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Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]
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Simply the best

· Independent sites, Blogging & Bloggers

Samizdata voted No. 1 Group Blog by a fairly large group of the great and the good of the blogosphere (or the mad and the bad, depending on your p.o.v.) Nice. True. Stiff competition, too.

February 10th, 2003 |

8 comments to Simply the best

  • blabla
    February 10, 2003 at 7:20 pm

    Here’s a question for you.

    IMO, Samizdata is the best blog overall. The writing is among the best found anywhere on the internet. Why does it not get more hits?

    As a regular reader, I am pleased that Samizdata is recognized as the best group blog. But what is keeping it from becoming a true behemoth like Instapundit or Andrew Sullivan? Although I enjoy reading Vodkapundit, Rachel Lucas, The Agitator, Jane Galt, etc, the content at Samizdata easily surpasses those sites. What is keeping you from becoming the #1 libertarian website on the planet? Is this a goal at all?

  • Elliot Temple
    February 10, 2003 at 7:49 pm

    Maybe lozza people like a more blatantly pro-war, pro-US, pro-Israel kinda stance, which isn’t the vibe I get here. And lots of people like to read fun things more than serious things.

  • Perry de Havilland
    February 10, 2003 at 7:50 pm

    We really do not do badly with regard to readers but it is true we are not anywhere near the Instapundits and Sullivans of this world. There are several things which militate against our wider acceptance.

    1. We do not always write things people find agreeable. For example, Steven Den Beste will always be more popular because he says things about the USA which people want to be true and like to see written. I would like to think we, on the other hand, are more… frank.
    2. We are libertarians who write with an overtly libertarian meta-context… many people simply do not understand us as a result because we reject out of hand many things a lot of people regard as axiomatic.
    3. We are not fixated on just American issues and thus many of the domestic US issues do not get mentioned here because only three of our contributors are from the USA.
    4. We are too polemical for some readers.
    5. We are not polemical enough for some readers.
    6. Some people hate us for not being reflexively pro-Israel and regarding Israel as ‘just another nation state’.
    7. Some people hate us for thinking the Israeli people are entitled to defend themselves.
    8. Many socialists hate us for being arch-capitalists and the fact we regard socialist theory on just about everything as not just wrong but laughably incoherent.
    9. Many conservatives hate us for being true capitalists and pointing out that some of them are not… and for thinking the state needs to be kicked out of not just the boardroom but the bedroom.
    10. Many paleo-libertarians hate us for not acting like ostriches when we talk about the Saddam Hussains, Osama bin Ladens & Slobodan Milosevics of this world. We really like the idea of dropping bombs on certain people. Sic semper tyrannis.
    11. My cousin’s dog does not much care for us either.

    To be honest, I am glad we consistently get at least a couple thousand readers a day typically, but hit rate is not what motivates most of us to write for Samizdata.net.

    Btw…our hit trend is pointing upwards however, which is nice.

  • blabla
    February 10, 2003 at 8:12 pm

    To be honest, I am glad we consistenty get at least a couple thousand readers a day typically, but hit rate is not what motivates most of us to write for Samizdata.net.

    Understood. As a reader, I do hope that hit rate is a factor though, as the future is a battle of ideas as much as it is a battle of tanks and bombs. The more people that are exposed to libertarian ideas, the freer the future will be. I have a couple of suggestions for more hits:

    1)Use the fact that you write with a libertarian meta-context to your advantage. The #1 libertarian website out there according to Alexa is Lewrockwell.com. Although their message is different from your with regards to interventionism, use this to your advantage. Link to their articles and offer constructive criticism of their ideas, just as you did with the Walter Block article a few weeks back. There are thousands of LR.com readers who have never heard of Samizdata. I interact with them at other sites everyday.

    2)Since politics makes strange bedfellows, write about topics in which libertarianism may find common ground with usually opposing philosophies, such as Christian homeschooling, Pink Pistols, etc.

    3)More pictures of Ms. Radic.

  • blabla
    February 10, 2003 at 8:13 pm

    To be honest, I am glad we consistenty get at least a couple thousand readers a day typically, but hit rate is not what motivates most of us to write for Samizdata.net.

    Understood. As a reader, I do hope that hit rate is a factor though, as the future is a battle of ideas as much as it is a battle of tanks and bombs. The more people that are exposed to libertarian ideas, the freer the future will be. I have a couple of suggestions for more hits:

    1)Use the fact that you write with a libertarian meta-context to your advantage. The #1 libertarian website out there according to Alexa is Lewrockwell.com. Although their message is different from your with regards to interventionism, use this to your advantage. Link to their articles and offer constructive criticism of their ideas, just as you did with the Walter Block article a few weeks back. There are thousands of LR.com readers who have never heard of Samizdata. I interact with them at other sites everyday.

    2)Since politics makes strange bedfellows, write about topics in which libertarianism may find common ground with usually opposing philosophies, such as Christian homeschooling, Pink Pistols, etc.

    3)More pictures of Ms. Radic.

  • John Hawkins
    February 10, 2003 at 8:39 pm

    You know, you were also ranked #11 overall. While that doesn’t out you up in that Reynolds and Sullivan territory, it’s not too shabby either. Maybe all you need to do is keep on doing just what you’re doing and =)

  • Wind Rider
    February 11, 2003 at 1:41 am

    A hearty congratulations from the guys that tied with The Corner in the same category.

    And if your wondering, thats why ther is a guy in NZ, a guy in Oz, and a guy in Virginia now running around cheering “we’re number three, we’re number three!”

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