Over the past few weeks I have noticed a fair bit of discussion in the blogosphere about the subject of influence. Various bloggers have been attempting to define influence and to understand which bloggers are the most influential. This is a surprisingly difficult topic for influence truly is difficult to measure and define.

It is tempting to understand influence in ways that are easily quantifiable. Blogs have long been ranked primarily in two ways: traffic and inbound links. Traffic refers to the quantity of visitors a site receives and a site that receives a great number of visitors is perceived to be more influential than one that receives only a few visitors. Inbound links refer to the number of links to a blog from other blogs. The blog directory BlogStreet says simply, “Influential Blogs are those blogs which are blogrolled by other Top Ranking blogs.” This metric is premised on the understanding that bloggers will link mostly to sites that they consider worthy of attention. By placing a link on their site to another site, they are, in a sense, giving it a vote of approval and admitting influence.

I believe that these are both unsatisfying measures of influence. And yes, I understand that in saying this, I am indicating that a tool like Truthlaidbear is mostly useless. I have long observed that traffic and influence are not always related. It seems clear that it is not only quality or influence that draws readership, but controversy. Blogs that dwell on controversy (and in the Christian sector “controversy” is, unfortunately, often synonymous with “discernment”) tend to attract a lot of readers but I am not convinced that these sites hold influence proportional to their readership. Inbound links should be a measure of influence, but links are often tossed about with little thought, thus reducing their meaning and effectiveness in determining influence. Yet, because they are easy to measure, they continue to be the most common measures.

Adrian Warnock recently proposed several measures of influence. He proposed the following: The number of people who read your site or your “hit rate;” The number of people who read more than one page and then become regular readers; Your ability to send your readers to other websites and/or to cause them to want to buy certain products; The number of people who link to you in a blogroll; How many comments you get; How many other bloggers link to specific posts you write and interact with them; WHO reads your blog " if the leaders of your field pop by and then take your ideas to influence others, you have a bigger direct influence than someone who is read only by “novices;” How much of an impact positively or negatively you have on your readers.” These metrics are generally not easily-quantifiable and are thus, in some ways at least, less satisfying. However, I believe they are also quite useful. I’ll discuss each one very briefly.

The number of people who read more than one page and then become regular readers. I’m not entirely sure what Adrian means by this, but I assume he is discussing the number of pages per visit—how many pages the average visitor reads when he visits a site. This is a reasonable measure of influence, but can be easily upset by the way a blog is constructed. For example, some bloggers prefer to post the complete text of many articles on the main page of the site. A visitor to this site can read several day’s worth of articles without visiting a second page. On the other hand, some bloggers prefer to post only excerpts of each article on the main page. Such blogs will have a much higher number of pages read per visitor, and yet this has nothing to do with influence. Either way, this is very difficult to quantify.

Your ability to send your readers to other websites and/or to cause them to want to buy certain products. Or, put more succinctly, your ability to convince a reader to take a particular action. I consider this an important measure of influence and in many applications the most important measure. After all, for a blog based around politics or selling goods, this is the only measure that really matters.

How many comments you get. This metric is, at least to some extent, a byproduct of the number of visitors a site receives. Yet it is also an indication of the level of interest generated by a site’s posts. However, it can be influenced by the themes and contents of a particular site. When it comes to blogging, controversy generates buzz and excitement. I have often lamented the fact that an article describing some great work of God is likely to receive a lot less attention than an article expressing anger or disgust about another person. Controversy sells.

How many other bloggers link to specific posts you write and interact with them. This is an important measure of influence within the blogosphere and even beyond the blogosphere. After all, a person who chooses to discuss an article written by another blogger is admitting that the other person has some level of influence over him.

Who reads your blog " if the leaders of your field pop by and then take your ideas to influence others, you have a bigger direct influence than someone who is read only by “novices.” In other words, a site is influential if it influences other influencers.

How much of an impact positively or negatively you have on your readers. This one is nearly impossible to quantify, but is intriguing as a somewhat abstract idea. There are certain blogs that almost always leave me encouraged and satisfied while there are others that leave me beaten down and discouraged, even after only a short visit. Perhaps we can extrapolate long-term impact from these short-term experiences.

