Go Clipless is joining the 9rules Network. Yup...That's right. GC was one of 111 sites selected from the 700 applications 9rules received in it's latest submission round. It's quite an honor.
So what is the 9rules Network? According to 9rules:
We highlight the very best web content in the world, and package it in a nice bow for you to unwrap.
That's a pretty bold statement. I like bold statements, so I'll go with it. Especially because it now behooves me to do so.
Actually there are some really great independent blogs in the 9rules community. If you have interest in business or technology you may already be reading some 9rules blogs like Guy Kawasaki's or Kathy Sierra's - Creating Passionate Users. Despite being business, technology, and design heavy, the network boasts several other communities that it wishes to grow.
Presumably GC was selected for the sports category (they don't seem to have a category for perverted innuendo), of which there are only three sites. A quick glance at the incoming 111 shows that a few more sports related blogs are joining the network. I'll be the lone cycling blog, however, so I'll try my best to represent.
It'll be interesting to see how being a part of the network affects this site. I don't plan on doing anything differently. At least not that I anticipate. I suppose there will be more readers coming to the site having discovered it through 9rules. I look at it this way - most of you that read this site and other sites in the bicycle blogosphere are already obsessed with biking. There are tons more people that have an interest in cycling but haven't yet found the passion. Maybe some of those people are surfing the other blogs in the 9rules network and stumble upon something they find interesting here. Maybe they will become a regular reader and maybe they too will become passionate. And, maybe that's a stretch, but hey, we shall see.
Either way...like I said...nothing changes. I do this for fun...I do this to learn. Besides, a big part of the reason for this blog's selection into the network is due to you. No that's not a corny/sappy way of saying thank you to the "little people" like they do in the academy awards. One of the criteria that was emphasized during the selection process was the level of engagement by the readers. Not just the quantity of comments, but the quality of the discussion. I thank you for the comments you provide, even if you give me back the same innuendo I sometimes dole out to you...it's all good. It's all fun.
Ok...I'll stop droning on. I'll let you know how things go and maybe some of you can join me in the next 9rules submission round. Then we'll take the community by storm.
