Name: Elaine Vigneault
Title: Publisher
Sites: 2k Bloggers, Elaine Vigneault
SHEDWA: What's the story behind 2k Bloggers?
ELAINE VIGNEAULT: 2k Bloggers is the website dedicated to the 2000 Bloggers Project. Tino Buntic started the project in his old blog, but he never finished it. He created a quilt of blogger faces.
The initial 2000 Bloggers Project was so popular that it was copied and pasted into many blogs. Because each face is linked to a blog, and because Technorati counts blog links, some people experienced better Technorati rankings as a result. It was a minor and temporary blip in Technorati rankings that accurately reflected popularity (which I think is what Technorati is supposed to do).
I wasn't one of those lucky people, by the way. I got into the project too late. More on how I joined later...
But Technorati reacted defensively and assumed the project was a conspiracy to "game" Technorati rankings. They called the project a "linkfarm" and a "chainpost" even though it's entirely human-generated content and momentum. They ignored all links related to the project. Now, they have finally started indexing the site normally. Additionally, it appears they've started to recognize most 2k Bloggers related links and they haven't taken any action against any individual bloggers who've been included in the project.
Technorati's reaction had multiple effects: It discouraged Tino and a few other bloggers from continuing the project while simultaneously encouraging me and some others to continue it. I was offended at Technorati's name calling and their pompous conceit. How dare they assume the motives of the hundreds of diverse bloggers without asking them? How dare they inflate their self-importance in the blogosphere as a champion of free speech while blatantly stifling blogger speech with the chill effect?
I was motivated to do something. So I started 2kbloggers.com. It was really just a spontaneous reaction. Tino had removed the montage and so it needed a good permanent home in public space, not on one person's blog. I noticed 2000bloggers.com was taken, I didn't even do a Whois search, I didn't even email Tino to ask if it was OK, I just grabbed 2kbloggers.com and put the montage back up. Now I'm glad I did because I think it suits it better. 2KB sounds cool, doesn't it?
Back to my history of the project: I joined the project only a few days before Tino stopped collecting faces. It was my husband who found Tino's site, by reading someone else's blog. He joined and asked if I wanted to be one of the 2000 bloggers too, so I took a look. I immediately liked the project. It's different than all those other montages you see elsewhere because it's human faces. There aren't logo icons, animated gifs, animals or cartoons. They're human faces.
Two things struck me:
1. The humanity of the project. These images weren't just uploaded to a server that spit them out according to a program, Tino had actually gone around and collected each photo, cropped each photo, assigned alt tags... So the faces were human but so was the creation of the project. It really was a handmade quilt. Tino was the "artist."
2. The involvement of the bloggers. A number of people had done really interesting and unique things with the project. You know, most people just joined and left never to look back, but some people got really involved and interested. I think good ideas spark more good ideas.
I had been a fairly insular blogger previously. I hardly read any other blogs except my own. I hardly ever participated in group blogs or joint projects. I didn't "join the conversation" so to speak. All this changed with 2k Bloggers. Suddenly, I was part of the blogger community. And I felt I owed it something. I owed other bloggers a chance to join the conversation.
The project has changed a bit since I've taken over. The first thing I did was remove the first 300 photos. Tino had collected those photos without explicit permission from the blog owners. Since there had been some controversy over the project, I wanted to ensure than anyone involved really wanted to be involved. So I took those bloggers out and put up an announcement that I'd done so. If they wanted back in, they could get back in. Anyone who had actually joined the conversation and who participated in the project would have seen my notice, so I don't feel like it was unfair to anyone, though one guy was pretty upset. I put him back in and now I think he's OK.
The next thing I did was stop passing out the code. The code was problematic for many reasons, but the biggest problem I saw with it was if someone opted out, they couldn't easily get their image and link removed from all the participating blogs. So, I vowed if I handed out any code it would be based off one database so if someone changed their link or decided they didn't want to participate, they could opt out more easily (right now, if someone wants to opt out they just email me and I remove them).
Then, I set up a communal blog so we could all discuss the project in one place. Originally my hope was to provide a forum for discussion about the project that was a bit more democratic. This project began as Tino's project, but the idea has a life of its own that shouldn't be limited to Tino's blog (or my blog or someone else's blog...).
And the latest thing we've done is randomize the photos. Again, the idea is to make it more equal and fair so everyone has a chance to have their photo be the first photo on the page. People can still view the page in the original order if they choose, but the random display is the default. Many more ideas are in the pipeline. We just have to kind of see where it goes...
S: What do you attribute most to the success of 2k Bloggers?
EV: If any one person is most responsible, that would be Tino for coming up with the idea and for making it happen. But mostly I think it's because the whole project is subjective. It really is to people what they see in it. It's not one thing or another, it's a bunch of things that mean different things to different people. For example, I'm mostly enchanted with the humanity and identity aspects. These are bloggers who are willing to show their faces, willing to be honest. Granted, a few have remained anonymous by covering part of their face, but the majority are people who are willing to step up and say, "I'm here. Look at me."
Other people look at the quilt of faces and think it would be interesting to see which faces are most popular or which faces most accurately represent the feel and tone of their blogs. Some people look at it and just don't get it at all, and that's fine. There's room for all these diverse ideas. It's the Internet after all. It's limitless.
S: What is going to happen when it reaches 2,000 members?
EV: I haven't decided yet. Do you have any good ideas? We'll stop collecting photos. That's for sure.
S: Where did that nicely designed flower petal type logo come from?
EV: Nacodine. One of the first posts I made was asking for an artist to design a favicon. Nacodine came through with even more. The site is still in development, so expect to see more of that logo around the site in the future.
S: Any advice for someone trying to get their blog noticed, either with 2k Bloggers or elsewhere?
EV: I keep saying on 2k Bloggers that the best way to get noticed is to get involved. It's true. Write posts on other blogs and forums, leave comments or trackbacks, pay attention to what others are doing, read and read and read...
I am not an expert, but I've noticed that the more involved I become in the blogosphere the more attention I receive. Basically, the best advice I have is two-fold:
1. Produce something valuable.
2. Join the conversation.
S: What are your 5 favorite blogs?
EV: I wish I could tell you that I read The Huffington Post and Daily Kos regularly, but I don't. Political blogs depress me, and tech blogs bore me.
Apartment Therapy - I love looking at interior design. They offer good advice for small space decorating and designing on a budget. This blog was exactly what I needed to read to understand how to live in New York. (We just moved here from Vegas 6 months ago).
Invisible Red - Again, I like the images. There are lots of blogs like this one, but I like this one because it's bilingual, which is cool, and because it's one of the 2k Bloggers.
Seth Godin - I think he's often too simplistic and sometimes I outright disagree with him, but I like reading him because he understands the way a lot of people think. He has great insight into the human psyche.
Wired's Sex Drive Daily - It's an easy read with useful info.
And of course, my own blog - I reread my old posts sometimes and just sit in awe of myself. Kidding. But really, I do reread myself often.
Check back each Wednesday for a new Shedwa's Six interview.
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