Avoid the Label…
Posted on October 3, 2002 by Christine | 71 Comments
Spread the news – there is a new word on the street! Brought to you by Mike and the letter C:
Blurker (BLUR-kur): n. 1. One who reads many blogs but leaves no evidence of themselves such as comments behind; a silent observer of blogs. 2. One who reads many blogs but has no blog of their own; a blog-watcher or blog voyeur.
I know you’re out there. Want to shake that label off? Then leave comments! Leave them all over the place – here, there and everywhere! I read a post recently about “blog cliques” and that people don’t leave comments behind because they don’t feel part of the “group”. So here it goes … I’ll let you in on one of my big personal secrets. I have 3-4 “must-read” blogs that I hit daily no matter what. Sometimes several times a day. But after that, know what blogs I hit next? The people that have recently left comments!
So you want to increase your traffic? You want to meet new people and make new friends? Then don’t be a blurker! Come out, come out … wherever you are!
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71 Responses to “Avoid the Label…”
I’m Quite Clever
About Me
Hi! I'm Christine. Wife to Mike. Mom of Jason. Owned by 4 cats. Houston & Destination Wedding Photographer & owner of Hot Mama Boudoir. Blogger since 2000. Living in Houston, Texas since 1985. Living in a 1920 Bungalow in the Heights since 2011.
Want to know more? Just ask.
Extreme
October 3rd, 2002 @ 12:54 am
He needs to submit that here if he hasn’t already!
October 3rd, 2002 @ 1:04 am
That’s how I found some of my favorite blogs, by not only reading who leaves comments for me, but clicking on the links in the comments section of other blogs.
October 3rd, 2002 @ 1:06 am
Submitted – thanks, Robyn!
October 3rd, 2002 @ 1:54 am
leaving entries like these make me feel totally blog-conscience… as if I am so un-noticed that I’m begging for proof that I’m not!
Props to you for letting the cat out of the bag in such high fashion.
BTW you’re always the first blog I check in my blogroll… (it’s all alphabetical!)
October 3rd, 2002 @ 2:05 am
That’s always a perk of having an early in the alphabet domain!
But really, it’s not begging at all – if I didn’t want comments, I would turn them off. I love to hear from everyone though – even if I don’t know you yet. As Trish said, my comments is how I have found some of my absolute favorite reads!
I even like it when someone disagrees with me! I’m all for learning about a different point of view, and that’s the only way I can do it. I look at comments like a conversation – I don’t like shouting out and talking to myself all the time! So talk to me…
October 3rd, 2002 @ 6:25 am
Hehe, I don’t know you submit words to the Wired Jargon watch thing, but that might be a fun thing to try
If I remember correctly, there was something blog-related in the last issue so it probably stands a good chance of getting in. 
October 3rd, 2002 @ 7:42 am
Ok, Ok, I don’t want to be known as a “blurker”. Yikes!
October 3rd, 2002 @ 7:44 am
I do that too. I have favs that I read many time, probably way to many in one day and then I like to hit the reads that leave comments and blogsnob reads too.
I’m horrible at leaving comments and sometimes I just honesly don’t feel like it. LOL!
October 3rd, 2002 @ 8:44 am
Ok Ok I confess!!!! I am a reformed blurker. I have kept an online journal for quite some time…but didn’t start participating in the blog scene until this summer. I am glad I did!
October 3rd, 2002 @ 9:13 am
I just started reading your page on a fairly consistant basis, so I’m guilty as charged *grin*. Well, your weblog rocks, and I enjoy reading what you have to say!
October 3rd, 2002 @ 9:13 am
Heh, okay, you outted me, I was a blurker. I’m new on the blog scene, haven’t been keeping one for long, but am having a hell of a time. I need to know how to put links, etc. up on the side of the screen. Any tips? I love reading your blog, btw, it’s one that I check back on.
October 3rd, 2002 @ 9:37 am
I’m not a blurker, really I’m not!
October 3rd, 2002 @ 9:42 am
I didn’t know what a Blog was until yesterday. Apparently, I live in a cave, watching Barney Miller re-runs. Now I’m chasing down blogs everywhere. A whole Blog world I had no idea existed. I think I’m hooked.
