266. Thanks to Kentucky Progress and others, but . . . . .

A quick note to David Adams and Kentucky Progress for his link to my comments in support of Senate Bill 3. I subscribe to Adams' KentuckyVotes.org listserve which is of great help for someone tracking legislation in the ongoing General Assembly. But it was his link on the Kentucky Progress website which gave me some new opinion-seekers. My readership, often referred to as the five faithful readers, spiked over the last few days to not-before-heralded heights. I welcome the Republican faithful who made their way from over there to over here. You will find there is more here than politics, although that's what most of it is. I also appreciate Bridget Bush, another member of the vast right-wing blogospheric conspiracy, who has put my blog on her "left-wing" list of places to visit when in need of a laugh. Her blog is called Elephants in the Bluegrass.

But the fact that my new readership simply visited over from elsewhere in the blogosphere raises a question for me. Are we all, bloggers left-and-right, mostly our own readers with very few newcomers? I once heard on NPR (I know the right wingers think NPR as anathema) that the average readership for any blog is one person, usually the blogger. I know I have those five regular readers and a handful more, and that readership grows ever so incrementally. But we are a long ways from mainstreaming. I think too many bloggers and blog-commenters oversell themselves as to the extent of a blog presence and power. Very few achieve any great success, although for me, the success is in having written mine and having anyone at all read it.

Mark Nickolas' much maligned (and sometimes deservedly so) BluegrassReport.org [for which, in the name of full-disclosure, I have posted three entries] has come and gone. But it did achieve a level of success and was instrumental in bringing about the election of a Democratic governor last year. Jacob Payne's Pageonekentucky.com is approaching similar status. But, I am still concerned when I read that any collection of two or three blogs in alignment on one issue or candidate somehow justifies calling it a force. I do not believe we are there yet.

Perhaps someday. But not yet.

As a reminder for those in Jefferson County who are wishing to seek office on the Louisville-Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee, filings for such must be made by Tuesday, January 29th. The elections are held the weekends of April 5th and April 12. Call HQ at 502-582-1999 for more information.