your computer chair. Bloggers are frantically darting from one blog to another in hopes of making a new connection, when in reality they’ll probably just be smacked on the head while someone yells over their shoulder, “You’re out, loser!”

There are four categories of bloggers that result from this big game of tag, much like the categories of people you experienced in high school gym class. You read their blog post, comment or like it, and then tag, they’re it!

The Elite (aka: The Popular Kids): These tend to be large, sponsored blogs that humbly mention they receive 500,000+ views per millisecond. These bloggers were the cool kids in high school who casually laughed at your frantic attempts in tag, while they sat back and filed their nails. The group you so desperately compliment and engage with, and you get squat back. You’re left hoping that their generic ‘I love all my readers’ blog bit was secretly referenced for you personally. But it wasn’t. Let’s face it: probably never will be.

The Notorious Liker (aka: The Stoner Crowd): These bloggers ‘like’ everything. If you leave a five-page response to their blog post, don’t expect a response. Expect your notification alarm to buzz rapidly. Surprise! They’ve ventured all the way to your blog, read an entire entry, and liked it all within 40 seconds. It’s quite the accomplishment. Much like the stoner crowd in gym class, these bloggers don’t want to engage with you, but they also would never hurt your feelings by not returning your kind gesture. It’s all cool, man. Really.

The One Liners (aka: The Jocks): Now, I’ll give it to this group of bloggers. They at least make an effort in this game of tag. They come all the way to your page, click on a random post, and then leave a one word response. It doesn’t matter that you spent four hours writing your post, editing it, and selecting the perfect photographic accoutrements, you are simply going to get a “Nice!” Don’t take it personally. Just remember in high school, cheerleaders would spend weeks on their school pride posters just to hear a grunt from the jocks. They managed it for four years, you can do it sporadically through your week. (Wo)Man up.

The Lovelies (aka: Your Crowd): These bloggers barely need a nudge before they have submersed themselves in your content, providing heart-warming responses that remind you why you write and blog in the first place. In other words, these bloggers are your chess club, theater group, or art crew that you happily stayed on the sidelines with during gym class. It doesn’t matter how quirky you are, if you’ve made the cut, you’re in fully. They make every ignored comment, mysterious like, and one word response wash away as you’re reminded you don’t suck (entirely).

How do you interact with your readers?
What are your blogging pet peeves?