October 3rd, 2002 @ 10:26 am
I hope you appreciate all of your blurkers coming out in the open like this. Mine have chosen to remain anonymous…
October 3rd, 2002 @ 10:55 am
I’ve been reading your blog for over a year now and it’s hard for me to go a day without it. I think I’ve turned your blog into my daily soap opera (since I don’t watch any, that is!) I don’t have my own, so you can’t go there, obviously. But, I live in Houston and hate it just as much as you do!
October 3rd, 2002 @ 11:02 am
Can we blogify every word? Bokay. Here we blo… Forget the name of your favorite blog? Look it up in your Bloledex.
What should you write about tomorrow? Check your bloroscope.
Sexy bloggers tend to blog up my Windows.
October 3rd, 2002 @ 11:07 am
okay… stop the finger pointing…
i’m trying to comment more… honestly. it does help when you’ve met the person because now you can “hear” how they sound in their posts. i think that is just the coolest thing.
but here i am!
i will see you later tonight! woohoo!
October 3rd, 2002 @ 12:50 pm
Hi, my name’s Mike and I’m a blurkaholic…
October 3rd, 2002 @ 1:38 pm
I’m new here and so have not quite gotten my blog legs yet. But yes, I have been one of the aformentioned blurkers.
October 3rd, 2002 @ 1:45 pm
Well, I was comfortable with my blurker status until you guilt-tripped me into commenting…..Mom!
I like your blog..it’s fresh and funny. I’ve been fascinated by personal blogs since ’97 when I stumbled upon one by a student in North Carolina. If I had more time, I’d have one myself.
October 3rd, 2002 @ 2:01 pm
What’s someone who doesn’t comment but always links via trackback? A blacker? A blurback? A bloback? Well, whatever it is.. that was me. Until today.
October 3rd, 2002 @ 2:06 pm
I read alot of blogs and love comments on mine too but I can only say so much. I guess I need to relate to it to comment. There are tons of people that I’m reading that I’d like to chat with once in a while, I just don’t know how to go about it… you included
October 3rd, 2002 @ 2:18 pm
Okay, if anyone is an example of what can happen by leaving the “blurker” status in the midst, it’s me. All it took is for one person to tell me that it was the polite thing to do to leave a comment or two, here or there. THAT lead me to become a #1, runaway, unmitigated Comment Whore. And I truly liked being one. It was fun putting my 2 cents in on every topic under the sun, from the legalization of marijuana, to the assumed sexual proclivities of June Cleaver (assuming she had any). But that also lead me to be persuaded to become a bonifide blogger. And there was no turning back after that. So tread carefully. And remember: every exhibitionist needs a voyeur.
MWHAHAHAH!!
October 3rd, 2002 @ 2:29 pm
Blurk!
Oops, excuse me. Shouldn’t blurk out loud like that in public. Sorry!
Blurk!
Blurk!
BLURK!
October 3rd, 2002 @ 3:43 pm
Hi, this is a nice page. If you also checked out mine would be cool.
October 3rd, 2002 @ 4:34 pm
I make it a personal policy to reply to every comment posted in to my Blog. I think it is rude to not reply actually. getting instant reader feedback is one of the most powerful and exciting features that weblogs have is the close relationship of reader and writer. I will post my response to the site as a comment if it is right and and I will email them directly. Or at least write them a short email reply. But most readers are not that keen on the concept. On an average day I will have 500 Readers but only about 5 comments if that. But after I reply to them they will be more likely to comment in the future and become a steady reader. I also make it a habit to drop some comments in other weblogs that I read. I would have to say that about 95% of web log reading public is a Blurker but that is just my non scientific two cents.
October 3rd, 2002 @ 4:51 pm
That sounds like a dirty word!!!!
p.s. see ya tonight!!!
October 3rd, 2002 @ 4:58 pm
Mish, just remember – Mike made it up and not me.
And Jake, you are right. I try to respond like that as often as I can too. Matter of fact, I think I’ll do that now…
October 3rd, 2002 @ 5:31 pm
i admit it…i am a blurker. but the first step is denial or was it acceptance? too many meetings they all get mixed up. great site.
