Below The Beltway

The Carnival of the Vanities is almost as old as blogging itself. Blogs continue to grow in number but, tomorrow’s edition of the Canival of the Vanities will be the last:

Carnival of the Vanities is closing for lack of interest.

The four year edition was the final test. If a heavily promoted, major landmark in the life of a historic, hugely influential blogospheric institution can?t get links or traffic - not to malign those who did come through for us, thanks! - and not even from many people with a stake, then there is no hope for it week to week. It?s just another way to get links; ironically, without having to write stuff so good or provocative it would have a better chance of generating links on its own. CotV was supposed to help ensure visibility of your best, since most of us have written great stuff that sunk into the blogosphere without so much as a ripple. And links aren?t even the prestige thing they once were. Heck, it?s the readership that matters more, and CotV doesn?t bring that.

There will be one more edition; the 209th, because that was the last edition for which a host signed up. Look for that Wednesday at Lucy?s Dilemma.

I’ve submitted to the Carnival of the Vanities several times over the last year, and even hosted it once, but, to be honest, I didn’t even realize it had reached the four year mark.

James Joyner posted about the end of the COTV and made the point that blog carnivals just aren’t what they used to be. which is why he hasn’t submitted or linked to them lately:

Partly, it?s because OTB grew big enough as not to need them as a traffic gimmick. Especially since, over time, they stopped generating much traffic. Mostly, though, there are just too many blogs and too many blog carnivals out there to bother with them anymore. When the likes of Michele Catalano and the late Rob Smith were submitting every week, it was worth wading through the Carnival to see their best posts. Over time, though, the number of bad posts outweighed the good.

Dean Esmay argues that it was the COTV’s lack of focus that doomed it in the end and that its demise should not be taken as the beginning of the end of blog carnivals:

I don?t think carnivals are outmoded. I think a generic carnival like COTV is outmoded. It was designed for a much tinier blogosphere, when there just weren?t all that many of us.

Many of the specialty carnivals continue to do quite well, and to be a good way of bloggers gaining attention. I?ve picked a few that I link, and they do well. Not that they do well because of me, but the point is, they help people interested in certain specialties?like medicine, home schooling, business, etc.

Or, as in the case of the Carnival of Liberty, individual liberty. But there’s also a much broader point, and it goes to the whole issue of why people blog to begin with. If you’re contributing to or hosting carnivals for the sole purpose of seeing those visitor stats go up, you’ll most likely be disappointed. Unless you get linked by Glenn Reynolds, any bump you get it likely to be relatively small and, more importantly, temporary. If, on the other hand, you contribute or host because you like sharing ideas, I think you’ll find the many speciality carnivals that remain out there well suited to your goals.