Welcome, to all of you who must be flooding in to check out the 94th most powerful dad blog of 2010 according to the Almightydad Top dad Blog List.
I received an email Friday congratulating me for placing 94th in this list of the Top 125 dad blogs.
Yes, congratulating me for coming in almost last.
Maybe I’m just cynical, but when I get a list like this, I read it as, 93 Blogs That Are Better Than Yours.
According to the site, blog rankings were determined by things such as Google page rank, backlinks, site traffic and authority.
And while there certainly are some, okay, a lot of, winners on the list who rightfully belong above me (including some good friends of mine), there’s also a few whose inclusion leaves me scratching my head. For instance, Number 30 - Dictionary for Dads, while a great resource for dads, is NOT A BLOG. It’s a web site of useful information, but not in any way, shape or form, a blog!
Number Two, Dad’s Divorce is, I suppose a blog, in that it has enabled comments (though there are none following posts). Well, many newspaper websites have enabled comments on their stories but that doesn’t make them blogs. Dad’s Divorce posts questions about divorce along with answers, provided by the law firm which runs the site. And while the site has an amazingly active forum, the content itself doesn’t really seem like a blog. On a side note, I find it interesting, and a bit telling, that the number two dad “blog” is one instructing fathers how to get away from their wives and/or children.
Another so-called “blog” on this list which doesn’t really belong is Number Six, The Dad Man. The website isn’t a blog, but rather a portal by author Joe Kelly, which leads to all his various places on the web, including his blogs – which are hosted elsewhere. While Joe is extremely successful and deserving of recognition, this site is NOT A BLOG.
Okay, now that we’ve weeded those three “blogs” out, that brings my ranking up to 91.
Still not good enough.
Come on; are these 91 blogs really better than mine? I mean, yeah, many of them are well written, contain useful information, have lots of backlinks, and have lively comment sections. But is that REALLY what makes a blog great?
I’ve given some thought into what makes a great blog and it isn’t necessarily Google rankings, which can be had by anybody with the right SEO combination and links. I think that the following qualities should be considered on any list which attempts to sort out the best of Dad Blogs. Yes, this list happens to skew towards things I happen to do well. That is purely coincidence, though.
- Humor is a pretty important aspect of this blog. After all, the tagline is “a little humor, a lot of heart.” And while these other dads may be funny and also delve into poop stories, how many of them are willing to risk alienating 70% of their reader base with posts like my Best Post Ever or Men are Better Shoppers? Okay, some of the bloggers on this list also write funny and gutsy stuff. But I’d say the humor in my blog brings me into at least the Top 40 of the list. Right?
- Heart: The other half of my personal equation is heart. How many other daddy bloggers show their sensitive sides like I did in these posts? Staring into the Future With Our Fingers Crossed and Unemployed at Labor Day. Okay, I’ll admit there are some pretty sensitive guys on this list, but still, my willingness to risk ridicule and get called a Nancy Boy by some of the more manly bloggers ought to at least push me into the Top 30 of this list. Right?
- Design: What about things like design? Not to toot my own horn, but my blog (which I customized myself) EASILY ranks in the top 10 in appearances. Some of these blogs look like they were designed by blind monkeys. Long rambling chunks of text, no images, or worse, giant gaudy images – a lot of these sites could use a makeover. So, if we take design into account that easily brings me up to the Top 20. Right?
- Comics: Now, what else is important in a site? If you said well-drawn comics, well, you’re not alone. And I don’t think any of these bloggers are also cartoonists, so, BOOM! that moves me up to the Top 10. Right?
- Adorableness: Okay, now last but not least, is the category of adorable kids. People, well at least parents (most the rest of the world could care less), like to look at blogs with cute pictures of adorable kids, right? Well, you want cute pics, I’ve got cute pics!
While there are lots of bloggers on the list with cute photos of their adorable sons and daughters, if you take into account the above qualifications humor, heart, design, cartooning and adorable kids, well, come on, I’ve GOT to be Number One.
Right?
There, I just awarded myself number one. Take that, Geek Dad. You’re outta here!
On a serious note, thank you to Keith for including me in this list. I appreciate being part of such a great group of great blogging dads. For anyone looking for some daddy blogs to check out, you can’t go wrong with any of the ones on this list. Except maybe 94, that guy really sucks. And maybe Number 46, (according to certain female bloggers around these parts) he’s too damned good looking to be a real blogger. And that Number 25 guy, he’s got a huge nose and keeps sordid company.
