Results of the Pam's House Blend Reader Survey, March 2011

Here's what you all had to say (shot of the first page of the report, which is up on Scribd. Lots of pie charts and graphical representations of your answers are in it. A lot of the information surprised me, particularly the gender breakdown -- the proportion of gay men clicking over to read PHB is way high.

The text-based answers to two questions can be read more clearly as PDFs: Click over to see: "In what areas does the Blend need improvement, and "What impact, if any, would there be if the Blend were to shut down?" Pam's House Blend's Reader Survey: Final March 2011

My comments about the survey are below the fold.

The Blend needs a design overhaul. I'm with you on that one. It is tired, too busy and dated. I need to get off of Soapblox and onto another platform. My problem is that I have no time to deal with the backend at this point, and don't have the scratch to get it done with the conversion needed for the Soapblox db. Any Blender designers and programmers willing to help a gal out for the cause?!

Content: Most are satisfied with the content and coverage, with the format of news excerpts with barista commentary (449) the most popular blog format for most readers. A vast majority (337) want to see more long-form essays on news events and policy. Suggestions: more international LGBT coverage, more breaking news coverage. On the latter, I'm definitely hampered by having the necessary day job (with most of my posts written at night).

Torn about Trans issues. Most of the non-trans readers appreciated the coverage on the Blend, with a few saying there's too much trans coverage. Based on the feedback, Autumn's blogging and activism polarizes the trans community to an extent. I don't think that will change in the least based on the behavior of those most in disagreement with her. After all it's hard not to notice that almost every trans-related post (by anyone) garners tons of comments, many hostile, and those threads require much more moderation. There was expression by non-trans readers that they are tiring of the predictable bickering that goes nowhere and gets personal fast. Speaking of that...

You want to keep moderated comments. It seems we're doing a decent job, but not what you'd like to see. Sadly, the time requirements required to earn a gold star in this area are impossible for me to handle with all of my obligations needed to keep the coffeehouse open. There is plenty of feedback that Blender commenters are too insular and hostile. You all need to police yourselves more, and be more gracious to newbies.

You want the Blend to continue in some form. While I didn't ask this as a Yes/No question, most of you are not happy with my idea of shutting down the blog as a viable option. It wasn't a trivial question at all. I've been doing this since July 2004, with few breaks (mostly because of illness), and even with the most prosperous advertising year (2008), I certainly couldn't quit the job that puts a roof over my head. And I have the job in the family with anti-discrimination protections, another reason for the lack of flexible options for me. That's why I'm thankful for the baristas and Blenders who contribute interesting and varied content from around the country. That model of authorship has always made the coffeehouse interesting. But for those who are particularly interested in seeing more content from me, I feel for you; I wish I could do this full-time, but no one has come up with a sustainable model that allows editorial freedom. Someone may figure this out, but don't see it happening in my blogtime; it's a problem that has been on the table for progressive blogs generally, never mind a niche blog that doesn't take skin ads. (BTW, bonus points for the respondent that said they wanted no ads on PHB! LOL.) Everyone likes to get things for free.

So, I'm keeping the option of shutting it down on the table, people. Putting tips in the jar won't make a difference; it really comes down to time. I don't see how I can ramp up for 2012 coverage, help with the marriage amendment battle in my state, hold down my day job, produce content for the blog, and work a third job I now have. No Más.

The blogosphere would lose my particular perspective as a black lesbian from the South, but I'm sure someone would eventually step in to fill the void, or at least I hope that someone will. I'm not unique at all, just an early adopter whose audience grew over time.

Perhaps the Blend has been successful on some level, but I still encounter very myopic views of the community because of regional, gender, and racial bias, not out of malice, but from simply not knowing that there may be another POV, or, in many cases, not knowing how to handle a hot-button issue at all because of real or perceived blowback for not feeling that a "dumb" question can be asked. More people need to pick up better communication skills in this area to advance our movement.

The other problem, as we see on the MSM, is that the go-to people representing LGBT USA are still usually gay, white men. The Blend hasn't made much too headway with that problem. I don't see that really changing in my blogtime, as most of those on the outside are not earning a living as an activist or within the gay-for-pay arena. That's renders the available pool of more diverse voices silent, again not out of direct bias, but because there isn't a sustainable infrastructure or motivation to make it a priority.

Maybe I'll write a book about my experience as a citizen journalist one day...if I ever carve out the time to do it, lol.Anyway, off my soapbox; start commenting on your reactions to the survey.