I like Adam’s approach of considering influence as a subjective portion of the rankings. All rankings are, ultimately, subjective in one way or another (the compiler chooses which metrics to care about, which are often in opposition to one another). But I think the list will be even better next year, when those voting on influence are the last year’s top 20 (or, will that make it worse, like a church elder board that has the power to choose their own replacements!?).
Some of the lists are the expected standards of youth ministry blogging. But I was pleased to see Tash McGill pop up from 41 last year to 16 this year. Tash is one of the only female bloggers on the list (Kara Powell of the fuller youth institute blog being the other), and one of only two non-US bloggers (the other being Ian McDonald of the UK-based youthblog). Her blog is really worth reading (she’s a great writer), and I’m glad this list will give her more exposure. I’m also a fan of Jeremy Zach (as a person, youth worker, and blogger), and glad to see his blog on the rise.
The two biggest “injustices” on the list, in my opinion, are josh griffin not being in the top 2, and the fuller youth institute blog coming in at 13, where it actually droppedfrom #5 last year. The FYI blog is, I think, the single best youth ministry blog out there. If I were creating a “blogs youth workers should read” list of my own (100% weighted on my subjective opinion), the FYI blog would be #1. I’m not sure how it could drop this year, as the content is better than ever. But I have to believe it’s because not enough people know about it, and with the addition of “influence” in Adam’s formula this year, it didn’t score high enough with those who provided the input on that factor. (There’s also a little “injustice” in people who barely ever blog at all making the list. for example, my good friend Chris Folmsbee makes the list at #8, a climb from #21 last year, but hasn’t posted since mid-march! or, how ’bout mark riddle, who rose this year also, but hasn’t posted since mid-January!)
Ultimately, whether I made the list or not, I’m glad Adam created it, because there are a few in the top 20 that I’ve never heard of — and I want to start following them.
Here’s the list — happy reading!
