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Do Black People Only Care About Celebrity Gossip?
Posted by Brian
As a follow up to my previous post, Top 10 Best Blogs On The Web, there was some very good discussion among the people who commented that all of the blogs on the list dealt with celebrity entertainment gossip and that there was no inclusion of blogs on the topics of more substance like politics, race, relationships, etc. I would totally agree, but there are a couple of reasons that more blogs of opinionated topics were not included:
1) I put the list together based on blogs I am aware and since I do not know of all blogs that exist, my rankings are not all inclusive. It is a list that I expect to change and evolve over time, but as my blog has been about celebrity gossip, those are the the blogs that I am more familiar with, although I have become bored with topic.
2) My list was based on traffic stats and gossip blogs get much more traffic and are much more well known through word-of-mouth than blogs of more serious topics. This is true for both black blogs and non-black blogs. Perez Hilton gets a lot more traffic than the Huffington Post.
2) Any measure you use (traffic, technorati ranking, alexa ranking, search engine links, comments per post, whatever) celebrity blogs are still more popular simply because more people read those blogs on a regular basis than other topics.
I guess I am most surprised that it was not expected that primarily Gossip blogs would outrank blogs of more serious topics. The online world mirrors the offline world in most ways. The same reason that Flava of Love gets more viewers than the Presidential debates is the same reason that Gossip blogs are more popular than other blogs.
Electronic Village compiles a list of Top Black Blogs on his site which is more inclusive than my list, although his rankings are several months old, so mine will get their. His rankings are based on Technorati rankings which ranks blogs based on the number of links that blog has received from other blogs in the last 6 months. Several of the blogs in his Top 10 are also in my Top 10. Gossip Blogs are simply more popular and I think that represents two realities. First, that there is a lack of concern with major issues effecting our lives and existence and 2) that people firmly understand the issues that exist for them and their communities and they use their time for entertainment(watching TV, reading blogs, etc) to escape those harsh realities for a short period of time.
I am not saying that it is right that we as black people spend more time reading about Gossip than other issues, but I am not saying it is wrong either. It is what it is. There are also many other reasons why Gossip blogs are more well trafficked than other blogs:
1) Ease of Posting - It is far easier to produce content for a Gossip blog than it is for a political blog. If you are focused and half way decent at using blogging software, you can post at least 3-4 gossip posts in an hour. There is typically very little original thought necessary outside of writing a sentence or two and the content is readily abundant, just take it from another blog and hope your readers have not read it elsewhere first. On a good day a blog of more substance hopes to post 1-2 times while celebrity blogs post 10-15 posts per day. More of a reason for a visitor to come back more frequently. Additionally, comments on gossip blogs are more prone to turn into group discussions than other blogs. Thus increasing pageviews and traffic as the person that is at work and trying to hide their computer usage has to keep coming back to the site.
2) People simply don’t read - People don’t read long posts, or long books, or long magazine articles, etc. I know everyone reading this now is saying, “I read everything, I love reading” but the reality is that most people only read short articles if they read at all. Not sure if this quote that I heard the other day is totally accurate, but I tend to believe it is that “70% of college graduates never read another book in their life.” People who read a lot, read everything. Those that don’t read, simply don’t read.
3) More Opinionated, But Not Always Interesting - To go along with people not reading much, is the length of articles on sites of more substance tend to be much longer and filled with a person’s opinions. Gossip blogs are rumors that typically have some level of truth to them. I know some blogs make up stories totally, but in general the gossip sites are based on observation and in most cases are true. Opinion blogs are someones opinions which are based on facts, which quite honestly is not always very interesting. I cringe to say that because I know people are putting their heart and soul into their blogs and feel like every post that they make is “hot fire,” but the reality is that they are not all that good. I would equate it to that aspiring rapper that is constantly spitting a “hot 16″ and his closest friends are telling him the greatest, but no one else will even listen. I know a lot of people complained when I listed my blogs based on traffic, but is your blog really that good if no one is reading it?
4) Search Engines - Gossip blogs get more traffic in a lot of cases by search engines. Gossip blogs have both images and articles that can rank and draw traffic. If that is what people are searching for, that is what they are interested in. My blog for instance ranks on the first page of Google Images for Djimon Hounsou, Kimora Lee Simmons, and many other terms. This is an advantage that celebrity bloggers have over other blogs of more “substance” in ways of increasing traffic. And not to get too much into Search Engine Optimization, but Gossip blogs have a higher page rank in a lot of cases so as Gossip bloggers link together, just like blogs of other categories, they move up in rankings together. It is like the community moves as a whole. So if you network with a bunch of other blogger who get very little traffic and have low page rank, most likely you will all be in the same category.
