Or, do you even care?

When you think “blog community,” you probably picture like-minded people, or those bound by common interest, but not living, breathing people who live where you live. (Speaking of that, see photograph of Lynx Lake near where I live in Prescott, Arizona, at right.)

Does it matter to you if people who actually do live in your town, and whom you might even encounter in person, know about and visit your blog?

If you define and adhere to your blog’s target audience in the strictest sense, I doubt you care whether your neighbors read it.

On the other hand, if you are a community activist and your blog is your soapbox, your town is your audience.

But if you’re concerned with your blog’s page rank, you likely don’t even WANT the traffic or links from neighbors who may publish low-ranked hobby or personal blogs. And since the act of blogging transcends physical location, it may seem irrelevant to even consider the locale of those with whom you communicate while online.

Or, if you are one of those anonymous bloggers, you certainly wouldn’t want to be outed by a neighbor who discovered your identity.

But if you are somewhere in between, take a look around and see who you find. Just google your town’s name and the word “blogs.” I bet you’ll be amazed like I was when I discovered who was out there.

Think about the heart of your FIRST community for a moment:

• People you see when you’re out for a walk
• People you run into at the market
• People you see regularly at your favorite restaurants or coffee houses
• People you know from church
• People who work at your bank

Some of these people read blogs and many likely publish blogs of their own.

I have a “Prescott bloggers” folder in my blog reader, and find that visits to those blogs are almost like personal get-togethers. Reading local blogs is just neighborly. You can keep your ear to the ground about issues affecting your town, including politics, health and culture.

Our local newspaper, the Daily Courier, includes links to local bloggers in its online edition. There I have found other Prescott folks that I look forward to meeting in person next month at an area blogger meetup.

Consider the conversations (and yes, traffic) you may experience if you don’t overlook your physical community.