October 3rd, 2002 @ 5:31 pm
Actually, I have to set the record straight. It was Angelo (my hubby) who coined the term while referring to me blurking all over the Houston blog sites. The quote on coffeecorner is from me too. (I’m clearly a Type 2 blurker.)
Mikey keeps trying to get me to come out, but I’m having too much fun blurking.
October 3rd, 2002 @ 6:16 pm
I’ve been talking about commenting today as well.
On the topic of Blurkers, hehe, I got a reader to comment the other day by asking him a question in one of my posts. I’d noticed that his site kept popping up in my referrals, yet he’d never said anything! From there we engaged in quite a healthy debate! All it takes is something to break the ice!
Chris mentioned trackbacking and not commenting. I think I’m the overkill queen – I usually do both!!!
October 3rd, 2002 @ 6:18 pm
I too am a long time blurker. It’s just that sometimes I enjoy reading other peoples thoughts and they are so succint (sp?) that I don’t feel I have any need to add to them!
BTW I discovered you from Robyn
October 3rd, 2002 @ 6:21 pm
Guilty! I never knew about blogging until my sister in law told me she was doing one and I could read it. I am hooked. There are a few on her list that I frequent nearly daily and yours is one although not as much as the others. Thanks for defining what I am although I do leave comments on hers and I left one on another one.
October 3rd, 2002 @ 6:23 pm
certainly made me smile…..this is a must read blog for me…daily……this one and Kristine’s……
Kristina
October 3rd, 2002 @ 6:23 pm
(sorry I hit “post” by accident)
What I was in the midst of saying is that I have been a fan for over a year since I first saw you on Robyn’s blog and have had you linked on both my blogs every since!
P. S. My brother is in Cancer Research school there in Houston and just raves about the city! Can’t wait to visit.
October 3rd, 2002 @ 7:00 pm
Long time blurker…first time commenter.
October 3rd, 2002 @ 8:23 pm
i’m sorry that i havent been leaving comments lately.
i have been a busy mom/worker/doormat. =)
October 3rd, 2002 @ 8:44 pm
well your ploy seemed to work, 37 comments very nice. love the glasses by the way. ((hugs)) nice to meet you, flowrgal
October 3rd, 2002 @ 8:51 pm
Hi Christine. Not a regular reader here, but you always bring the good stuff to the blogger world
October 3rd, 2002 @ 9:41 pm
Blurker coming out of the shadows… ’til next time.
October 3rd, 2002 @ 11:10 pm
Now, I am officially un-Blurking!
::stretching arms::
Ahh! I feel so much better now!
: – )
October 3rd, 2002 @ 11:30 pm
OK, I’m un-blurking, too… Read you a lot, never say anything, so I better come out of the closet… WAIT! I didn’t mean THAT! … Not that there’s anything wrong with that… well, anyway, Hi!
October 4th, 2002 @ 7:59 am
Hello, my name is tim (Hello Tim!)
And I am a blurker. (Applause)
acceptance is the first step in the blurker anonymous program. Wait, blurker anonymous is kind of repetative isn’t it?
October 4th, 2002 @ 9:45 am
No Tim, starting up a BAP chapter would probably be a really good thing – it seems that there are lots of you out there… We can hold chapter meetings right here if you would like!
October 4th, 2002 @ 12:01 pm
Hey – I don’t ‘blurk’!
I have my own ‘blog’/'Site’/'Whatever’ too – I need more traffic
October 4th, 2002 @ 12:32 pm
i’m probably the opposite of a blurker… hell, you’re all probably thinking “shaddap already!”
October 4th, 2002 @ 12:47 pm
Oh dear — I am such a blurker on this blog that when I went to leave a comment, I actually had to fill in my info.
October 4th, 2002 @ 1:16 pm
you know i’m here, even if i don’t comment
October 4th, 2002 @ 1:32 pm
So I’m a blurker. I’d say I’d try to un-blurk but that’s really just not me since it just mirrors who I am in real life a lot of the time.
