According to Meredith's post on success blogs:
But frankly, being successful is important to me: does anyone really want to be known as "the effing librarian" otherwise?What makes your blog a success depends on what your goals for it are. Why do you blog? Looking at the responses I saw in the Survey of the Biblioblogosphere, I didn’t see anything about having the most subscribers, having the highest Google Page Rank, or being the most well-known blogger.
Being at the top doesn't mean you're the best. If that were so, we'd all be eating Big Macs and wearing Wal-Mart casual separates. But we don't (today I'm having a Quarter Pounder with cheese, and I hope I don't get any on my George Premium Dress Shirt, $16.77 at Walmart.com!). Being at the top (however the top is defined) is definitely important because it can be a guide to quality or it can increase your sense of community by being with everyone else: but it's also crowded at the top. When you comment on a popular blog, does anyone notice? Comment at one of the "ghost town" blogs and the poster might become your best friend.
Also, I agree that you should choose your blogs-to-read based on a perception of usefulness (again, however that's defined). I feel as though I'm revealing too many weaknesses by saying that I think being successful is important. But that's how I feel. I guess if I were at the top, I'd say it isn't important, but when you're at the bottom looking up, it seems like it would be nicer up there.
I don't suck at my job and I'm not stupid. I presented at two large conferences this year and I'm a decent speaker. People don't get up and walk out (much). But if I were known as the.effing.librarian without having any real credentials to back that up, I probably wouldn't be asked to participate any more. It's like the words "ass" or "bitch." You notice how many books now have titles like "sewing bitch" and "book bitch" and "kick-ass something"? Having that book legitimizes the use of the previously offensive term. But as the effing librarian, with just this crappy blog, you can see why I wouldn't want anyone to know.
(Okay, I'm sure I'm making too much out of this.)
So, yes, I'd like to be near the top of the list of successful blogs. I'd like to present somewhere and be introduced with, "and so it is my pleasure to welcome, ******, better known as the effing librarian." So, yeah, even though most of my site is crap, I'm proud of my crap. But I'm for damn sure not going to shoot myself in the foot by claiming it under my real name without some wonderful data to back it up. Until I rank high on some list or get to contribute to some publication, or McDonald's comes out with "The Best Effing Cheeseburger®," then being the effing librarian isn't something I want to advertise.
That's why, if you click on my link to "buy some effing crap" almost nothing there says "the.effing.librarian" on it. That's because I think some librarians might be more likely to get something without it. I doubt any of you will buy something, but if I were at some conference and saw someone wearing one of my "effing right, I'm a librarian" buttons, I would need to run to the bathroom before I pissed myself from laughing. And that should be enough for you to get one, ...or one hundred. Yeah, get a hundred.
