Support Your Local Blogger

First off: This is officially not a "Bleg."  Yes, I would like more donations, yes, I'd like more income from this blog.  However, this is strictly "secondary" for me, and any money donated would be "extra" to me.  So, keep that in mind: I'm not talking about me.

If you're reading this, you probably read blogs fairly often.  You probably read things like this second-rate blog on a free host as well as actual professional bloggers like Ace of Spades, or RS McCain.  Again, people like me do this because we have something to say, but we do it purely additionally.  We're not counting on a single penny from you.  People like Ace and Stacey, though, need your support.

"How," I can hear you asking, "can I support these illustrious individuals?"

And I answer:

There are three major things you can do to support your local blogger.

Most obviously, of course, you can throw them some spare change.  You can hit their tip jars, or click through their adds, or purchase stuff through their sites (many have links to Amazon where they get a kick-back if you buy through that link, others have their own "stores" that sell blog related swag).  This is the most tangible form of support.  This is how people like Ace and Stacey pay their bills and buy milk and eggs.

Second, you can comment in their comment sections.  Everyone likes to see "good job!" in their comments.  More than that, though, we like knowing that people are actually reading, and that what we're writing about is making you think.

Finally, you can show them some link love.  This comes in two flavors.  If you have your own blog, add them to your blog roll, and link them in posts occassionally.  Even if you don't, if you saw something at one of those sites that you thought was interesting, link to it in the comments of some other site where you comment.  That gets more eyeballs on the site, which leads back to the first two forms of support.

The other way to show link love is to pass on tips.  We can't read everything, we can't think every thought, and often we'll miss things that are important to you.  If you see something and think, "Gee, this would make a good post for Blogger X," send it over to Blogger X along with a quick synopsis or your own first thoughts about it.  No, they won't read them all.  No, they won't use them all, even of the ones they read.  But they'll know you're reading and that you're supporting them.

This is especially important now.  It seems, to many of us, like the Light is dimming.  The Supreme Court upheld Obamacare.  Fast and Furious, despite finally making the news, is still being reported as though the President and his top advisers were not embroiled in the biggest scandal in American history (Watergate did not have a body count).  Everywhere it seems the days are getting darker.

We, your local bloggers, are trying to shed light in the darkness.  We are trying to shine disinfecting sunlight on things like Fast and Furious and on Brett Kimberlin and his associates.  We are trying to shine the light of hope on things like Obamacare and the Presidential election.  And we are trying to shine the light of knowledge so that others can see the truth.

Most of us won't even ask for support.  But we need it anyway.