It's personal

Why do websites appear on blog lists? What engenders bloggers' "favorites" lists, or other "savers" such as blogrolls, bloglines, or del.icio.us? I can only speculate and speak for myself, but here are some thoughts and questions for reflection or comments and discussion:

Favorites - All things that become favorites with me get there because I like them. I like the taste, the look, the sound, the feel or the smell of something. It is that it gives me sensory pleasure. How can that be with the internet, with something originating entirely in the virtual world? Here are a few concepts that drive my decisions:

• A "favorite" becomes so as I find myself wanting to make sure I can come back again to read more.
• I quickly see it as being useful in the future.
• I become convinced that I am enjoying an author or group of authors over and over again.
• I can feel some kind of connection I wish to maintain to the content of the site.

Savers - Saving things is also entirely personal. I confess that I am a collector. Online stuff falls into certain categories - handy, attractive, interesting, useful, unique, intriguing, content-rich, etc. And bloggers save very disparate things, and in different amounts. What would does that reveal about the individual blogger? What can you tell about me from my lists, or vice versa? Here are some examples:

• Handy - free photos at Stock Exchange
• Attractive - Oliviah Unleashed
• Interesting - DailyKos & TPMCafe
• Unique - r blog
• Intriguing - Baghdad Burning
• Content rich - The Huffington Post

Lists - Making lists or trying to use memory alone is a matter of personal style or capacity. Lists remind us of tasks to do, of people to contact, of what we like most, and of items we do not want to forget. What drives one's choice of method? Is it a matter of preference or of capacity? For me it is:

• My capacity diminishes over time as I grow older.
• I make lists because I am afraid I will forget something important.
• Checking off something I have accomplished is satisfying.
• I turn to old favorite things for pleasure.

Why would someone remove a site from one of their blog lists or website savers? Stuff - what to do with accumulations of it is a big question for most of us. Things piled high enough to fall over need to be culled. When stuff is no longer useful it needs to go away. And where it goes is another very personal choice. Some of us are reluctant to throw anything away. Some of us would rather share or re-purpose things with others. What differentiates the choice? And is that learned behavior or innately personal? My own style:

• I avoid throwing things away; some list items, thus, will become obsolete.
• I am probably innately a bit obsessive-compulsive.
• Finding myself regularly ambivalent, I have difficulty with choice.
• I was taught not to waste things as a "child of the depression."

Your own personal thoughts and comments are invited.

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