5) Viral Content - Gossip blogs grow in traffic because their content is more viral. If you are not familiar viral content, it is the content that spread quickly via word of mouth without the need of a marketing effort. Readers are much more like to forward a post about Jay-Z’s alleged kid than they are about the problems with the global warming crisis. So as people forward around links to their friends, it exponentially increases traffic.
This list could go on and on, but the reality is that more people are interested in Gossip blogs. I read them both, but I realize most people don’t, which is fine. The good thing that has come out of my Top Ten post is that I am aware of several other blogs that I was not aware of and I will be working with Electronic Village going forward on his Top Ten List, so that we have one that is more inclusive. I doubt that the rankings will change much though.
Here is a list of some good blogs that I discovered since my last post:
Rashunda Tramble
MindSpill
Listen To Leon
Miss Mwabi
Soul Pitch HustleBlack
Repping Beantown
Black Girl Lost
The B-Life
Pull Joy
Theo Talks
Queen Esther
Urban Horror
Akiit
Straight From The A
Black And Married With Kids
Mind Warz
Rashid Muhammad
The Rich House
Electronic Village
[…] The Gossip Girls at (c) gossipgirls.com wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptAs a follow up to my previous post, Top 10 Best Blogs On The Web, there was some very good discussion among the people who commented that all of the blogs on the list dealt with celebrity entertainment gossip and that there was no … […]
Thanks for adding the additional note.
[…] Webconferencia placed an observative post today on Do Black People Only Care About Celebrity Gossip?Here’s a quick excerpt […]
Do they care more about gossip OR is gossip more distracting? Gossip is an escapism. Sometimes people want mindless chatter to distrac them from crappy life circumstances.
It get scary when that’s ALL most people read and think that this celebrity stuff is the most important thing going on in life. It just slays me when I over hear people talking about celebs like their friends and know each personally..
Scenario: 2 homegirls on the bus “Girl, I hope Jay-Z and Beyonce make it. That’s my girl and they should ignore the haters”.
Really, it’s that important to you — not the cost of bus fare or gas prices or whatever?
Thats how it is these days… Everyone is addicted to drama, and gossip… Sadly living their lives through celebrities…
It’s really not even a black thing, look at what happens when Brittany Spears does something, around the clock coverage on CNN, FOX and MSNBC it’s just today’s culture.
I was not surprised that your top 10 were all gossip blogs once I went from your email to your page and saw that you were basing it soley on traffic stats.
My problem is that you called the list Top 10 Best Blogs On The Web; when your list should have been Top 10 “Most Popular” Blogs. Popular doesn’t = best. Just like the most popular student probably isn’t the same person who’s validctorian. Or the most popular vehicle is not likely to be the best performing vehicle.
I didn’t comment there, deciding to just move on; but I found the title to be misleading, and the list to be trite.
Except Mrs.Grapevine’s inclusion; her entertainment blog is at least thoughtful, and not just gossipy trash.
“but is your blog really that good if no one is reading it?”
LOL, typical
So since not a lot of people listen to Mozart, that’s proof that his music is crap?
Since more people would rather read the mindless tripe in the National Enquire than read the Newday or the Wall Street Journal; then that’s proof of better quality writing and journalistic work on behalf of the National Enquirer? Are you serious?
By your analogy then Vanilla Ice is one of the greatest rappers of all time. Nas, Jay-z and Biggie can’t hold a candle stick to MC hammer on the mic, since he sold albums in a way they never did.
Intelligence is boring to dull minds, I’ll give you that. Hence the popularity of the simpleton picture book blogs with “two sentences” as you described. I guess Dr. Sues is better writing than Earnest Hemmingway.
