I think most bloggers take the time to write and post because of a desire to share. I think that is generally true, but it is certainly true in the case of myself. I have a certain viewpoint on the world and the markets, where we have come from, where we are and where we are heading. I want to share that viewpoint through Fundamental Analysis, Technical Analysis and Commentary. I want to share my thoughts, and hopefully start a good discussion. I want that discussion to turn into a sharing of ideas (and there has been a lot of that recently here, which makes me *very* happy). But mostly I want to share my thoughts and have it be heard and affect my readers in a meaningful way.
I am not interested in droning on and on, and posting just to hear myself talk. I am not interested in making diatribes (which I suppose is not strictly true. I have ranted occasionally in the past. I think a good rant is in order and useful once in awhile if it is used in context of a bigger picture). But most importantly, I am not interested in alienating any of you.
My mission is to write useful opinions that are considered meaningful by you, the reader. And the primary way to measure the success of this mission is through feedback.
There are several ways a blogger can measure feedback: number of pageloads, number of comments posted, number of feed subscribers, number of links on other blogs, etc. And that is all good stuff.
But there is one metric that I consider the most relevant: the number of readers on my Following List
Why do I consider this relevant / Why I become a follower on others blogs
When I read another blogs posts, I think to myself: "Was the post useful?", "Did it give me new information or an interpretation of information that I had not heard before?", "Did the author make a well thought out argument", "Was I entertained?", etc. If the answer to any of these questions was "yes", I add myself to their "Following" list.
I consider this the highest and most relevant form of feedback because it requires an action of the reader. It is not just click on to the next post, or a click to add the feed to bloglines or reader, etc. Adding to Following List is an active acknowledgment that the authors message is useful / meaningful by the reader.
Notice I did not say "Did I agree with everything they said". Some of my favorite writers and bloggers are ones that I *don't* agree with. Sometimes on the little things, sometimes on some very big things. But as long as the points are made from a valid viewpoint, (even if I don't agree with it) and they are not jerks about it, I find myself considering different views. And that is *always* useful. Being open-minded to either a wave count or a fundamental stance of the economy that is different than my own has helped me to become a more complete writer and analyst. And also see how I made my point at the end of the 3rd paragraph: But most importantly, I am not interested in alienating any of you.. I view challenging you as a very different idea. The former is meant spitefully, that latter is not. I do like to challenge and debate as long as it is constructive. I hate arguing for the sake of arguing.
And this is what I would like to ask of each of you:
When you read this blog ask yourself: "Was the post useful?", "Did it give me new information or an interpretation of information that I had not heard before?", "Did the author make a well thought out argument", "Was I entertained?", etc. And if they answer to any of these questions is "yes", then please add yourself to on my Following List.
This says to me exactly what I say to other bloggers when I add myself to their following list: "I find your message valuable".
And this is precisely the feedback I am looking for to know how well I am doing with the mission of this blog: Am I making valuable observations and performing valuable analysis for you, the reader.
How to add yourself to the Following List
First Click Here. The following list is the Google FriendConnect Module. Once you click on the Follow button, here are the three easiest ways to add yourself:
1) If you have a Google account (and if you use gmail, you do) this is by far the easiest. Just click on the Google Button and follow the instructions
2) Yahoo and Twitter. Many people use Yahoo and/or Twitter and these are also easy ways to add yourself as a follow
3) For those who are concerned about their privacy, OpenID is a more anonymous approach. You just need an email address. I have an OpenID account and it takes about 2 minutes to set up. Just go to http://openid.net/get-an-openid/
So if you find my blog or any of my posts valuable, please add yourself to on my Following List!!.