I think something needs to be added because different blogs have different emphases. For example, a site that directs people to other resources has a different, less-direct influence than one that is based primarily around teaching or exposition. Mitch Ratcliffe, who has done a good bit of thinking on this topic writes, “When looking at influence, we have to dig very deeply into narrow spectrums of network relationships.” He goes on to “contend that there are layers of influence based on different interests among writers, *but* the existing relationships we have with the writer (or podcaster or…) do carry over into areas where they are not necessarily “expert” or consistently writing about. Understanding how those marginal relationships can be amplified is important to seeing into the flow of influence.” In other words, bloggers are not influential within a void, but are influential within a particular area. That area may be as wide as the blogosphere or a sector of the blogosphere, or as narrow as only a small portion of it.

Joe Carter has also discussed influence recently and has determined that the most influential bloggers may be those who link most to others. “John Schroeder makes the intriguing claim that linking is a form of blogging servant leadership. ‘He’s absolutely right about everyone wanting to be a Chief (agenda-setting thinker blogs are one example) and no one wanting to be an Indian (i.e., value-adding linker blogs). While most bloggers tend to be both, I’m becoming more convinced that the truly influential bloggers will be those who spend the majority of their time on linking-style activities. Justin Taylor is a prime example. I work on a university/seminary campus and hardly a day goes by that I don’t hear some version of ‘I heard on Justin Taylor’s blog…’ He’s the kind of servant leader we could use more of in the blogosphere.” Without belittling Justin’s blog (one of my favorites) or Justin (a friend and I guy I want to grow up to be just like, even though we’re about the same age), I disagree with this claim. I do think link blogs like Justin’s hold some type of influence, but surely the greater influence is in the hands of those who write the material these blogs link to! Justin is clearly influential, but I am not convinced that this is a product of the number of other sites he links to.

So how do we measure influence? Truthfully, I don’t know that we can. There are clearly a few blogs in each sector that every other person knows or seeks to emulate. There is not a political blogger in the world who does not know of Instapundit. There is not a Christian blogger who does not know of Evangelical Outpost. These bloggers have somehow become influential and I would like to think they have done so simply by posting large quantities of good information and by dedicating themselves to the task of blogging. I do know that several companies are attempting to create a tool that will analyze the blogosphere and quantify the influence of each blog. I am eager to understand their methodology and to see the results of their efforts. I hope that, within the Christian blogosphere especially, we can have bloggers who do not seek to be influential, but who seek to serve others and to serve the Creator through this task. If He gives influence, may these men and women use it to honor and glorify Him.

As an aside, I noticed that Matt Galloway, who has also invested effort in understanding the blogosphere, has imagined a “Blog Influential trend tool.” “What would a Blog Influential trend tool like? It would have to have a way to set the base to be known Influentials within the area of interest - instead of a doomed to fail attempt at the whole blogosphere.” In other words, a person wishing to understand a particular sector of the blogosphere, but it technological, religious or political, would need to map the trends at only a handful of the most influential blogs. I suspect that Galloway is correct, and that whatever tools are created in the coming months and years, will use this type of methodology to map trends within the blogosphere.

Early this morning I finally finished my slow and thoughtful reading of Jerry Bridges’ The Discipline of Grace. I rarely dwell so long on a single book, but because of the sheer quantity and quality of Bible-based teaching within this book, I felt compelled to read it slowly and meditatively. It was well worth the effort and the time spent.

Yesterday I read about the importance of disciplining myself to make choices that glorify God. Bridges says that “the practice of putting off sinful attitudes and actions and putting on Christlike character involves a constant series of choices. We choose in every situation which direction we will go. It is through these choices that we develop Christlike habits of living.” I was intrigued by this. I soon thought back to a time a couple of years ago when I discovered, much to my surprise, that I excelled in the not-too-spiritual gift of discouragement. I realized, through God’s work in my heart, that I was often being a discouragement to other people. I tended towards the pessimistic and sarcastic and seldom sought to bring encouragement. And so I put some effort into cultivating a spirit of encouragement. I initially found this to be a difficult task. One would not think it difficult to be an encourager, but I found that it truly was difficult to reverse course. I would be encouraging for a short time but would soon slip back into old patterns. I continued to be a discourager.

