Category: Recommended reading

Every once in a while, I think it’s a good idea to take the time to tell my readers a little about this blog, why it’s here and what it’s goals are.

The Readers

That’s you.  Readers of this blog include people from almost every country on earth, and almost every walk of life.  You range from small farmers and gardeners, to scientists and politicians.  You are rich and poor.  The UN has 197 member states, and in a typical month I get visitors from about 100 different countries.  On a 12 month basis, nearly all countries are represented.  Depending on the time of year, a typical day brings 500-1500 unique visitors.  On an annual basis I get well in excess of 100,000 unique visitors, and this number is almost always increasing over time.

Many readers come to the front page, for the latest information.  A large number of readers, about half, come across useful information in the archives when using search engines like Google.

These numbers represent my best estimate.  Increasingly people read this blog with services like Google and other commercial services, which can mask their true reading habits.  Some readers even use anonymizing services like proxies or tor routers — and you are very welcome!  It’s also not always possible to tell the difference between a real person and an Internet robot.  My estimates are based on current information, as well as past trends.

NGO

By definition, an NGO is an organization, and has more than one person.  I am principally one person behind this blog, but together with all of you I am much more than one.  In this sense I do sometimes operate as an NGO, and sometimes write letters and lobby lawmakers or organize events.  Please consider yourself a member, and tell me what direction you want your organization to take!

Goals

The goals of this blog are pretty straight forward.  I try to provide in the most useful way information relating to agricultural biodiversity, especially as this relates to small scale agriculture.  I make an effort to promote small farmers, plant breeders, seed companies and others who are employed or self-employed in agriculture, working on a small scale.  Of course I like home heirloom gardeners and seed savers too, as well as consumers!  Everyone interested in these topics are very welcome readers here.

I am not particularly a news blog, in the sense that I don’t make an effort to stay current on the latest developments and write about them.  You need to look elsewhere for a website or blog like that.  I write about what I want, when I want…

From time to time I also write completely off-topic posts.  You don’t have to read these…

How you can help and participate!

If you see something on this blog you like, share it with others!

It might surprise you, but I actually don’t spend a lot of time reading things on the Internet.  I decided long ago that I don’t have time for things like Facebook and Twitter.  Yes, I have a news reader and a few RSS feeds.  There are a few other blogs I read regularly.  Mostly I have a life to lead, and do other things besides reading the Internet.

At least half of all ‘news’ items on this blog are because someone sent me an email to tell me about it!  Please help by sending an email if you learn about something interesting!

Having said this, I don’t wish to be placed on any mailing lists without being consulted first, and given the opportunity to unsubscribe.  I value personal emails far more than bulk mailing lists!

Email

I like to hear from readers, and like to hear what you think.  In general I get a lot of email, and can spend several hours on it each week.  While a little bit of chatty email for a short time is welcome, I’m often overwhelmed with email.  If you have something to say, by all means send an email.  Please be a little patient however, if I need to cut our discussion short because I have too many other things to do — it’s nothing personal!  Email can take a lot of time.

If you’re in the mood to chat with like minded people, consider this discussion forum instead.

Comments and other General Policies

As far as comments go, pretty much everything but spam is allowed.  Certainly everyone is welcome to leave their opinion, no matter what that is.  I do have a few rules, but these don’t apply to normal people who leave normal comments, in a normal way.  Please feel free to leave comments!

I’m sometimes approached by people who want me to promote their cause, sometimes even help them raise money for it.  If it’s a topic related to this blog, I’ll try to be helpful.  This blog is non-commercial in nature, and in general it’s readers are not the giving type.  In order for a blog to be effective in raising money, it has to be written and set up for that goal from the beginning, and that’s just not what I try to do here.  You should not expect to get very much money here.

I get too many requests for links to be added to my blogroll to accept them all.  I am happy to hear from you if you have another blog, and will consider your request, but I only ever agree to a small number of these.  I also regularly go through my blogroll and remove links, so even getting into my blogroll is no guarantee.  Even if I don’t add you to my blogroll, I’ll probably mention you in a post, so please get in touch!

I don’t accept guest posts, except maybe from someone I already have some kind of blog-relationship with. I used to accept guest posts, but there is too much spam out there these days, and it’s no longer possible to sort out the good and bad offers for these posts.  I don’t answer emails offering to do guest posts.

Corporations are often very sensitive to their image on the Internet, and often pay people to keep an eye on blogs like this who say unfriendly things about them.  Especially on topics related to food, there is a lot of misinformation out there, often with the express purpose of detracting from the kinds of things I write.  I’m frequently approached and asked to present this misinformation.  For example, I write on the topic of vegetarianism, and then will be asked to embed an obviously corporately sponsored video on animal based food, that provides misinformation.  This blog is not a free speech platform, and does not take it upon itself to provide all points of view.  I do not accept requests to present information different from how I have already presented it.

Everyone is welcome to present their own point of view in the comments.

Statistics and SEO

There are many statistics available for viewing on the Internet concerning website popularity.  Almost all of these statistics can be manipulated, either by yourself or by someone else for a fee.  In fact, I would say most sites manipulate their statistics, and in my opinion this is very obvious and looks childish.  Many people think they need to manipulate these statistics in order for their website to be taken seriously, but in fact the opposite is true.

I do not personally condone the manipulation of statistics related to this blog, and I do not do this myself or pay for it.  I certainly cannot guarantee that no one else does this, as it would be easy to do.

I do perform basic SEO or Search Engine Optimization.  Searching on this term will lead you to a number of websites that explain this, and if you have any questions please ask.  Basically this is a process of optimizing your site for search engines, so they can more efficiently match you with people looking for the information you offer.  This in turn means your site ends up with more visitors.

Donations and Advertising

I don’t knowingly put up irrelevant commercial links.  I don’t accept any advertising, overt or embedded, and I don’t accept any payment for writing posts.

This blog values it’s independence!

I don’t depend for survival on donations from readers, but donations are welcome.  You shouldn’t feel pressured in any way to make a contribution!

If you would like to make a small donation, consider doing this through Flattr.  You can use Flattr to either make a one time donation, or regular monthly donations.  With Flattr you can either make the donation with your name, or do it anonymously.  Even very small contributions are welcome.  Even if it doesn’t make a huge difference to my pocketbook, it’s nice to be appreciated by my readers.  You will pay some fees to use Flattr, and if you would prefer to write a US check in dollars, or make a direct deposit to my European (Euro) bank account, let me know.

I don’t knowingly accept donations from from individual, foundation or corporate interests who are opposed to the goals of this blog, or who wish to materially influence it’s direction.  Having said this, if you’re inclined to make a larger donation to help this blog, please get in touch and lets talk.  I don’t have any sort of tax exempt status, you are just giving money to a person, need to pay tax accordingly, or we need to make other arrangements.

As an alternative to direct funding, I’m also open to discussion on funded joint projects, that are consistent with the goals of this blog.