You ARE reading the same post over and over
Recently, one of my posts became trending here on Bearblog, and I’m quite grateful to know that I had the chance to be read by so many people. I always say this at the end of my writings, but if you’re reading this: Thank you for reading.
I also like that it was a post where I shared other people’s writings, so in the end, I did achieve the goal and directed attention to posts that resonated with me, which I stumbled upon in the discovery feed and that I felt deserved more attention.
Following the events described above, some people have written to me about different posts I've written, sharing their opinions and even personal experiences (if I haven’t replied, I will soon, work has been heavy, sorry). What caught my attention is that out of all the people who reached out, only one wrote to me about that post that got so much attention. The rest took the time to read other entries and get to know me beyond what the trending page on Bearblog showed them. One person even told me, and I quote:
I think that post is cool (I found some cool material), but I liked a lot of your other posts a lot more.
And then proceeded to share their opinions and experiences regarding two of my latest posts, which I appreciate HEAVILY.
Hooooweeeeveeeer, the stats (yeah, I know, we don’t like this topic) show that out of all the people who came to this, my virtual home, thanks to the trending page post, only a few (really just a few) explored beyond the surface.
This made me think that, after all, people really are reading the same posts (or blogs) over and over!
That post is still on the first page of trending, and it’s been almost ten days since it was published. I find it kind of funny and ironic that a post about reading the same blogs repeatedly has been read and is still being read repeatedly. Plus, I agree with the person who wrote to me; that post is okay, and I’ll probably do something similar again and make it a recurring thing in my blog (because there are truly a lot of cool writers on Bearblog!), but there are dozens of posts on my blog that I consider better, more interesting, and more entertaining.
So far, I know the whole idea of this post reads like I’m sucking my own dick because I showed up on the trending posts, but let me cook.
Why did that post become so popular?
This is a question that has been on my mind literally every day since I published that entry. The answer, in my opinion, is this: people really are reading the same blogs over and over again, so from the title itself, the whole thing was relatable.
I’m not saying that Bearblog has something like influencers (maybe it does? lmao), but there are definitely writers here that you, I, and everyone else have come across repeatedly on the first page of trending, even taking up more than one spot.
I said it before and I'll say it again: There’s nothing wrong with that. They’re there because they write quality, contribute something to the community, know how to connect with others, or are simply consistent with their craft. However, the other important thing I mentioned in my previous post is this aspect of the “comfort blogger”.
Without realizing it, we find ourselves reading the same people because we like (maybe love) what they write and how they express it. We feel so comfortable that, again, we don’t explore further. Or if we do, maybe we stick with what Bearblog throws at us as trending. This, once again, was relatable for those who read me.
And the last key to this post’s popularity is that it might come across as altruistic. When I wrote it, I never thought it would be so popular. I did it with the intention of sharing (and saving) other posts that I found interesting with the few people who were already reading me (I love you all, please never leave). As they say: sharing is caring, and I believe that in a community like this, where most users try to avoid the haters and resist things like AI-generated art, social media, and billionaires profiting from our attention; sharing to grow the community is something extremely important.
So, I think people like that? And I'm glad! Share, share, share, and keep sharing other bloggers/writers. There’s room for everyone, and we all want to know what others have in their heads.
People are the Bearblog algorithm
I’m not an expert in computer science, programming, or anything related. But I understand how the Bearblog Discovery feed works because it’s very simple. All content is separated by languages. On one tab are the posts that have gained the most attention, presumably measured by the number of toasts, visits, and maybe reading time; and on the other side, we have a real-time feed of everything published on the platform.
No personal information is stored here, much less about our tastes and habits, so the feed will never throw tailored posts for us. We all have the option to explore and find what we truly like. If there’s anything similar to an algorithm on this platform, it’s the people themselves. And I find that fair. It’s even beautiful in these times when choices seem to have disappeared due to the constant information bombardment.
What I mean by this is that the community itself votes with their likes and time, reading what they find interesting, meaningful, hilarious, or whatever they are craving. However, like any algorithm, it may be biased, and in this case, I refer back to what I mentioned earlier about the “comfort bloggers”. It could be biased because we are JUST reading the same blogs.
But again, when you find a post you like, try to read more from that writer. Be curious. Be nosy. Don’t just stick with what the people algorithm throws on the first page of trending. Let’s keep breaking the habit of consuming what’s put in front of us. Let’s find what we truly enjoy. Or maybe not, perhaps you want to keep reading the same people, and that’s okay too. In the end, it’s not as serious as I’m making it seem. It's possible that I didn't make any sense of this but life goes on.
What does this mean to me?
Besides being grateful for the time others take to read me, write to me, and sometimes share beautiful words about how my writings connect with them, being trending or not doesn’t move me much beyond a “cool, now more people will read me”. I do want to be read, but I also don’t want to reach the point where I write for others or with the mere and empty goal of appearing at the top of a virtual page.
In short, I feel grateful, but the challenge continues. After all, this blog was created with the simple goal of writing daily for 100 days, and there’s still a long way to go.
Thank you for reading, thank you for connecting, thank you for letting me know that my life, my words, and my presence can mean something to someone hundreds of kilometers away. I never imagined that anyone would enjoy what I write, so knowing that others appreciate it means the world to me.
If you’ve made it this far, let me recommend some of my latest personal favorites. They are more entertaining than this ramble:
- Relationships are meant to be romanticized
- We forget that we are all people
- Being a cis man and liking the color pink
- Respecting your work is respecting everyone else’s work
Read you tomorrow.