To Those Who Hate Or Do Not Understand: Some Thoughts On Why I Started Yakezie | Bloggers Lair | Yakezie Forums

*sigh* Not certain if I should comment or not, but I'm bad at keeping my mouth shut.

First, I have no idea who Nelson is or what post you are all referring to.

I love having an Alexa goal. Why? Because it is something concrete that I could focus on, that let me know I was improving. But having an Alexa ranking of under 200k doesn't mean anything. I haven't had a single advertiser seek me out, and that's fine.

I do love the "teams" Suba set up. Yes, it means that I am obliged for a few months to read the same people's blogs over and over and comment on their blogs. But guess what, it is a great way for me to get to know other members and for them to get to know me. Some blogs I stop following after the teams change because their writing style and content isn't interesting to me, but that doesn't mean it wasn't good for me to be exposed to it.

Yes, "Does Sam know who I am" is one of the questions for becoming a new member. So what? He started Yakezie. If he wants to at least know a little bit about each person who joins, good for him. I couldn't keep us all straight.

But does he care about whether or not you agree with him? Ummm, no. I'm pretty certain that Sam knows who I am because I comment with differing views on his blog. (I mentioned I'm bad at keeping my mouth shut.)

But to be honest, I don't care much about whether Sam knows me or not. Most of his posts are not about things that are relevant to my life, or things I disagree with the premise so much that I don't even read it. I don't think that will bother Sam at all. 

Oh, and if I can help my friends make money be reading their blogs (something I'm going to do anyway) why wouldn't I? In college I ate at restaurants where my friends worked, sat in their section and gave them tips. As an adult, I will frequent a business owned by a friend. That's what we do naturally- we go out of our way to help our friends succeed.

I do mostly read other Yakezie blogs when I read PF blogs, but that's because those are the people I know. But when I find a blog I like, I don't look for the Yakezie badge.

As a pet blogger, I'm also part of the BlogPaws network. That's one set up specifically by advertisers. Just because they make money from it (or Sam does) doesn't devalue what the network does. But if you want to see how a network based on advertising works, head over there. What you'll find is a lot less support and teamwork. I actually wish it were more like Yakezie.