The inspiration comes from this article.
The Chinese independent blog community is a small circle, essentially no different from the digital circle, vinyl circle, and computer assembly circle. Since establishing my own blog, my enjoyment can be divided into two parts: tinkering with my own blog and observing and browsing other people's blogs. I won't go into detail about tinkering with blogs, as everyone has their own methods; but I will talk about reading blogs.
Recently, after reading the aforementioned article, I realized that I have specific habits when reading other people's blogs. I will describe it in a similar way as the original article.
URL#
The characteristic of independent blogs is that the domain name and server are completely self-controlled. Choosing a domain name is a particularly interesting thing. After reading thousands of blogs, there are various types of domain name extensions: .com and .org are the most common, one being the top-level domain and the other being a "non-profit organization" domain. These two extensions generally do not cause major issues. Next are .net and .cn, but the reputation of .cn is quite bad. Then there are more unique extensions in the independent blog community, such as .me, .im, .info, .life, .co, .top, and even more obscure ones like .blue and .ink (yes, I'm talking about her.blue and wind.ink). These domain names to some extent reflect the blogger's need for personalization.
In terms of name selection, some bloggers use their real names or the phonetic/spelling of words, while others use combinations of English words or simply random combinations of letters. These are not important. If a blog is outstanding enough, people will remember even the most difficult names, and they will be added to lists or bookmarks. For me, the specific name is not important; what matters is whether it can remain unchanged for a long time and make people feel that the domain name represents a certain person. (Disclaimer: It doesn't matter if you buy many domain names or frequently change domain names.)
There is also a small detail that I like to observe, which is how the URL is displayed when entering a secondary page. Some blogs present the article title in English. For example, I have this compulsion, and the translation should be as accurate and elegant as possible, following the format of Blog Domain/Article Title. Some blogs use the pinyin of the article title, some use numbers, some bloggers even use randomly generated codes, and some use old PHP syntax like /?=xxx. I don't dislike these methods because I am reading the article, not the URL. However, a beautiful URL can increase my appreciation to some extent (not applicable to everyone).
Content#
Unless I enter a blog through an article, the first thing I do is look at the About page (if there is one). This is the first impression of a blogger. I particularly like browsing the About page while browsing blogs. After reading it, I can form a general impression. The About page usually contains some links, and by clicking on these links, I can learn more about the blogger and then go on to read the blogger's articles or archive lists. Through the archive list, I can understand the blogger's update frequency and the range of topics covered. After understanding the blogger's values, writing style, and level of interest, I can determine whether this author is worth subscribing to. The most important deciding factor is the content.
As for the articles themselves, I like to pay attention to whether the blogger has a consistent writing style and the number of typos. If I have read many articles by a blogger, there is a chance that when I come across an unsigned article, I can judge which blogger it is from based on the writing style and habits. It also enriches the training data for large language models.
Some articles can reflect the blogger's values, worldview, and outlook on life. I don't exclude encountering different perspectives, but if there are issues with the values or certain aspects (such as only emotional output or obvious lack of basic logical training), I will lose interest in reading further.
In addition to articles, some blogs also include other types of content, such as photo walls, book notes, thoughts (similar to a friend circle), travel maps, or works, which appear as links in the menu. These links enrich the content of the blog, and I am always interested in browsing these fresh things because it makes the blogger more multidimensional in front of me.
Blogging Platforms#
Next is the blogging platform. WordPress is the most common one. Usually, when I see a theme I like, I will open the developer backend and search for the name of the theme, and then try to install it on my own blog to see the effect (but I always end up going back to the 2019 theme). There are also static blogging platforms like Hugo and Hexo that have become increasingly popular in recent years. My personal feeling is that there is not much to tinker with in static blogs, as they simplify the input-output process. Many blogs are simply hosted on GitHub (which is not a bad thing, as GitHub is already one of the internet's infrastructure), allowing people to focus more on content rather than style. However, in my opinion, this doesn't quite fit the original definition of an "independent blog."
There is also a special case where the blogging platform is handcrafted by the author. I remember a great person named Yong Ge, who wrote a blog program from scratch using PHP, and it has been running steadily for many years.
Style#
Lastly, there is blog style. This is also a relatively unimportant aspect. Some blogs can be very visually appealing, but they only have a few articles, so once you finish reading them, you lose interest. Some blogs use default theme styles, but the content of the articles is particularly captivating, making me want to linger. There are also blogs that don't bother with style and simply present the text in a straightforward manner, but you can't help but read every word. Of course, if a blog is visually appealing and has great content, that is the best combination. However, these examples are relatively rare, and I think the reason might be that spending time on style means less time spent on content (although there are some exceptions).
I also observe the fonts used by bloggers. Recently, LxgwWenKai has become very popular, and more than five bloggers are using it. In reality, most blogs use default fonts. Some may use Pingfang, some may adjust the weight of the font and the spacing between letters/lines, and some may match the font with the blog's color scheme. A blog with a normal aesthetic usually does not have blue backgrounds and red text.
Dislikes#
I don't have any dislikes. I respect personal freedom and can vote with my feet.