[…] Jeanne wrote an interesting post today on Do Black People Only Care About Celebrity Gossip?Here’s a quick excerpt As a follow up to my previous post, Top 10 Best Blogs On The Web, there was some very good discussion among the people who commented that all of the blogs on the list dealt with celebrity entertainment gossip and that there was no inclusion of blogs on the topics of more substance like politics, race, relationships, etc. I would totally agree, but there are a couple of reasons that more blogs of opinionated topics were not included: 1) I put the list together based on blogs I am aware and si […]
[…] Celebrity Gossip, Hollywood Movies & Celebrities Biography | Woo Factor wrote an interesting post today on Do Black People Only Care About Celebrity Gossip?Here’s a quick excerpt As a follow up to my previous post, Top 10 Best Blogs On The Web, there was some very good discussion among the people who commented that all of the blogs on the list dealt with celebrity entertainment gossip and that there was no inclusion of blogs on the topics of more substance like politics, race, relationships, etc. I would totally agree, but there are a couple of reasons that more blogs of opinionated topics were not included: 1) I put the list together based on blogs I am aware and si […]
I’m quick to admit that my site serves as both “gossipy trash” and as an escape mechanism from my boring, hum-drum life but I am also quite pleased that I can entertain others who, like me, are stuck behind a desk all day doing “real work.”
Thanks for including me in your sites to watch
I like to pretend that I’m great even though I have far to go and rarely have time to write full paragraphs!
Thanks for the linkage. I think that the whole flare up about gossip sites is much ado about nothing. Its your site, and you are entitled to your opinion of what being the “best” entails and those who disagree can just make their own list. The reality is that there is no uniformly objective way to measure such a thing so it’s always going to be an exercise in controversy.
I know a lot of the bloggers that responded and they absolutely have quality sites. I think the frustration was perhaps created by the fact that the email leading them - and myself - here indicated that they had some semblance of a chance to be on the list, but when viewing the criteria there was really no chance at all.
Not only was there no chance, but the sites listed are pretty much the antithesis of what these people’s sites are about - therefore they feel played and insulted.
Just a theory.
I have to co-sign to what Rashid (Hi Rashid) said, but with a little tweak.
When I got the email from you, yes, I thought perhaps I would be included. What I must tag onto the thought of inclusion was “Why.” My blog doesn’t attract too many folks, and that’s fine with me. I’m wacky and have weird hobbies and political thoughts. Also, my blog straddles the line between Europe and black America. So, I said to myself “Goodness. Who in the world would put me on a list?”
When I checked your list of blogs that were on the “top black blogs” list, I said to myself, “This brother sent me this e-mail, but it’s pretty obvious that he doesn’t really read my blog. If he did, he probably would have known that I wouldn’t be too happy about his list.”
But, I have to say that you’ve done what you wanted to do: attract attention to your blog and up your numbers. In one way, I applaud you. In another, I have to issue a sisterly warning: Try not to post things on your blog just to attract attention or up your stats. That’s the one surefire way of damaging your reputation and credibility. The posts on my blog that have attracted the most attention haven’t been the ones I’ve posted to pull folks. The posts that have attracted attention have been the ones I’ve posted out of a yearning to get the information out, a rage, or just wanting to share. That’s all. If your constant goal is to get in the top ten, which you’ve stated quite a bit, you may find yourself posting things that, upon later reflection, you’ll regret.
Again though, I do congratulate you on your success.
Best regards,
Rashunda
It could be that we underestimate the extent to which people use the internet for its entertainment value.
After all if people think it’s work…once they are online who has time for more heavy stuff…it’s all about a quick fix..
I write a political blog, but I also read Gossip Blogs. I appreciate all types of music and all types of blogs. Blogs like your are appreciated by your many readers. Keep on doing what you do, Forget about those that just don’t get it.
African American Political Pundit
[…] […]
So since the top 10 out of the thousands of Black owned blogs on the web are gossip sites, that means that people don’t want to read, or think, or have a life. Since when does keeping up with pop culture make one stupid? And is it automatically assumed that a person who reads gossip sites, limits itself to just that genre. I have a mixture of sites in my google reader and I can confirm that after I leave from Young Black and Fabulous, Conreteloop and Necole Bitchie, I can still comprehend every word on Jack and Jill Politics, Pam’s House Blend and Comments From the Left Field.
Bloggers need to come together instead of turning their nose up to each other. Because at the end of the day, the bigger blog world is look down on us as “Black blogs”. These lists were created to show that we do exist.
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I appreciate the shout out! I’ll be real, I like to re-up on my celeb gossip as much as the next person, but it’s great to live in a blogosphere that addresses current affairs, fashion, social issues, culture & arts and all of the above! Keep supporting black blogs! xo, Jen