9rules // equivocality

Posted in: Daily Life

I generally don’t like blog networks. Too often they’re superficial, cheaply constructed communities used by the creators to give themselves a sense of belonging and purpose in the blogosphere. Some of the most prominent examples of this are on Livejournal, where anyone will create a clique if they’re an emo kid, a self-proclaimed “hot mom”, or even happen to hate Rachael Ray.

There was only one community that caught my eye in the four years I’ve been blogging. Several prolific sites I frequent, such as graphicPush, Snook, 456 Berea Street, and even Lorelle feature a small leaf on their site. I had to learn more about this little universal logo that was on many of the sites that inspired me, and the network called 9rules.

9rules logo

I discovered that they’re the only community with a philosophy and quality with which I agreed. As on their website, “9rules is a community of the best weblogs in the world on a variety of topics. We started 9rules to give passionate writers more exposure and to help readers find great blogs on their favorite subjects. It’s difficult to find sites worth returning to, so 9rules brings together the very best of the independent web all under one roof.”

Their philosophy is based on a set of nine rules to live by:

Love what you do.
Never stop learning.
Form works with function.
Simple is beautiful.
Work hard, play hard.
You get what you pay for.
When you talk, we listen.
Must constantly improve.
Respect your inspiration.

Although I can say that I agree and follow every single one of them, number eight particularly resonated with me. It’s one of my reasons for living, and partially why I started blogging in the first place.

For once, I felt compelled to join a community.

Becoming a member, however, isn’t a simple task. Every few months, they open a 24 hour window for people to submit their blogs. 9rules doesn’t have a specific criteria for what to accept. Sites are judged on consistency and quality of material, as well the passion for the subjects being blogged.

The community leaders go through every site together, often several times, before deciding whether to let someone join. They also maintain an exclusivity clause; members aren’t allowed to be part of any other community. There was even a purge once, to clean the network of any sites whose quality had dropped.

In the past, the acceptance rates have been between 8–16%. The most recent round (the fifth) was last October, with 1190 blogs being submitted. At the end of this round, the number of accepted members stands at a tentative 134.

Two weeks ago, I found out that I’m one of them.

11 comments — Follow the feed

#1 Jason

Congratulations! The 9 Rules site is intriguing, thanks for posting about it.

#2 Pearl

Cool. Congratulations. It’s a good concept they have going to keep the bar raised.

Thanks!

Congrats.

Thank you.

I hadn’t read the actual 9 rules of the community and I have to admit, having read them, you really belong there. This has always been an excellent blog. It’s so clean, the writing is superb, the photos are beautiful, the video is always interesting and of course, it’s deeply personal and honest.

Congratulations Jeff.

#7 Jeff

Thanks Bean.

#8 Dennis

Ok, I’ll be the wet blanket… Doesn’t anyone detect the stink of nepotism here? I’ve been blogging for quite a while, and with the likes of the Bloggies and the multitude of other self-love ranking contests, the point seems moot. If your site is good, people will find it.

Having said that, I just stumbled on this site tonight; it is good.

#9 Jeff

I don’t have any relatives working at 9rules, so did you mean narcissism, instead of nepotism?

Assuming that this is what you meant, I don’t agree.

My blog has nothing to do with “being good”. It’s simply a platform for me to express myself. I say what I want, and I’ll never pander to an audience. Often, people don’t like my frankness, or the things that I talk about.

Because of this, I’ll never win a Bloggie or any such award. And I’ll never ask my visitors for nominations or votes, which is what many bloggers do, and what I would definitely consider to be acts of narcissism.

Unlike the Bloggies, 9rules isn’t a competition. Members are all on the same level. There’s no egotistical “best blog” award.

The 9rules network isn’t a popularity contest. You don’t get in based on the largest number of votes. You apply. Only three people, whom I respect as significant members in the blogging community, decide whether you are accepted or not.

It isn’t just about networking with a wider audience, it’s about networking with leading members of the blogging community. Since I’ve joined, I’ve been able to pick the brains of people I’ve admired. I’ve been exposed to many sites I never would have come across before. You’re probably right in saying that I’d come across a site eventually, but this has sped up the process considerably.

As well, the 9rules network helps bring exposure to niche blogs. There are a few specialized blogs that may be “good”, as you put it, but only have a small target audience.

Thank you for your compliment though.

#10 dennis

I use the term nepotism loosely in the sense that the weblog community has largely organized itself into cliques (many of which shamelessly attempt to propagate their own self-importance).

Admittedly, I know next to nothing about 9rules. My eyebrow always cocks for an evaluation/acceptance scenario, though, and like I said — I’m a web blanket.

Either way, congratulations.

#11 Jeff

Now I understand your use of the term nepotism, and I completely agree about blog networks propagating their own self-importance. This is exactly what I’m referring to when I said “I generally don’t like blog networks” in the very first paragraph. You hit it dead on.

9rules isn’t run by a clique though. One of the reasons why I like the network is because they don’t let in people simply because they’re friends. The leaders have never been to most of the sites they accept, so it’s an unbiased opinion.