A reporter from one of my very favorite national news sources asked me how many new LDS blogs sprouted up after Elder Ballard’s recent talk about using the Internet to better reach out to the world. Based on what I’ve seen and the email I’ve received, I’m guessing about 40-50 blogs that are still functioning, though there may be hundreds of hard-to-find embryonic blogs that are still hidden behind the organ pipes of the Bloggernacle. Do you have better data or a better guess?
What percentage of the new LDS blogs would you said are aimed at defending or promoting the Church directly? I’m guessing that about 70% of the “Ballard blogs” can be labeled as “missionary oriented/defensive/apologetic,” while others might be less direct “let your light shine” kind of blogs. That percentage should be much higher than occurs in the Bloggernacle in general (the community of LDS-themed blogs). Any good source of stats?
I have NO clue on numbers, but I have definitely noticed more blogs about the church and seen people already blogging being less secretive about their faith. Which is great, I think. Either way, maybe it will convince my family not everything on this big scary net is bad.
I would like to suggest that new bloggers submit their blogs to be listed on these LDS “blog aggregators”:
Mormon Archipelago: http://www.ldsblogs.org
LDS and Mormon Blogs: mormon-blogs.com
Latter-day Select: http://www.ldselect.org
And then also submit your site to the monster of all blog-aggregators, Truth Laid Bear:
http://www.truthlaidbear.com
The last one is for blogs of all sorts, not just LDS. By submitting your blog to them (all are accepted, there are no qualifications) they will also track what other blogs link to you.
And another Bloggernacle aggregator:
http://mormonblogs.org/
FAIR has (finally!) kicked off their blog:
http://www.fairblog.org
We’ve been talking about this for years, so I don’t know if it’s fair (pun!) to say that it’s in response to Elder Ballard’s comments, although he did help spur us on in the final stages.
Additional aggregators:
http://www.ringsurf.com/netring?action=info&ring=LDSBlogs
http://ldsblogs.com/
http://www.mormonsite.org/links.html
Just like to point out that some of us have been trying to get listed on the aggregators with little success. I can’t say I blame them. An aggregator gets less useful as they are overrun with too many blogs. Personally, I feel the growth in the blogosphere will be too great for the aggregators to handle. We will need to start using more finely-tuned tools to just give us what we want, or else there will be information overload.
By the way, I started my blog shortly before the talk, so I’m not technically a ballard blogger.
I am clueless also. I wouldn’t know even where to begin to find those stats. My own is a sort of Let your light so shine blog, I suppose….but, while I’m here, let me say how I love Mormanity, and I adored your Why I Blog piece!
Good on ya, and keep it up!xinznbs
Xinznbs…didn’t he come across with the Jaradites? I might be wrong.
Thanks for the links to the aggregators. It seems, though, that most of them are promoting LDS themed content rather than LDS bloggers. I’d love to read more “let your light shine” blogs that deal with everyday life rather than doctrine. Other than mormon-blogs.com and mormonblogs.org, are there any resources for finding these types of blogs?
I was already in the works on creating my blog TempleStudy.com when Elder Ballard gave his talk. I loved it. It confirmed my feelings and desires to blog about the gospel. I felt like it was a calling from the brethren to get more involved.
As far as new blogs since Ballard goes, here is a chart I generated on BlogPulse.com. They’ve got a great tool to use for generating stats on blogs. Chart
It looks to me like the blogging content with the key words “Mormon” and “LDS” about doubled after Elder Ballard’s talk on December 7, 2007.
For what it’s worth, I had been thinking about a blog for a while but then decided to do it not long after his talk: Strong Reasons
Hmmm… I had my dates wrong… Elder Ballard gave his talk on December 15th. It still looks like there was a surge in blogging content around that date.
I never even heard about Elder Ballard’s talk until a week later when I started my blog. I started my blog 2 days before his talk. I guess my blog would be considered missionary and member resources. I am not sure on numbers myself but it seems my blog is getting more popular. I am providing free Book of Mormon downloads for people to e-mail or read offline plus other Church related information. freebookofmormon.wordpress.com
I was blogging about Mormon doctrine in the tradition of Joseph Fielding Smith and Bruce R. McConkie a couple of years ago, but I had let my blog fall into inactivity. After learning of Elder Ballard’s talk and reading it on the Church website, I decided to renew my efforts. I also have an old, static website that I have not maintained for several years. I am going to update and renew my efforts with it as well.