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HAHAHAHAHA! Massive points to you! I’m sitting here laughing my butt off. I was actually thinking the one on the list that had the most unfair advantage was #1 (geekdad). They blew the chart right up because they essentially have the whole power of WIRED behind them. It makes it completely unfair for everyone else. Oh, well. The list is good, but there always room for deserved criticism. It should be noted though that I did not include all the dad blogs I found (slightly over 200). Thanks for the witty criticism
.-= Keith Wilcox´s last blog ..You Love Christmas Cookies: Om Nom Nom Nom =-.
Hey Keith, Glad you liked it. I was just being difficult for the laughs. The list is perfectly fine and I have no real criticisms. I actually thought about the Wired thing but I wasn’t sure if that blog had started on its own and just recently migrated to Wired. In any event, thanks for the mention.
Well you know you get my vote as tied for the #1 spot with that #25 guy who keeps sordid company. Both BloggerDad and WriterDad have brought a great deal of entertainment my way this year. I’ve learned a lot, laughed a lot, got addicted to serial web stories and come on…that has got to be the cutest little Santa ever.
Happy Holidays,
M
.-= Michelle Gillies´s last blog ..Oh, Christmas Tree…or Not. =-.
Thanks, Michelle. A tie with Writer Dad? Sheesh, can HE cartoon? Um, no, I don’t think so! But he does out do me in the cute kids department in that he has a boy AND a girl, while I only have a boy. I guess I should get started on having a daughter so I can secure a better place in the blogosphere. Thank you for the nice words.
Way to go! #94. Of course you deserve better.
.-= Otter´s last blog ..I Still Believe in Radio =-.
LOL. Thanks! I’m not sure when Keith is doing the list again, but if I slip or fall off, I’m going to protest!
I’m at #80 but based on your criteria I should definitely vault to a higher (lower) number. Except that since I’m probably one of those blind monkey’s of which you speak, I can’t go all the way to #2.
I’ll settle for jumping over those non-bloggers to #77. That sounds pretty lucky to me.
Geat post.
.-= Seattledad (Luke, I am Your Father)´s last blog ..Free Agent =-.
sweet and funny…and then the adorable photographs…I think you are right up near the top…
Our State’s schools are #47 on the National LIST…that is because we do not follow the formula’s for public schools and most don’t do “No Child Left Behind” we are a fairly independent group here…that said most of our children do NOT go to private schools…most are in our wonderful PUBLIC schools and 49% of the public school kids graduate. The number does not really tell anything -
except in your case it made for a truly great post! Thank you
.-= Patricia´s last blog ..Peaceful Service – Practices of Peace =-.
sure, course you are, there there, and other sympathetic utterings of no particular meaning.
.-= Heather´s last blog ..The Dark Place =-.
Dude, Vegan Dad totally kicked your butt!
This fact delights me beyond measure. It makes me wish I were your wife so then when you get all snotty about shopping I can say “Oh yeah, at least I didn’t get by no dadgum vegan dads”.
.-= Tracy´s last blog ..I went to go pick up some rice yesterday =-.
Rumor has it, #46 had some plastic surgery…
Congrats on the list, and Merry Christmas from my family to yours.
.-= Clark Kent’s Lunchbox´s last blog ..All I Want For Christmas Is My Va-sec-tamy… Wait, Huh? =-.
Best acceptance speech ever. For this post alone, you should figure in the top 10 next year. Keep some sordid company to be sure.
Hey Dave,
I think the competition must have been rigged. Well, you know I’d have voted for you.
Just wait until they have a contest for the most creatively sarcastic humorous blogger, you will kick ass!
Dave,
You gave me a very good chuckle in the rationalization you used to place yourself in the Number 1 spot. The problem with lists like that is that they use statistics to determine #1 without taking into account the individual posts that the competitors write. Many of your entries would put you at the top of the list, for sure. Is it at all possible (in your mind) that the other dad bloggers might have had singular posts that (maybe, perhaps, perchance, of course) that just might have addressed an issue in a well-written manner that could have been construed by the (idiot) judges to have been better than yours?
To be placed #94 on the Almightydad Top dad Blog List is, indeed an honor when considering the volume of “daddy blogs” out there. The key word is “Almightydad.” I say congratulations for being considered for the list in the first place!
(Who are these authorities anyway?)
.-= Rita´s last blog ..How to Teach Your Dog to Come =-.
Hmph. Mommy Bloggers. Daddy bloggeres. What about the REST of us who don’t have kids?
Is there a “Crazy Uncle Blogger” category”?
If there was, I think I might be good enough to come in the top 15,000.
By the way, you and WriterDad are both pretty damned good. (Though sometimes I’m not convinced you aren’t one and the same).
.-= Friar´s last blog ..Christmas Penance =-.
You’re #1 on your son’s list and that is al that matters.
.-= Loran´s last blog ..Icicles =-.