Saturday, July 08, 2006

Blogger Personality Type

Update: Oh my! Thank you Dr. Helen for linking here twice, even. What an honor! Your readers may enjoy my recent posts on Shelter Magazine Bloggers or India's Female Genocide. Look around, new friends. I always appreciate feedback.

Update II: Dr. Helen's readers, I added more thoughts in the Power of Words. Hope you enjoy. Thank you again for stopping by.
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Who blogs? Lots of people do, obviously. People blog about topics so vast one can hardly imagine it. We need a website like Technorati to help us sort through it all.

But what I wonder is, what type of person blogs? I believe they are a self-selected bunch. Like Firemen, or Soldiers, or Nurses, or Lawyers, I think successful bloggers (and those of us who operate at the margins) must have certain traits to commit to the task. These traits are not gender specific, but gender does play a part in who blogs. Bloginality has done personality typing--ala Meyers-Briggs. Not a MB fan, too superficial and the premise is stupid, "What are you like when you are on vacation?" Um, I'm on vacation two weeks a year. The rest of the time is the real "me".

Here are some of my thoughts about the best bloggers:

  1. Bloggers are verbal. They may be not always be verbally extroverted in public, but they talk a lot when they talk to their close friends and confidants. This trait means that the men who blog carry this more feminine trait. Men speak a fraction the amount of words a woman does, but not blogging men. They write and write and write, which to me, is a version of communication--even if it isn't spoken. Look at the guys at StoptheACLU. They go non-stop. Look at the anonymous force behind TheTruthLaidBear. And don't even get Markos Moulitas Zunigas at Daily Kos started. The man won't stop.
  2. Bloggers are confident in their opinions enough to subject them to criticism. It takes a certain amount of inner-fortitude to put ideas out there. This trait is (oh, I can feel the heat coming) more masculine. One blog writer, a business consultant mentions this and extends the fact that women are less likely to comment on blogs, just as they are less likely to speak up during a meeting in the workplace. So the women that blog are strong and willing to spar--Ann Althouse, Michelle Malkin, Betsy Newmark, Anchoress, MaxedOutMama, Arianna Huffington.
  3. Bloggers are optimistic. A blogger must believe that his or her words will make a difference. Most of the time, I feel like I'm just spouting my opinion to the wind. Most of the time I am. Every once in a while I'll get an email from someone who passed along my post to someone in "need." This scares the crap out of me on the one hand, on the other hand, it is precisely part of the reason I blog. Glenn Reynolds feels passionately about abolishing "pork" and has actively pursued that passion with Pork Busters. His wife, Dr. Helen Smith, a heart attack survivor, blogs on her heart experiences and other psychological phenomenon. Dr. Sanity, another psych blogger deconstructs the psychology of political happenings.
  4. Bloggers are often experts. This is one reason I have left the MSM behind for serious analysis. Why would I listen to a reporter when real experts with real opinions abound? Want to know about the Middle East? Read Michael Totten. Want to know what's going on from an Iraqi's perspective in Iraq? Read IraqtheModel. If they aren't experts, per se, they have a love or hobby and the blog indulges this. I'm reminded of Brendan Loy, a law student, who loves Hurricanes. Yeah, I know. That might not seem normal, but the dude is a fund of knowledge and more accurate than the news most of the time. Want to know the latest marketing trends? Read Passionate Users or Seth Godin. You name it, there is an expert willing to give (free!) advice and information. Expert=smart. These people are educated, engaged and interested in their topics. They have emotional attachments to their topics. This makes them far more interesting than most books you could read. They blog their love.
  5. Bloggers have weird social skills. That is to say, most of them, were not the life-of-the-party types in their college frat. Content to be viewed as nerds, or dedicated nose-to-the-grindstone types, the blogosphere gives them the social outlet, without the social commitment, they enjoy. Blogging is a lot like a long-distance relationship. The investment is time and knowledge, but the interaction is limited. Yes, yes. There are comments. And as Jeff Goldstein knows, they can be extremely personal. But it is still not the same as a bar-fight. Most bloggers would lose a bar room brawl. There are exceptions. Some view this derisively. In fact, Guardian Unlimited columnist Catherine Bennett says that blogland is what fishing used to be for guys--a place they can interact and talk about the missus and "mammararies". I don't know about her dismissive generalizations, but I do know that a great blogger doesn't have to be Mr. or Ms. Personality to be great.
In fact, when I look at all these traits, Bloggers are an interesting group of people. Smart, funny, driven, outlandish, optimistic, confident and opinionated. Who wouldn't want a blogger friend?

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Having been to several blog related events, I can attest to the wierd social skills, but generally they've been some of the greatest people one could hope to hang out with for an evening.

Anonymous said...

Very cool! Sure wished that these people would comment on your blog though. It's so lonley out here all alone.

I can only imagine some of the personality types that blog. One thing for sure, the ones that are good, are intelligent, witty and straight to the point. I like that... most of the time (except when you piss me off and your tounge gets too sharp)- then I just take a break! :-)
vj

Melissa Clouthier said...

Matt,
I've read Glenn Reynold's and Michelle Malkin's and LaShawn Barber's accounts of these shin-digs and they sound awesome. Maybe someday I'll get to go to a blogger social event. Sounds like a lot of fun!

Anonymous said...

Well Dr. M, if you do get to attend one, you'll be adding, "God, these people can drink like fish!", to your personality type list.

Anonymous said...

Dr. M, came here via my friend Dr. Helen and have enjoyed the stay. As a psychotherapist and a blogger I can add one more catagory, those of us who think our thoughts should be shared with the world whether they like it or not; or is that a subset of the weird social skills group? ;-)

At any rate, very enjoyable site. Thanks, I'll be back.

Melissa Clouthier said...

GM Roper,
Thank you for the kind words. Made my day!

Matt,
Wow, these get togethers are sounding better and better.

Anonymous said...

You described my blog friends perfectly!

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經濟不景氣,討論借錢的話題很多人應開有興趣,在台北想借錢或者汽車借款可以到台北當舖或者是台北市當舖台北縣當舖當然也可以,如果是住在台北火車站到台北市當舖借錢比較方便。那我住在內湖就可以到內湖區當舖借錢融資囉!住在東區就找信義區當舖借錢,以此類推。一般支票貼現也有辦理,銀行有辦理票貼當舖也有阿,而且比銀行更方便,利息雖然高一點不過時效性卻非常好,一般工商人士短期借款就很喜歡到當舖的原因。我家現在住在桃園想融資票貼就得到桃園當舖,住新竹的人往新竹當舖借貸是比較方便。來到台中手頭不方便,想週轉借貸一下台中當舖是有這樣的服務,報紙或者網路上隨時都可以查到台中
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身體要強、要勇,買花旗蔘來補身一定有用,不過要用加拿大來的西洋蔘功效比較好,不信可以問一下專家的意見,相信他所給的答案就是粉光蔘。

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