Much has been said about the controversial Points system here on Blotanical. I even wrote a post that highlighted the differences between those who liked it and those who didn't - which met even more controversy and criticism.
So let me be really frank - the Points system is here to stay. Permit me to explain the reasons behind this system and why it is essential for Blotanical.
Blotanical is a Tool
In many ways Blotanical is very similar to Google or any other search engine. For example, try typing the phrase 'Garden Blogs' into your search engine of choice and you will notice a list of more than 100 million results - depending on the SE. Now every body knows that most people using these SE's will predominantly only view the first 10. Some may flip over to the next 10 and an even smaller majority may venture past that point.
It becomes almost impossible to get into the first 10 results and remains hard for the first 20 - 50. So how does your garden blog get found in that list of 100 million + results? Well, if you're not in the top 30 results then having someone stumble upon your blog is less likely than winning the Lottery.
My purpose in creating Blotanical is making as many ways as possible for users to find great garden blogs. So, I have tried to give every blogger as many opportunities to promote their blog as possible - and will continue to do so as this site grows.
The purpose for most Blotanists using Blotanical is to get their blog in front of other readers. And who can blame them? I've heard many people say they don't care if nobody reads their blog they just write for themselves. Great. That is of course if you also enjoy talking to walls and getting no response. But for most of us, we like to know that we're being heard, or at the very least, noticed.
Points help order things
Using quantitative means to measure anything always has its downfalls - and is always hotly debated by those who can only ever view things qualitatively. However, qualitative measurements can never be organised into any semblance of order which makes it inappropriate for a site like Blotanical.
For instance, you may view 'XYZ Garden Blog' as great because it makes you feel good. To someone else, the hot pink colours used give them a migraine and to another the language expressed is far from conservative. Now try and order those things so that you can organise them into a list. Impossible, isn't it? That is until you assign some value to those reasons. Then you can compare values and hopefully produce a list of something that can be somehow meaningful.
The point of having Points is to somehow manage this vast array of blogs vying for attention. This is why I have produced so many different ways to try and help gauge people's varying opinions and reward those who are successful in some particular area.
As an example, those who are great communicators will probably do best in the Picks area. Those who have helpful and relateable blogs may do better in the Fave section. And those who are friendly and willing to network will do well in the Most Active Users section.
The New and Improved Most Active Users section
Which brings us to the new and improved Most Active Users section. Firstly, let me state that this is still in beta mode and hasn't been finished yet. I will explain what is still coming after explaining the reasons behind it.
The Popular Users list has been a stalwart from the beginning of Blotanical but it's had two major flaws that needed to be rectified. Firstly, those that were on the scene early were able to quickly move up the levels and have now carved an almost unassailable position. Those starting today are then bewildered by the mammoth task of moving ahead and may write it off as an impossible mission.
Second, those who have made the top 1-2 pages are feeling somewhat guilty for their lofty achievements and have become the scorn of some less tolerant bloggers. I'm not sure why this happened for I'm of the opinion that if you work hard to achieve something then you should also enjoy the rewards of that effort. Apparently, this isn't a commonly held value.
So, to make it a little fairer and also to offer anyone the opportunity, no matter when they join Blotanical, I have improved this list. From now on you can scale the Most Active Users list based on what you're doing over the next 24 hours. Everyone has the same opportunity and it updates on a rotating 24 hour period.
What happens to rewarding Guru's and other high levels
Never fear, we shall continue to work on ways to reward those who have been contributing so wonderfully to Blotanical's success. If you have been working hard to reach the top echelon's then we will still offer ways to recognise your effort and are very keen to hear suggestions for how this might occur.
The plan for the Most Active Users list will incorporate five different lists, apart from the new one, which cater for each of the different levels. Therefore, there will be a list for the Most Active 'Blotanist' level, one for the 'Patron' level and so on. Each of these will have the ability to be viewed by either Most Points earned and also Most Active Points earned. Those who plan to camp at a certain level i.e. earn 499 points to remain at the top of the 'Blotanist' level will eventually be regulated.
In Conclusion
The Points system is the way to promote those blogs, bloggers and members who are actively taking part in Blotanical. If you plan to leave your blog here just as a directory then you are most welcome to do so. But, please understand that it may not get much attention as it will most likely be relegated to the bottom of many of the lists.
Points aim to reward those who are active. Those who put in the effort should be justly rewarded for it.
