A Word From The Picket

This is a bit off topic but I wanted to pass it on to you , loyal reader.

I added, with some hesitancy, The Picket to Networked Blogs. I am glad I did for the following reason: I found that this is a great resource for finding ACW blogs!

Many of the well known blogs are listed but a lot of lesser known blogs are represented as well. A few from my blog roll are on the list. There are literally hundreds of blogs to dig through, but be forewarned, some of the blogs are no longer active or are seldom posted to. That does not mean they are useless places to check out though. By way of example, The Picket comes in at #52 through a search for “American Civil War”. Blogs above that are generally active and those below were inactive, at least those I looked at were. So I guess I am at the bottom of the barrel!

The thing I like most about it is the search function. Just type in “American Civil War” or “Civil War” and there you have a long list of blogs and some websites dedicated to the war or a peripheral aspect such as genealogy or living history. I am sure you will find something worth bookmarking! You do not have to stay on Networked Blogs to read them, links directly to the blog are provided.

I also like the ranking system, if it can be called that. Blogs with more followers list higher for more exposure. If one does not have a lot of time to browse, the high placement shows what other people like and you can read them during lunch or before you head to work. Bear in mind that there are lots of blogs on the list that do not rank high up but are still fine places to stop and read. Civil War Saga and My Civil War Obsession spring quickly to mind. Another good thing is that activity plays a part in placement on the list. There are some good blogs that have numerous followers, but due to inactivity they have slipped down the list, even below me! The combination of the two points of reference give a fair exposure to lesser known blogs that are active. One does not have to wade through a bunch of blogs that have many followers but have not been posted to in months or even years to find the unknowns. It helps them tremendously.

There are drawbacks with the list. Sometimes a “stray” will creep in. I found one blog dealing with gardening through a “Civil War” search. With that same search I also found blogs dealing with modern civil wars like in Syria. The more specific the search the better result.

Other drawbacks are the fact that it is linked to Facebook (I thought long and hard about adding The Picket to the list simply for that fact) and you have to join Networked Blogs.

After seeing that several of the blogs I read are using it I decided to give it a try. I was surprised that once I signed in using Facebook I was not really on Facebook (I don't think) so I did not mind so much. I do wish they had another way in though. You do not have to author a blog to join. I would imagine most of the people there are just followers, much like Google Friend Connect.

I do admit that I joined with the hope of increasing my number of loyal readers. Even if that does not happen I at least found a decent list of blogs about the Civil War.The added bonus of so many blogs was a pleasant surprise! The five minutes it took to join was worth that. And that makes it worth sharing with you. I hope this is not “old news” to you all.

I would say it is the “Mother of All Blog Rolls”! Try it out!



Ambrose Burnside reading the blog of the 19th century.

The Picket
Photo:

Ambrose E. Burnside and Matthew Brady (near tree) June 11 or 12, 1864 from

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cwp/item/cwp2003000159/PP/