Are You Gonna Bark All Day Little Doggy…?

When I started talking about networking earlier this week, I wasn’t really saying ‘let’s start a network’ but it’s beginning to seem like a real possibility.

Paul Scrivens - founder of the 9rules network, and I have been talking. He’s into the idea and runs an adult blog of his own. He also knows a lot about networks and we’re discussing applying some of his expertise in the networking area. This is big. If the people reading this blog were mainly graphic designers, you’d all be doing a ‘Scrivs dance’ right now and high-fiving each other, Borat style. The man (Scrivs, not Borat) is a blogging heavyweight and his interest makes this a whole lot easier to get right.

So it looks as if we can start a network, aimed at sex bloggers, with quality to rival B5 Media, Gawker and Weblogs, Inc. The question is, do you want one?

I know from the email I’ve been receiving, that a couple of days ago I managed to give the impression that I want people to change their blogs, cede control and conform to dictatorial rule. About the only thing people haven’t accused the network concept of encouraging is vivisection (although there might be a hot sex angle for that… I’ll get back to you). Some of the emails I’ve received are so worryingly wrong regarding my stance (which is my fault for writing a post that wasn’t clear) that I took the post I thought you’d be reading today out back and shot it in the face.

In its place is this, which starts at the beginning by asking, what kind of formal collaboration between sex blogs can exist? As I see it there are three paths:

1. No collaboration. That means placing links to other sites only because they benefit you, never thinking about symbiotic feedback, or benefits of association other than traffic exchange. I’m not aware of any blogs (which I read) who follow this mantra but a few traditional porn-sites (e.g. many TGP’s and topsites) do.
2. Informal collaboration. Almost 100% of bloggers work in this way (and have to as there’s no alternative system in place). That means placing links entirely based on your own desires, sometimes trying to build relationships, sometimes as recognition of worthwhile content and sometimes as favor to a friend. It’s not all about building traffic, and is a creative decision as well as a business one. How well it works depends on how much attention each blogger gives their links. It’s very good at expressing bloggers opinions, and not very good at helping readers find what they want.
3. Formal collaboration. The network idea, an extension of informal collaboration whereby a group of websites agree to support each other as a community. I.e. Bloggers agree that, a friend of the network is a friend of mine. Every blog links to the network hub and the network hub links to every blog. Network members get the support of the entire community via one link. Readers get an easy path to quality content.

Networking doesn’t mean common design, shared hosting/technology, or any loss of copyright or editorial control. The key is community, not communism. When Lenin said,

“It is not enough that I succeed, others must fail.”

He was demonstrating a complete misunderstanding of the network idea (Lenin - you’re out!)

I see networking, of the kind described above, as having a number of positive benefits, ‘hothousing’ its members, and giving readers a seal of quality they can use to access the very best sex-blog content. Side benefits for network members can include help with hosting, technical and design support and tools to monetize blogs that aren’t currently providing a return. It’s a way of building a community for bloggers and a community for readers simultaneously.

I don’t see the idea as perfect for everyone, (aside from Angelina Jolie - is anything perfect for everyone?) but my hippy ‘love everyone’ leanings make the idea of collaboration, community, and mutual support fundamentally appealing. (Of course there’s stuff I’d like to do with Angelina and an unloaded Desert Eagle with a condom over the barrel which aren’t hippyish at all). The question is, who else finds the idea exciting (the network, not Angelina and the gun), and what else would you want from a sex-blog network built for you as a reader, or potential member?