Blog Azeroth Shared Topic: Starstruck by someone in the WoW community

I’ve been wanting to write about a Blog Azeroth Shared Topic for a long time – since the days when I used to blog about WoW on a different blog a few years ago, actually.  But, for various reasons, I never did.  However, this week’s Shared Topic is something I’m ready and willing to talk about, particularly as this particular topic both a) resonates with me pretty deeply, and b) comes from friend and fellow blogger, Dragonray at Azerothian Life.

Dragonray’s suggestion, from Blog Azeroth:

Are you starstruck by anyone? Does someone in the community respond to a post or a tweet and get you all speechless because they actually responded? Is there anyone you are waiting to have respond directly to you? Is there someone that you would like to chat to, but are too chicken? Am I the only one who puts other bloggers on a pedestal?

Like I said above, this topic hits home with me.  As a blogger, I have, at this point, a few years of experience with blogging itself, about both WoW and other topics.  However, I am still strictly an amateur blogger, in more than one sense.  Basically, I’m both a non-pro financially and a non-pro with regard to my skill and output.

So, with that being said, here are some things that make my mid-30s, hairy male semi-nerd heart flutter…

The meta-sites

I’ve been lucky in ways that I’ve never been lucky before – and by that, I mean with previous WoW- and non-WoW blogs – with Mushan, Etc.  I’m not entirely certain why, but I’ll attempt to map out my great fortune in a way that isn’t too ponderous to read.

For a few years now, I’ve followed the Warcraft Hunters Union and the Hunting Party Podcast pretty religiously.  Occasionally, I’ve commented on Frostheim’s blog as Mushan, and have made half-assed comments in the live chat during the HPP.  Nine of ten people in those chats probably don’t recognize me in there, or know that I have a blog, but Laeleiweyn of World of Lae and the Hunterstalker page (and a diehard WHU fan like myself) was someone who took an interest in my fledgling blog, and was an early follower of my Twitter account, which was totally awesome!  From there, I eventually began to be followed by Tabana at WoW Hunters Hall, and thanks to her links, I have gotten a ton of traffic that I would have never gotten. Seriously, Tabana is responsible for the largest percentage of my page views from one source – by a long shot – given that she has spotlighted several of my posts during the past two-plus months.

And… here’s where we get to the starstruck thing.  When Tabana first linked one of my posts on WHH, I figuratively “lost my shit.”  It was an afternoon, and I had come home from an errand or walk or something, and I saw the pingback, and I was like, “Omg. O. M. G!”

I texted my friend and raid leader, Squido, with something to the effect of, “Holy shit my post got linked on WoW Hunters Hall OMG OMG!!!”  And I watched throughout the day, as I got a nice jump on the hits to my site and to that particular post, and it was one of the most exciting things that had ever happened to me as a blogger.  Since then, I’ve been linked on the WHH several more times, and each time it happens I feel a very deep gratitude to Tabana for thinking that some of the things that I write are worth sharing.

This escalated back in May when, on the eve of Diablo’s release, I wrote a post about naming cookie cutter talent builds in MoP that was graciously shared by Tabana.  Within hours after her link, I logged in to Google Reader to see that my post had been mentioned by Hugh Hancock at MMO Melting Pot.  This is what I blurted out loud (in my home, by myself) when I saw that:

“Daaaaaaaaayuummnnn…….!!!!!”

I promptly thanked him for the link in a comment on his post.  But it didn’t stop there.  The next day, the discussion was picked up by the amazing Anne Stickney of WoW Insider, and… well… folks… I just about had a heart attack.  Because seriously, what little WoW blogger like me doesn’t want to be linked by WoW Insider, and Anne Stickney in particular??

I know, right?

The text I sent to Squido that I mentioned in a previous paragraph? Well, I sent him something similar after this, maybe a bit amplified, on this occasion.

So yeah, on each occasion that I was linked by something that is generally considered a meta site or a portal, I had heart palpitations and so on.  My only multiple meta site link to this point has been WHH, but any time I get some exposure for my thoughts or ideas from a site like this, it’s a good thing.

