Lately there are lots of weblog entries on the success of blogging and just today one about [competition](http://9rules.com/whitespace/our _thoughts/competition.php#more) by Paul Scrivens. His entry comes after the comments made on the [Stylegala listing on CSSVault](http://cssvault.com/gallery /stylegala.php) I disagree largely with his points of view here. When you come up with an idea expect that more people are going to do the same. Just like in real life, if McDonalds start selling healthy food Burger King will do the same. For the customers this is good because competition keeps the prices and quality low.
The competition. I don’t have a problem with 4 different CSS galleries. Sometimes they all list the same site but that doesn’t happen much. If you look good all these 4 galleries have different taste on what they consider beautiful CSS sites. Which makes it fair for the webdesigners. If only one gallery existed and you thrive to be listed on it you would have to design according to the taste of the gallery owner. Now that there is more choice you have more chance to be noticed for your work.
I can’t say what drives the people behind these galleries. I suppose to make their contribution to the community and encourage beautifull CSS designs. But each will have their own unique reasons for doing it.
Same thing with weblogs. In the beginning you start doing it for fun and to practice CSS, XHTML, PHP, whatever. Your big examples are Cederholm, Shea and Zeldman. They showed you what you can do so you decided to try it out. When you get better you list your work, you write the stuff you learned and so on. Soon most will aspire for the popularity and the linkage. If you get linked by Zeldman or like they say, if you have been Zeldmanned you get thousands of hit. But be realistic, the chances to reach such a popularity with a weblog are slim, especially if you are stressing it too much.
With popularity comes a price. If you do get popular you’ll have a day job to maintain that status. Gone are the days you could write whatever you feel like, or design your website the way it suits you. When Shea redesigned Mezzoblue people complained and critiqued a design that even they couldn’t match. They all forgot that this is his personal site and he can do with it as he sees fit. But that’s what you get when you are popular, the readers/visitors dictate your content and your design.
Where it gets down to. If you have a regular day job or study and you don’t depend on your weblog to eat, I say relax. Remember that most of you started a weblog for fun. It’s nice to have a place to put your ideas and work. To share it with the ones that are interested in it. If you get linked or put in the spotlight great but don’t live by that. I once asked to be linked and I got the link but in the end it all matters about just not worrying about that. It can be hard to not get carried away. I check my referrers everyday to see who have linked. It stays nice know that there are people out there who find your weblog interesting. But again don’t live by that, remember they linked to the weblog you do for fun and for yourself.
Paul Scrivens also wrote an entry about frustration.. which I agree totally with. To quote him:
The successful blog is where you get something out of it. Be it new friends, new knowledge or just a new place to have fun. It’s a place where you get back what you put in. That is a successful blog. -Scrivs
If I wasn’t blogging for fun I would have stopped long ago. But I like having a weblog where I can work on and try new things. A place to put my thoughts and photo’s. I made new friends, I learned lots of new things and I just have fun.
