Thanks, John. Obviously, your blog should be on everyone's short list as well. I like all the older blogs you mentioned, but I would point out that some longstanding PR blogs -- ones that seem to be on everyone's roll -- are RARELY updated. Before you create a blogroll, AT LEAST check to see that the thing is being properly maintained.
Unfortunately, the hit-rich get richer and the hit-poor have to hope for lightning in a jar.
A couple of years ago, the mindset was more about original content -- the blogosphere was a meritocracy.
Now there are more people interested in playing games with rankings and links than they are with actually reading things.
John, thanks for the kind words -- and I agree with Scott (whom I also read religiously) that you need to be on that list as well. You'll also be happy (I think) to know that, while I live in Southern California, I can't stand USC and would like nothing better than to see Texas trounce the Trojans in the Rose Bowl. Whew, there I said it, that felt good....
You bring up an interesting point. When I first started my blog I looked to others blogrolls as a reference and then added additional ones along the way. Maybe that's one approach that bloggers just starting out take.
But I wonder just how valuable blogrolls are. Since I have started using RSS, I barley even look at the actual face of a blog anymore. And, it seems to me like blogrolls are just for people passing through...
John, thanks. Very kind of you.
Of course, the day you sing my praises, SixApart breaks down and takes the last week of my postings with it. Brilliant. Trying to restore them now.
I wonder if we'd get more cachet in the blogrolls if we started traveling to the uber-online celebrity dinners.
Well, here's a bit of a "news scoop" that I haven't even written about on my blog. I am supposed to be doing a link post for the Daily Dog, and the whole point was to look at blogs that aren't being linked to, but have great stuff.
I agree with that list - not that I'd give away my link 
- and plan on using the Blogdigger PR list for the posts, to find what I think is interesting. I'll probably ignore some bloggers as not germane to PR, but definitely agree that there needs to more pushed out there.
Mason:
I noticed this morning that you weren't alone in that breakdown ... there were a couple of bloggers I linked to that I know had missing posts.
You may be right about the importance of meeting dinners, conferences, etc. That's never been my bag as I don't really like to travel much, but I can see where it might help solidifying relationships that started online.
I don't think the exclusion is a conscious one ... but I do think it's there. And I think some newcomers read through the top PR blogs and figure that they must link to Rubel, et. al. to get noticed.
That's a self-fulfilling prophesy, though.
Hey, Jeremy ... that's a great idea and I'm glad you shared that here.
YOu've always been inclusive and open to new bloggers ... you comment often, for example, and link back when appropriate. So I think you're the perfect person to compile those links. I look forward to seeing your posts.
John… Hearty agreement from this humble execuflack. I don’t worry about it much, though. The “early adopters” gang has become as cliquish as it is irrelevant to the majority of people who have never read a word they’ve posted. And who never will.
The PR blogosphere – blogmania, blogiverse, blogmojo, whatever – is still very much a small rural town where hardly anyone is watching the parade because almost everyone is in the marching band. But like all information technology, content inevitably will compel people to line the streets – but only when it means something to them.
And I agree… Scott, Mason, Gary and Eric are terrific, and are bound to continue building their loyal followings. Put yourself on that list, too.
Thanks for the mention, John.
I find some of the old-school PR bloggers have some pretty interesting things to say, but not always. And I'm definitely always looking for what new (and younger) voices have to say.
I guess I can partly blame my relative obscurity on a lack of self-promotion. I know there are things you can do to get noticed more, but it just hasn't been a big priority in recent months.
I'm not actively trying to hide my light under a bushel, but I'm also not making a concerted effort to gain attention outside of the folks who seem to have found my blog. If nothing else, I plan to update some of my personal business contacts a bit more, so they know to drop by and see what I've written.
For me:
Blogrolls serve the purpose of listing the author's set of blogs that they actually read for the benefit of the reader.
The same as profiling documentaries reveal the heroes and influencers of the subject artist, blogrolls perform that role for blog writers.
If your blogroll is a genuine list of the places you visit/read/subscribe to then that's a blogroll.
Anything other than that is courtesy links and should be labelled as such.
How funny is it that there are several comments here from guys I read -- who are NOT considered A-listers.
Oh, and I don't think I'm an A-list blogger. Ugh, I sure hope not.
But, yep, if people are not in that blogdigger group, make sure you put in your RSS feed there, so I can make sure that I do see your stuff. It'll be like four to five links a day, so I'll be reading a lot in Bloglines.
Here's the link to the group: http://groups.blogdigger.com/gro...roups.jsp?
id=85
John --
SixApart is back up. Thank God I didn't have to re-post and re-post.
Much as it annoys me, I do know you have to be seen a little to get exposed to dealflow and new perspectives. Adding a couple of meetups and other face time events probably would pay off, depending on what you're trying to accomplish. But I'm not all that interested in "celebrity" for myself as much as I am learning new stuff -- that's why I'm blogging in the first place. I don't mind a cocktail and a little schmoozing, and I do like to travel, but the over-social gets tedious real fast. Ultimately I need to learn something I can apply, or find something of real value, if I'm going to spend the time/money.
As far as the blogging goes, I agree with Eric's style. I mostly write about whatever I'm thinking at the moment, and in my own style. That saves me a lot of headaches and keeps things authentic. And Dan Hill's comment is on the money about blogrolls (and I need to prune mine).
And -- bonus for today -- I see some new blogs I plan to check out.
Funny thing is, I read two of the five you listed (Mutually Inclusive and Media Orchard); I appreciate the links to the others, which I've now added to my feeds in order to give 'em a try.
Another funny thing to be considered old-guard when I've had my blog for less than 1-1/2 years. My, how web time flies.
BTW, John, you're already on my feeds, too, and your blog is on my blogroll.
Shel:
Thanks for visiting and for your comments.
I have a ton of respect for bloggers like you and Neville and others who I consider to be A-list in terms of influence and reach. I still learn from you every day -- which to me proves the great value of blogs and blogging.
And I'm glad to see that you were already familiar with a number of the blogs I mentioned.
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