The fellow bloggers

OK, seriously?  Fellow bloggers?

Here’s the straight deal: I’m as happy as can be whenever one of the following happens (and I’m talking about bloggers here when I say “Someone”:

1) Someone puts me on his or her blogroll;

2) Someone leaves a comment on one of my posts;

3) Someone interacts with me on Twitter;

4) Someone links one of my posts on their blog or on Twitter;

5) Someone responds to one of my comments on his/her own blog;

…in no particular order.

I mean… when Lae – someone whose blog I’ve followed for a while now –  first followed me on Twitter (as mentioned above), I thought to myself, “Shit, dude. You’re already doing better than you did in 15 months of WoW blogging back at the old blog.”  Because when I was essentially a druid blogger back then… I don’t know if I just didn’t say the correct things or what, but I rarely got attention from my blogging ‘heroes’ at the time, and when I did, it took me a while.  This may be because I’ve become involved with a different set of communities (the hunter community totally rules; plus, the ‘general WoW blogger community’ as a whole is seemingly more open nowadays) than I was back then.  But – and I don’t specifically know/remember how Lae found me – having her follow my Twitter/blog was so very reaffirming.  And things grew from there.

From that point, I’ve been fortunate to have great bloggers find me via various means – including Twitter friends / retweets, the WordPress Dashboard, through WHH and WoW Insider – and I cherish everyone who has come to consider my community input as something of an equal: Erinys, Dragonray, Lae, Spencer, Rioriel, Tabana, Tzufit, Jasyla, Lilpeanut, Justin, Cymre, Aralosseien, Alyzande, Garrosh, Zanbon, and anyone else that I can’t think of at the moment.  Each time one of these great people has friended me and/or supported me in one way or another, I’ve felt proud, privileged, and – quite frankly – awed.

The in-game friends

I only have a handful of people who follow me via the at-this-point-old-school method of ‘subscribing to a blog,’ but most of them are friends and/or guildies.  Three of them that come to mind are all close friends, and I am honored that each of them follows my blog.  It feels awesome to know that Squid, Ela and Jac are all following me and taking an interest in the things that I write about.  I talk with Jac a lot about hunters, Ela a lot about raiding and lore and other games (among other things), and Squido about hunters, raiding, other classes, blog posts and resources of interest, and just about anything else.  Each of these three have been friends of mine for years at this point, and the fact that, for instance, Jac found out about my blog because he saw me comment on a different blog that we mutually – but separately – followed was pretty amazing to me.  And each of these friends and fellow raid-mates have complimented me on the blog, and that means more than I can express.

The funny thing is, I have several other WoW friends who I play with (or have played with) that I still haven’t told about the blog.  When and if I do so, I’ll be happy as all get out when/if they take an interest in the things that I have to say here.

People that I haven’t really ‘met’ yet

If the following people would ever chance to read (and respond to) my blog, I would probably… well, I don’t know what the hell I’d do:

• Frostheim, Darkbrew, and Euripides
• Matthew Rossi
• Big Red Kitty
• Big Bear Butt
• Cynwise
• Quel
• Michele Morrow
• Fimlys and/or Hydra
• there are probably others that I can’t think of at the moment.

Not too much to be said there!

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OK, this post is winding down.  I can’t imagine that I’ve covered everyone that has made me “starstruck” with regard to the WoW blogosphere and so on.  However, I’ve covered the major points in general, and this post is getting long, so I think I’ll close.

Thanks, again, to everyone who reads this blog and finds me interesting / informative / entertaining / whatever.  I am truly honored to have each and every reader, old and new – whether you’re a fellow blogger, friend, or just an interested reader.

And thanks to all of you for giving me that ‘starstruck’ feeling by interacting with me on the blog and/or online!  Seriously – you each made me feel so blessed when you came into my blog-world!!

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Thanks for reading this post by Mushan at Mushan, Etc.  Comments are welcome!

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