Naming the Top
A small wander from my usual theme, but this is a perambulation, and this something that I really believe needs saying…
Top Dog
This week the conversation over the “Top x Christian Blogs” broke out again, with the retweeting of this post. This is something I feel passionate about, for the sake of the “small time” and under-appreciated blogger – but the conversation became all the more salient in the light of the controversy over whether the BBC should be playing a certain song that has made it into the Top 10 charts. Of course in “my day” this couldn’t have happened, because only songs released on a 7″ shiny black round piece of plastic could make the charts. The fact that songs, sometimes years old, can now make it in the charts, shows the power of a click.
But what does a click mean? In terms of blogging stats, potentially very little. How many times have you clicked on a post, only to realise what it was, and click straight off. A click doesn’t show that something has been read, even less understood or helpful. This is one reason why I find the quantifying of “top” blogs so frustrating. Anyone can get lots of hits on their blog, but does that mean it’s “good” never mind top? And to justify top blog by the number of followers on Twitter is ridiculous – they are not the same thing. You may as well quantify being a good blogger by the number of swimming certificates they have! Equally a prolific blogger (or Tweeter) does not mean a good one. It is not about numbers… (I might have ,mentioned that?!)
But what worries me even more is that we are even talking about Top Christian Bloggers.
I’m sure Jesus mentioned something about arguing who is the greatest…
Who Is the Greatest?
46 Jesus’ disciples were arguing about which one of them was the greatest. 47 Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he had a child stand there beside him. 48 Then he said to his disciples, “When you welcome even a child because of me, you welcome me. And when you welcome me, you welcome the one who sent me. Whichever one of you is the most humble is the greatest.” (Luke 9:46-48 Contemporary English Version)
Being Top anything is simply not a Christian concept. We all have value and worth. Designating anyone “Top” detracts from that.
My real concern is for those who are not on these lists – and never will be – but are doing immensely valuable work. They may are may not meet our need, but that does not mean they are not valuable. To say someone is not on a top blog lists runs the danger of making them and what they do appear worthless – or of less worth than those who are always designated “Top” – which is not true. Often these lists are more about who is in the “in” crowd, not necessarily the quality of their work.
And to start judging anything is always subjective. What I like and need is not always what you do. We all need different things, and at different times. By all means share a blog that is helpful to you – but please don’t designate is as top, best, greatest. Think about the little person you may be crushing in doing so. And I’m not talking about egos, I’m talking about people who have a real richness to share, who can quite easily feel it’s not worth it, because what they have to say is not valuable.
Please.
Can anyone persuade me otherwise??
Pam's Perambulation 
amen!
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Collection of Webs: April – Sunshine Lenses said this on May 4, 2013 at 9:55 am |
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