So, you want to hear about the pseudo-scientific voodoo behind the chart? So be it.

Selection

The blogs were selected for inclusion by combining whatever I happened to know with a cross-reference of five key sources:

• http://www.evancarmichael.com/Tools/Top-50-Productivity-Blogs-2009.htm
• http://www.pluginid.com/personal-development/
• http://www.urbanmonk.net/127/personal-development-blogs-the-master-list/
• http://www.insightwriter.com/2008/11/13/mega-list-personal-development-blogs/
• http://www.mrselfdevelopment.com/2009/08/2009s-top-50-personal-development-blogs/

Thanks for these, guys! I included a blog if it appeared on two or more of these lists, then did slight trimming based on overall fit and the estimated…

Browser traffic

The traffic figures are pulled from compete.com and alexa. From compete, the monthly unique visitors were averaged across the last twelve months (excluding its odd months that mysteriously only had, say, 40 visitors) The alexa figures are the 3-month percentage of total internet users multiplied by the estimate of total internet users provided from internetworldstas.com. The figure in the table is the average of the two estimates, divided by 1,000. I’ve learned from my brethren that these sites have kooky inaccuracies–and only measure browser traffic as opposed to subscriptions–which is HUGE. Alas, I was just trying to get a rough order of magnitude understanding, which I kinda did, and the extra dimension just allows for more fun in 2.0!

Chart positioning

So, this part is admittedly arbitrary. I read a few posts and scanned each blog and threw an estimate on there. My post sampling could be misrepresentative, or I might have totally been in a different brain state, making these kinda squishy.

Improvements

If you have tips/suggestions for improving 2.0, please share. And if there’s a rocking blog that should be there and isn’t, please share that also! And if you’re fellow blogger who’s encountered me here, I still do have a few advance copies of Team Up for review. Get ‘em while they’re still available!

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