One day it occurred to me that I was going to have to discipline myself to encourage others. And so I took the strange and seemingly-artificial step of calendaring time to encourage others. It sounds strange, I know, but I opened up my Outlook calendar and created a 5-minute appointment recurring every three days. The appointment simply said “Encourage!” And so, every third day, while I was hard at work, a little reminder would flash up on my screen. “Encourage!,” it said. And I would. I would take the opportunity to quickly phone a friend or dash off an email to someone I felt was in need of encouragement. This felt very artificial. I felt like a fraud as I, with a heart of discouragement, attempted to be an encouragement to others. But as time went on, it began to become quite natural. I soon found that I no longer felt the same spirit of discouragement within me. Encouragement slowly became more natural. What had begun as a discipline that felt artificial, soon became a habit that felt natural.

There was a lesson in there for me. I agree with Bridges who often says “discipline without direction is drudgery.” Had I disciplined myself to be encouraging without first being convicted by the Spirit of my sin, and I had I attempted to be an encourager without first setting a direction that honored God, I doubt that He would have blessed my efforts. But I believe that He did bless them. I can still be as discouraging as anyone I know, but I also think that discouragement is no longer as quick to arise as it was before. More and more I find that I tend towards encouragement rather that discouragement. After a couple of months I was able to remove the recurring appointment from my Outlook calendar, for encouragement began to come naturally.

Bridges writes, “Habits are developed by repetition, and it is in the arena of moral choices that we develop spiritual habit patterns.” I believe this was proven true in my experience. “It is through righteous actions that we develop holy character. Holiness of character, then, is developed one choice at a time as we choose to act righteously in each and every situation and circumstance we encounter during the day.” I think there are some who feel that discipline brings about holiness. These are men and women who are unbelievably disciplined. They get out of bed at the same time each day, spent 22 minutes praying and 17 minutes reading the Bible. They feel that this discipline leads them closer to God. But I disagree. It is not discipline or commitment or conviction that makes us holy. Rather, “we become more holy by obedience to the Word of God, by choosing to obey His will as revealed in the Scriptures in all the various circumstances of our lives.” Conviction, commitment and discipline are necessary to making the right choices, but true spiritual growth can come only when we choose to obey God’s commandments, one at a time.

Discipline, commitment, conviction and Godly habits are closely related. It is important that we are disciplined, but only after we have been convicted and have set a direction towards godliness. At this time discipline and commitment can be used by God to work in us His holiness. Discipline is but a means to a much higher, more Christ-like end. It is a cruel master but a wonderful servant.

Having read fifty or sixty nonfiction books already this year, I began to crave some lighter, easier reading. And, in a case of great timing, an Advance Reader Copy of Stephen Lawhead’s Hood arrived in the mail just a few days ago. Lawhead, known for writing fantasy and historical fiction, has set his sights on the greatest of the English heroes, Robin Hood. But rather than simply retelling the oft-told story, he has re imagined Robin Hood and has attempted to arrive at the source for this great story. This is a “completely re-imagined epic of the man known as Robin Hood—told in a far more earthy, eerie and elemental way than ever before.” In a lengthy appendix to the book, the author explains his belief that the story of Robin Hood may well have originated in Wales and provides ample proof that this just may be the case.

Series - I had considered posting the third part of my series on children who die in infancy, but I’ve decided to hold off until next week. The discussion on the previous two entries continues to go strong, so I thought I would let that carry on before posting the third part. So stay tuned for that next week. At the very least it is bound to be controversial.

Extreme Makeover - A few days ago I mentioned in A La Carte that our next-door neighbor (or next-wall neighbor since we live in a townhouse) is having an extreme makeover done on her house. This is not quite the Ty Pennington variety of Extreme Makeover, but the builders intend to do at least $10,000 worth of work between today and Sunday afternoon. The organization, Walls of Hope, is a charitable organization that helps families by transforming their living space through the efforts of volunteers and donors. We are not exactly sure what they intend to do, but we know it involves a lot of painting, laying new flooring, and so on. Two or three television stations have been hovering around and the family was featured on newscasts last night and this morning.

