Confusion about bloggers who share my posts

A recommendation for all bloggers

If you would like to increase the likelihood that others will come across your content on the Internet and make their ways to your blog, it behooves you to enable ‘sharing buttons’ (Twitter, FB, etc.) on your posts and pages.

Personally, I always appreciate it when people share my posts because this can potentially drive traffic and new readers here to the Skeptic’s Kaddish.

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My confusion about “Super-Sharers”

Having said that, I’ve noticed a phenomenon (for lack of a better word) of something that I call ‘Super-Sharing’. By ‘Super-Sharers’, I mean to say that there are individuals who regularly share multiple blog posts of mine to their blogs and do not interact with me at the Skeptic’s Kaddish in any other way.

‘Super-Sharing’ blogs are almost entirely comprised of blog posts that have been shared from other people’s blogs – there’s no unique content on them. In fact, the ‘Super-Sharers’ I’ve come across don’t even seem to be making any profit off of their blogs. They don’t sell merchandise or services, and they don’t feature advertisements. So why on earth are they doing this?

Again, I’m not asking this because it bothers me – I’m more than happy when other bloggers share my content via the ‘sharing buttons’. I’m asking because I find ‘Super-Sharing’ inexplicable. I’m baffled.

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Bloggers who share others’ content

I’ve also come across some people who encourage other, newer bloggers to submit their content (poetry, prose, etc.) to be published on their more established blogs. These bloggers generally boast large subscriber numbers, which leads others to think that their own blogs will gain exposure if their content is published there.

When I first launched my blog, I shared a couple of poems on one such blog, but nothing came of that for me. In fact, in retrospect, I realize that I was supporting the other blog by providing it with content, rather than the other way around.

Now, when I say that I was “supporting” this other blog by providing it with content, I mean to say that every successful blog must publish new content regularly. Content, first and foremost, is that which attracts potential readers. However, much like ‘Super-Sharers’, most of these bloggers are not publishing much creative content of their own – they’re simply posting other people’s works.

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Why I publish others’ poetry

“But David,” you may be thinking in confusion, “Don’t you publish other writers’ poems on your blog?”

Yes – but.

Yes, I do publish other people’s poems here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish, but I write my own poems directly in response to their creative works, which I publish immediately below my guests’ verses. This I do for at least two or three reasons:

1. I am invested in developing relationships and potential poetry collaborations with other writers;
2. The Skeptic’s Kaddish, for me, is my personal creative space, which contains the fruits of my writing endeavors; and I take pride in this. It is my hope that potential readers will read and enjoy my creative content. As such, if someone decides to subscribe to the Skeptic’s Kaddish, I want to know that they’re doing so out of an interest in my writing.
3. Also, as a major fringe benefit, having other creatives’ poems to respond to with works of my own is incredibly inspiring – their pieces get my own creative juices flowing.

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Your thoughts?

Do any of you guys have thoughts on this? Have you encountered any ‘Super-Sharers’ and are just as confused as I am? Honestly, I simply cannot figure them out – what’s their endgame?

Also, if you have any questions about ‘sharing buttons’, I’ll do my best to answer them… is this a subject worth addressing in one of my ‘blogging tips’ posts?

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Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!