Bryce,
I think you’ll find those numbers have more to do with Mitt Romney’s speech on Faith and Religion (delivered Dec. 6) than with Elder Ballards talk.
You may be right. In any case, it looks like like the volume of Mormon-related blog content has about doubled since that time. It may be hard to distinguish between the two.
I admin http://www.mormon-blogs.com and take all comers as I just list the blogs and don’t aggregate individual posts.
I also spoke with the reporter and told her I’ve had a surge of blog submissions since Elder Ballard’s talk. Even more importantly, I think, is that a vast number of these blogs are missionary oriented.
While many LDS- blogs have been more or less geared towards members talking to members, a lot of the newer ones have been focused on following E. Ballard’s counsel and representing the faith to people new to the Church.
I have received around 150 new submissions since the talk. While I used to get a few submissions a week, since the talk, I average a few a day.
The talk has had an impact.
I started my blog mostly after reading so much criticism of the Church as a result of Mitt Romney running for President. It was interesting to hear about Elder Ballard’s comments, but I had already made up my mind that it was something I wanted to do just to get my thoughts out, as well as to join in on the conversation that is taking place. However, I haven’t submitted my blog to be considered on any LDS blog website. What are the pros and cons of this?
clean cut:
The consequence of listing your blog on the 3 or 4 main LDS blog lists is that more people (who are specifically looking for LDS blogs) will visit your blog.
You’ll get more readers/traffic to your blog.
When someone publishes something publicly on the internet (such as a blog), the supposed intent is that people will read it. Otherwise you wouldn’t have made it publicly available to everyone.
The three main LDS blog lists are:
http://www.ldsblogs.org
http://www.mormon-blogs.com
http://www.ldselect.org
The latest one is:
http://www.mormonblogs.org
A place where (IMO) all blogs should be listed is:
http://www.truthlaidbear.com
I started a blog in response to Elder Ballard’s urging. I hope you don’t mind if I put in a plug for it here:
What Do Mormons Believe?
I don’t have a blog, but I sure do chat a lot. Probably shouldn’t as much, but I do talk to some great people and have spotted other members chatting too.
I go in and just start off asking people random questions and eventually someone asks me what I’ve been hoping they would ask and thats what church I go to. Yes!! Bingo.
A lot of times I don’t get a chance to explain anything because I get shut down pretty bad. But I’m just glad that some don’t mind hearing me out and that some don’t mind having a clean debate, which is great! Hehehe…that rhymes.
And I also learn a lot by listening and I must say Jeff’s blog has helped out a lot, so I thank him for that. I love checking it out and reading what people have to say. And it helps that Jeff has a great sense of humor. I find myself almost falling off my chair from my outbursts of laughter. Sometimes I’m not ready for it.
I’m glad that there are great sites I can invite people to visit to get a better understanding about our beliefs, especially when I’m not that good at explaining things myself. I give my thanks to you guys for making this happen. Peace!
hi jeff!
my dad thoroughly enjoys and reads your blog regularly, so i asked him so send me the link.
i’ve been an active member of the church (so blessed!) my whole life and i’ve also blogging for four years, just like you. i’m new to your blog, but ever since i heard about elder ballard’s talk, it has me thinking about the platform that blogging gives us members to let our light shine in places where it might not – or just shine further.
since the passing of president hinckley and a brief mention of him on my blog, i had my readers commenting with surprise that i was a member of the church and that has really got me thinking. i certainly don’t hide my religion, but i realize that i feel very protective of such sacred things online. i would hate for people to have been reading for years and never have a clue about such a vital part of my life…
Please count us also here, A blog of Young LDS Filipino Couple living in Saudi Arabia. http://jbsolis.blogspot.com
Thank you for the post you’re making, You’re such a great man. Kudos to you Mr. Jeff. By the way, me and George Potter are together here in the Ward in Khobar. Guess you know him.
Hey Jeff. I’ve started a blog at http://www.allaboutmormons.com/mormon_blog.php