I have long suspected that bloggers tend to be a shallow self centered bunch of people. This is admittedly kind of a tough way to start a post but bear with me a few minutes and see if you don’t find some truth in what I am saying.

I found myself ready to stumble a post that I had read one day but found myself hesitating to do it. For just a minute I had a jealous tinge that this blogger was going to get an influx of traffic and I was going to get zilch.

What’s in it for Me?

What a horrible way to think, thankfully I did overcome my moment of selfishness and ended up stumbling the post. This incident did make me realize that if I think this way then surely I wasn’t alone. These other blogs are competition right? I mean you don’t ever see Circuit City running a commercial about how much they like Best Buy.

That would be crazy right? Maybe for them but for us, there is a better way.

Self Esteem Issues

Admittedly this may be more prevalent in the MMO niche than anywhere else. These bloggers tend to rely on their readers as “customers” and it is my theory that they think that if another blog gets too much recognition, then they will suffer because of it.

The fear is that their own readership might find this other blog and they would like that one better. Silly I know, but their notion is that readers that formerly visited their blog will disappear never to return.

You might be thinking I am off base at this point but I got this idea from an article written by a guy that calls himself the Noob. You might know him by the creepy baby face that he uses for his avatar. He has a unique view on the MMO niche and can be a refreshing read so check him out.

If you read his post, then give him kudos for being honest, because it isn’t easy to admit that you are insecure or that you are a shallow person. He isn’t alone and I happen to think he is dead on with his theory, even though I don’t agree with it for myself.

Excerpt from the Noob:

“But the reverse happens. I never want to mention those blogs, for fear of losing my readers to them or for fear of losing to them in the ranks. This is very silly and immature, but i think most bloggers do this.”

While I understand Noob’s point of view, I don’t think it’s the right way to conduct business. If you read my blog then you know how much of a fan I am of networking. I simply have always felt that the more people you have in your network then the further you will go.

We will never, ever run out of readers for blogs. Tens of millions of people read them everyday.

Social Media

One of the easiest ways to help out another blogger is to invest the 2 seconds that it takes to “thumbs up” their content on StumbleUpon. I see this happen all the time, a fellow MMO’er will stop by my blog, enjoy the content enough to write a note or even email me telling me how they liked it.

Did they stumble it so I would reap even more benefit from my efforts? 99% of the time,the answer is no. I have to wonder if it was an oversight or do they think the same way Noob thinks. Did they reach for the stumble bar only to pull back? They told me they like it so it’s not a content issue. What gives?

Maybe it’s me being the selfish one? Is it too much to expect this from your fellow bloggers? Should we just consider ourselves fortunate that we have readers at all? I don’t think so. I think anything you to do to help someone will come back to you eventually.

Maybe this post can get some people to thinking. Maybe we can start making a change in the way we think today.

The Road to Change

Insecurity issues are hard to overcome but if you recognize a little bit about what I am talking about in yourself, then you need to overcome them.

You won’t become more successful by not linking out to your fellow MMO’ers, you won’t lose anything by stumbling someone else’s content.

Quite the contrary, I typically check out whomever stumbles my posts and often add them as friends. If they have a blog linked to their profile I will almost always check it out and look for some great content so that I can return the favor.

In many cases this has led to mutually beneficial relationships for both of us. Rather than being afraid that someone might get a leg up, you end up with a stumble friend and an influx of visitors when your own content finds its way into the stumble bar.

Win-Win for everyone involved.

The road to change is easy. You already read other MMO blogs and it only takes a few extra seconds to stumble the content you like, or leave a comment, or link to it if you really enjoy it. All of these things will come back to you if you are consistent in your application.

Conclusion

These kinds of posts can ruffle some feathers because inevitably someone will be indignant that this doesn’t apply to them and that they aren’t insecure yada yada yada. There are always exceptions to everything and if you are an exception then bully for you.

If it does apply to you then you will know it. You don’t have to admit it or feel any shame but instead just make a pledge to yourself that you are going to change. I assure you, In fact I promise you, that you will not suffer any consequences from promoting your peers. It will be all upside and no downside and that makes for an easy choice.

I will even give you the opportunity to start down the road to change right now. You can add me as a Stumble Friend and I will return the favor. If you enjoy this post and you think others could benefit from it then for gods sake just hit the little thumbs up button.

It won’t hurt, I promise.