I was pretty Whittle/Den Beste-ish when I started out - essays where I tried to cover all the angles... which, if I did it well, didn't leave much for people to talk about. Plus, I tend to talk about what I know (well, that went out the window during the election) and therefore it *is* a niche blog.

What I found out was if on those items where I wasn't that clear, or didn't have all the loose ends sewn up - or the posts were just funny, and encouraged participation - then I got commenters.

But I haven't been pushing that because I don't want my threads to turn into moonbat fests where everyone picks on a lunatic or loser.

I police my threads, quietly throttle back people who are getting personal instead of passionate, and I have lately been getting some good ones going - but it ain't regular.

But then I think the "bloggers blog" vice "readers blog" example would also account for some of that.

I myself, long ago, quickly ascended to large mammal status to thereafter linger there forever and ever. Still, I suppose, anything is better than being the scum floating atop the primordial ooze. ;)

And no disrespect to the 'little/young' blogs that link me - I would think advertisers would be far more interested in unique visits and pages as a metric, as that is the true measure of your impact on their ability to get something in front of someone.

In my case, I refer to it as being "boutique" - I'm somewhat famous in my group/family (bloggers) but I have limited appeal/exposure outside of that... in other words, I'm a big fish in a little pond.

Blogs like yours, on the other hand, are larger fish in a bigger ocean - and that's where I'd put my money if I was an advertiser, unless I was marketing a boutique product.