This family is new to the neighborhood and has somehow already raised the ire of many of the nearby homeowners. We, on the other hand, have already come to enjoy the family and look forward to getting to know them better. Here is the family’s biography from the Walls of Hope website:

Barb considers her children a “wonderful gift”. A mother’s love, however, isn’t enough to properly appoint a home and make it safe and comfortable for four children. Barb and her family have had to move many times over the years. At the end of June, they are moving once again - Barb hopes this time will be the last. Unfortunately, the new family home had mold in the basement and attic as well as other fundamental issues that delayed the move and put undue financial stress on Barb.

As a single mother, Barb makes many sacrifices but is an optimist at heart. Walls of Hope will be helping her and her family make their new space livable and uniquely their own.

Sarah is 17 years old and comes from Barb’s first marriage. Sarah is a straight ‘A’ student and has made the honour role at her high school for 5 straight semesters. Sarah is an enormous asset in the family. [Tim’s note - our children absolutely love Sarah and come spilling out of the house as soon as they hear her voice outside.]

Barb’s 3 sons - David (13), Matthew (12), and Christopher (10) all come from her second marriage. Each of the boys does extremely well academically and each has tested as gifted in some areas.

David is an enthusiastic boy with tons of nervous energy. He is very chatty, a little impulsive but quick to smile and wants everyone to be his best friend.

Matthew is very introspective, a deep thinker and methodical learner. Matthew is meticulous in his appearance and all mannerisms. He is very sensitive but does not show emotion easily.

Christopher is a bundle of energy. He never stops moving and frequently wears out even the hardiest companion. Christopher has a delightful sense of humour but takes a very long time to bond with anyone new in his life. [Christopher has tons of energy but has not yet managed to wear out my son. They can often be seen chasing eachother (or a football) in the yard.]

All of Barb’s sons have a very difficult time dealing with changes, whether big or small.

All three boys have been diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) - specifically Aspergers. At the same time as this diagnosis was made, the youngest and oldest sons, Christopher and David were also diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome. Testing also confirmed Barb’s suspicions that her boys also suffered from Celiac Disease. Barb’s middle son Matthew is also hearing impaired.

Despite all these challenges, Barb believes that anything is possible with enough faith. Walls of Hope has answered Barb’s prayers and will be making the family’s dreams come true with a home makeover on the weekend of July 21 to 23, 2006.

They are an interesting family. Shortly after we moved into our house, the one next to us was placed on the market. We immediately began to worry just a little bit, wondering who it was that would end up sharing a wall with us. After all, a bad neighbor can make living in a townhouse an excruciating prospect. At one point we heard that the family thinking of buying the home had four teenagers, three of whom were autistic. I rolled my eyes and whispered a prayer that this family would find another place to live. But I was soon shocked at my own behavior and repented of it. After all, a person who can hold together a family with three autistic children is exactly the sort of person I would love to meet, for she must be a person of character. We have already benefited from knowing this family and look forward to getting to know them better.

Writing Day - With writing projects piling up around me, I have decided to set aside this entire day to write. I have several formal writing projects I need to take care of before July slips away from me. I am both excited and intimidated at the prospect of having to write for the next eight hours. I think it will be a great discipline and am sure that it will be good for me. I tend to do my best writing when I feel inspired to do so, but I think it is important that I teach myself to write during times set aside specifically for the purpose. I would appreciate it if you would remember me in your prayers today as I try to get a good deal of writing accomplished. I have been praying that God would give me wisdom, discernment, humility and ability, for some of what I hope to do is definitely beyond my natural capabilities.

Weekend - I am hoping to have a quiet weekend. I keep attempting to take my son to a Bluejay game and perhaps I can finally make the time tomorrow. Failing that, we’ll be trying to keep cool and trying to get away from the constant noise that is sure to come with the construction projects next door. And, as always, I’ll be posting here. Enjoy your weekend!