October 4th, 2002 @ 5:50 pm
Okay, okay, okay!! I admit it, I’ve been here before and never left comments…
October 4th, 2002 @ 7:47 pm
Guilty as charged! I have been reading this blog semi-regularly for a while but I don’t think I have commented yet… What a way to get some comments though… lol
October 7th, 2002 @ 7:28 pm
I admit to blurking at first, just to get a feel for the crowd. But comments are the currency of the blog world — gotta give a little to get a little.
October 8th, 2002 @ 10:27 am
love the definition. first time here, really like the site
October 8th, 2002 @ 10:35 am
actually, i only came here because i followed a link from Uffish, but it’s a fantastic word, and posting into a vaccuum *can* be frustrating!
October 8th, 2002 @ 1:38 pm
The term ‘Blurker’ has indeed been added to the glossary
April 16th, 2004 @ 12:42 pm
Ok…I admit I am a ‘Blurker’. I found your link by NastyBastard.org. I’m a new blurker on his.
Blurk Blurk!
April 16th, 2004 @ 6:13 pm
I try never to blurk! I already noticed my traffic increases when I comment … but really, the reason i comment is so’s I can meet new people.
October 3rd, 2002 @ 7:45 am
Update in vocabulary
Christine of the Big Pink Cookie has let me in on a new word…”BLURKER”. Or as she put it on
October 3rd, 2002 @ 9:29 am
My fifteen minutes….
There’s an oft-quoted Andy Warhol saying that everyone will be famous for 15 minutes – I had something like that
October 3rd, 2002 @ 1:51 pm
We’re all going to learn a new word today
From Christine over at bigpinkcookie.com: Blurker (BLUR-kur): n. 1. One who reads many blogs but leaves no evidence of themselves
October 3rd, 2002 @ 3:41 pm
Blog Etiquette
Looks like I’m not the only one wondering about this. How do you respond to a comment? Do you a)
October 3rd, 2002 @ 5:56 pm
Blurking!
An interesting conversation going on elsewhere (Carla, Christine, and Mike, and many other blogs, in the order that I read
October 4th, 2002 @ 12:46 pm
Blurker (BLUR-kur):
n. 1. One who reads many blogs but leaves no evidence of themselves such as comments behind; a silent
October 4th, 2002 @ 7:00 pm
Blurkers
Over at Big Pink Cookie, Christine has a definition of “blurker.” Well, I’ve got my own blog, I read a
January 17th, 2003 @ 12:24 pm
I know you’re out there…
A couple of months ago, I learned a new blogging term via Christine, who had learned it via Mike. I
March 20th, 2003 @ 3:01 pm
HEY! YOU! YES, YOU!
Christine is spreading the word about a new word that Mike coined: blurker (BLUR-kur): n. 1. One who reads many blogs but leaves no evidence of themselves such as comments behind; a silent observer of
March 31st, 2004 @ 9:44 am
My Love For You is Like a Truck, Blurker!
Would you like some making fuck, BLURKER! Hey, this is International Blog Comment Week, so if you’re a reader leave me a comment! Don’t be a blurker! [link via Big Pink Cookie]…
April 16th, 2004 @ 12:54 pm
Are You a Blurker?
How cool is this? I never knew it but I am a Blurker. Guilty as sin! While surfing around I found thru here, from a comment by NastyBastard, and the meaning of a Blurker HERE! [Via Big Pink Cookie] Click…
April 6th, 2007 @ 8:09 am
[...] Wow, I can’t believe it has been almost 5 years since I wrote the first blurker post! How time flies. Spread the news – there is a new word on the street! Brought to you by Mike and the letter C: [...]
January 31st, 2008 @ 11:03 am
[...] Oh goodness, do you realize how long it has been? Back in 2003, Mike helped me first define what a blurker is: Blurker (BLUR-kur): n. 1. One who reads many blogs but leaves no evidence of themselves such as comments behind; a silent observer of blogs. 2. One who reads many blogs but has no blog of their own; a blog-watcher or blog voyeur. [...]
March 20th, 2008 @ 12:31 pm
i love love love this!