While the VA Blog Carnival is a “hot topic” this week, I think it’s a good opportunity to address some of the  strengths and shortcomings of the original one.  Did you know the VBC was originally crafted NOT to increase hits and not to push political agendas, but to serve as a “slice of life in Virginia?”

Many weeks I didn’t submit because I hadn’t written anything political.  I just recently learned that political blogs WEREN’T a requirement.  Nope - it’s for posts about life, quilts, cancer, politics, preserves, baseball, kids . . . anything related to life in our commonwealth.  It’s a place for readers outside of our state boundaries to come read about us.  For this reason, I think it’s paramount to “put our best blogging feet forward.”  People can read about bickering political factions in their own state, they won’t visit our Carnival.

Thomas Krehbiel is right:

“I don’t submit to blog carnivals because I realize it’s a lot of work to host them and I’m too lazy to get involved in that. And I generally don’t link to things unless I’m referring to it in my post.”

The Carnival IS a lot of work so I think the steps we take now will produce a better product in the long run. It IS difficult to know how and when and to whom to submit our entries.  Unless I get an e-mail from the host/hostess asking for a submission, it often slips my mind.

We need a centralized site for the carnival - one with a calendar and ONE “holding tank” for submitted blogs.

Full disclosure: I am a “newbie Blogger.”  I helped Emeril host a Carnival in June of ‘06 and it was a lot of fun, despite storms knocking us off the internet and being three days late posting it.  I offered to host the Carnival this week (thus causing my cable internet to leave me for a day and a half) but SWAC Girl is graciously the hostess instead.  I THINK I’m hosting next week.  If so, please send your submissions to me at: badrose@mac.com  (please put VBC in the subject line of your e-mail!)

I hope that the Virginia Blog Carnival will “live long and prosper” and that we can continue to show the world that despite our differences, Virginia is the best place to live.  If there is anything I can do to help see this happen, I’m down.  Even if it means sacrificing my internet connection from time to time.