I want to begin my post (a column for the internet that does not go into print and allows comments with the reader and author – that is my definition) by saying that I am humbled and honored to have my blog read by anyone! Kiss My Gumbo is a fun blog and will continue to stay in that direction. I will not discuss politics here, but just life and everything Louisiana and New Orleans while looking at it with my Princess of Positive glasses on! THANK YOU AUDIENCE!!! Nothing is more rewarding than someone telling me they enjoy my sometimes inane and sometimes sane ramblings tainted with my warped sense of humor. I take responsibility and pride about what I write, how I behave in the blogosphere (real world) and how I treat other bloggers. I’m not new to the blogging game (started October 14, 2004 to be exact) and have enjoyed every minute of it (or I wouldn’t do it). It is a hobby, turned passion, turned lifestyle turned door-opener. The NOLA.com gig was the icing on the cake for my new life in Louisiana as I was already a veteran blogger when I arrived in January of 2007. I think I have proven my dedication and passion over the past year by offering fresh content on an almost daily basis (once in awhile life gets in the way) and my intentions are to share my happiness and love of my new home.

Another thing that fell into my lap when I got to LA, was the offer to become an editor for Blognetnews “BNN” for both the LA & NOLA listings (one of my many jobs without pay). The owner, Dave Mastio, had previously done a listing for my Cotillion community and I loved using that (a no-brainer to read 50 blogs in one spot) – so why the hell not do it? It would help make the LA blogosphere a whole bunch stronger and allowed me to dig up as many blogs as I could find and have them in one handy dandy place to read them all (lazy blog reading). Yes, it took hours to find all the blogs (with the help of other LA bloggers), enter them to the system and classify them – but so what?

Yesterday, the inspiration for this post started with a Twitter note from my blogging friend from NOLA NOTES. She asked me what I thought about the BNN mommy blogger kerfuffle. Well, I am on vacation and anyways, really don’t pay too much attention to any blog “drama.” I have flown under the radar for a long time and maybe that is the reason I have always enjoyed blogging – because for the most part I am troll free. The last troll I knew, was someone who I invited to be a contributor (may he rest in peace) on one of my other blogs. I lost a bunch of readers when I took him on, but who cares – it is JUST A DAMN BLOG!!! Back to the subject…

Yes, some bloggers make money, but most of those blogs defy the small interpersonal blog that the majority of us run. There are too many blogs too count and I am too lazy to tell you how many are out there at this current minute (and MySpaces generally do not count as blogs). Most bloggers blog because they want to. They create a blog community for blogs they frequent and often comment. Those blogs in turn read their blog and comment – and there you have a blog community with some very powerful friendships. People blog for various reasons and about various subjects – you name it – there is a blog for it! I get e-mails all the time from bloggers wanting to start a blog and I am happy to help them out. Hey – you gotta start somewhere! Many blogs die a quick death as many tire easily of their new hobby and then there are some that take blogging seriously, as a profession or second profession and some that just take themselves way too seriously (we all know some of those people in real life).

So let’s get back to all the brewhaha that lead me to this post. Some mommy bloggers got their panties all in a bind when they realized that someone like me, had spent hours of their time classifying and listing their blogs in the BNN directory that was ultimately created by Dave Mastio (a guy I really respect). This directory runs off a blog’s RSS feed (real simple syndicate). RSS is a way that the content of the blog appears somewhere else. Now there are evil RSS content scrapers who steal my content on a daily basis based on a key word and a false website that is purely for pimping a product (that is a whole different story)! As a veteran blogger, I have succumb to the notion that I really don’t give a rat’s ass how people read my blog, as long as they read it. Does it increase the number of hits directly to my main blog which has ads that earn me about 30 cents a day or less? NOPE. Thank goodness I am not in this game to feed my family and I look at is as an honor for anyone to list me in an RSS directory and maybe make me a favorite or even subscribe to my RSS feed (which also does not have ads).

So the bloggers who worked themselves into a tizzy over this have options if they don’t want their precious content on a service like BNN. They can simply ask to have it removed and it will magically disappear or they can turn off their RSS feed. Sounds pretty simple to anyone with common sense and a practical approach to life. But noooo… no matter what you do, there is always someone looking for a fight (can you believe a local blogger was publicly accusing me of leaving off sites from the BNN listings? Egg in his face, because every one he accused me of leaving out was listed – D’OH)! You see, when I took on this job, my only agenda was to create lazy reading for myself and the rest of the world, so more people could appreciate all the Louisiana blogs out there! But we all know, there are people who look at the glass as half-empty and we all should feel sorry for them. These are the type of people the Princess of Positive tries to stay away from because we all know anger, hatred, pessimism and personal unhappiness can become contagious in a NY minute! You know the happy path I have chosen and I will continue to spread it to you on my blog. And honestly, however you read my blog – thanks. But, if you ever want to stop by my main blog and read all the lagniappe – you are always welcome, even if you exhibit any of the personal qualities I do not express on my blog. Who knows, maybe I will bring someone over to the “Positive Side???” I love Kiss My Gumbo and I hope you do too!

*** yes, this post can be found at NOLA.com and my personal blog.