Participation - the life blood of the online community

by Smoov

It was my intention to write something today to encourage greater participation by the readers of this blog. I was going to call it  'One year on - where are they now?', and mention the names of people who have commented on the entries to the blog from last year,  but who seem to have not been heard of since.

You might argue that if Geraden had wanted more participation he should have started a  forum, not a blog, but whatever the reasons that dictate what type of site someone creates, the fact is that both benefit greatly  from the feedback created by the visitors.

Anyway, in going back and looking at the entries from a year ago I soon found myself  reading articles that either I'd forgotten I had read, or that seemed completely new to me, and they were very interesting. I've been  aware of Geraden's presence in the online 'legwear' community for quite a long time, and he has always written informative, thought  provoking and intelligent stuff, which is why, I guess, this has become my favourite port of call when my thoughts do indeed turn to  legwear (pretty often, then). 

I suppose I am as guilty as everyone else of arriving at my regular haunts, seeing that little new activity has transpired, and  moving on. But If we all did that all the time, there would be nothing new to read and think about, and interest would die away.

So,  my thought for the day is this: If there is not much new to read here, why not go back over the previous entries and have a look at those,  and if you feel inspired to respond to something you have read, go for it!

It's so important that those of us with 'unfashionable'(but otherwise completely harmless) interests have places like Geraden's blog where we can commune and share experiences and thoughts  and realise we are far from alone, and if sites like this come to the attention of the media, as is not unheard of, and they are seen  to be active, then that can lead to a considerable boost in public awareness and maybe even trigger a change in fashion trends that  could lead to us being able to wear what we like, whenever and wherever we like, without having to weigh up the potential  repercussions.

No, in case you're wondering, Geraden is not paying me to write this. I tried, but, sadly, 'no ceegar'. Tight git.

links: technorati