{"id":75729,"date":"2024-08-06T06:00:20","date_gmt":"2024-08-06T10:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=75729"},"modified":"2024-08-07T07:44:41","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T11:44:41","slug":"blog-news-cranach-is-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2024\/08\/blog-news-cranach-is-8\/","title":{"rendered":"BLOG NEWS: Cranach is #8!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

According to Artificial Intelligence, the Cranach blog that you are now reading is the 8th best Christian blog!\u00a0 OK, let me explain. . . .<\/p>\n

My fellow Patheos blogger Adrian Warnock, a British physician and Christian author, has been defending the genre of the \u201cpersonal Christian blog,\u201d one written by an individual person rather than a website of an organization.\u00a0 He says<\/a> that \u201cChristian blogs are far from dead,\u201d which I guess some people have been saying, and that<\/a> they are a valuable \u201csource for personal insights, spiritual inspiration, practical advice, and biblical insights,\u201d giving \u201cencouragement through life\u2019s challenges, personal growth ideas, and relatable stories from fellow believers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Whereupon he assembled a large list of working Christian blogs and devised criteria for ranking them.\u00a0 He then asked the AI tool ChatGPT<\/a> to apply the criteria to the blogs, giving each one a score and ranking them accordingly.\u00a0 Here are the benchmarks, from Top Personal Christian Blogs:\u00a0 Ranked by AI Composite Score<\/a>:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u201cPersonal Stories and Vulnerability (20%)<\/strong>: How well does the blog share personal experiences and show vulnerability?<\/li>\n
  2. Biblical Insights (20%)<\/strong>: How deep and insightful are the biblical reflections and teachings?<\/li>\n
  3. Consistency and Engagement (20%)<\/strong>: How frequently is new content posted, and how engaged is the author with their audience?<\/li>\n
  4. Community and Support (10%)<\/strong>: Does the blog foster a sense of community and offer support to its readers?<\/li>\n
  5. Relevance and Relatability (10%)<\/strong>: How relevant and relatable is the content to current issues and everyday life?<\/li>\n
  6. Inspirational Content (10%)<\/strong>: How inspiring is the content for readers seeking encouragement?<\/li>\n
  7. External Validation and Influence (10%)<\/strong>: What kind of recognition or influence does the blog have within the broader Christian community?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    He then asked ChatGPT to list the Top 40 and to write a brief description<\/em> of each one.\u00a0 Here are the top two:<\/p>\n

    1. Dave Armstrong \u2013 Biblical Evidence for Catholicism<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 Score: 89<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u201cDave is known for his blog \u201cBiblical Evidence for Catholicism,\u201d where he provides in-depth theological discussions and apologetics, making complex religious concepts accessible to a broad audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

    2<\/strong>. Ann Voskamp \u2013\u00a0A Holy Experience<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 Score: 88<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u201cAnn, a farmer\u2019s wife, combines poetic prose with deep biblical insights on her blog \u201cA Holy Experience.\u201d She offers a sanctuary of encouragement and spiritual reflection from a contemplative and evangelical approach, resonating deeply with readers seeking inspiration and grace in everyday life.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    And here is how ChatGPT ranked Cranach and what it said about us:<\/p>\n

    8. Gene Veith \u2013 Cranach: The Blog of Veith<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 Score: 78<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u201cGene offers insights into culture, education, and theology from a Lutheran perspective. His academic background and clear writing style make his blog both informative and engaging.\u201d<\/p>\n

    I got a C+!\u00a0 I\u2019ll take that.\u00a0 I probably got marked down on \u201cshowing vulnerability.\u201d\u00a0 But what kind words from ChatGPT, which has evidently forgotten or forgiven the bad things I have said about it (e.g., here<\/a> and here<\/a>).\u00a0 Now we see not only Artificial Intelligence but Artificial Taste!<\/p>\n

    UPDATE:\u00a0 Now Cranach is listed as #9, but with a higher grade of 80.\u00a0 The AI must still be live.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Another thing:\u00a0 How does ChatGPT have access to my blog?\u00a0 Is it a subscriber?\u00a0 If so, does it take the ad-free option?<\/p>\n

    Seriously, though I feel ridiculously gratified by appearing on this list, I do recognize its limits.\u00a0 Adrian has set the algorithms according to what he<\/em> likes in a blog.\u00a0 Other readers would weigh these criteria differently and would have criteria of their own.\u00a0 Still, this is an interesting list.\u00a0 Adrian\u2019s blog came in at #5.\u00a0 There are quite a few Catholics and progressives.\u00a0 Patheos writers are well-represented.\u00a0 See the complete list here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    I\u2019m intrigued that the AI technology can now take on evaluative<\/em> tasks, as long as the standards are clearly spelled out.\u00a0 I\u2019m curious, though, how it does that.\u00a0 How does it recognize \u201cdeep and insightful\u201d Biblical reflections?\u00a0 How does it measure how \u201cinspiring\u201d a blog is to its readers?<\/p>\n

    At any rate, I salute Adrian for his creative and quite useful application of AI technology, which has put me on to some good-sounding blogs that I wasn\u2019t aware of.<\/p>\n

    Towards that end, Adrian has devised another clever and useful piece of technology:\u00a0 a widget that gives a brief up-to-the-minute summary of the latest posts from the top blogs, including some beyond the top 40!<\/p>\n

    He gives the code that you can paste into your RSS reader so that the summaries appear on your own website or blog.\u00a0 Or you can bookmark his post Are Christian Blogs Dead?\u00a0 Why I Still Identify as a Blogger<\/a> (scroll down to the end) to see the continually updated summaries.<\/p>\n

    I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll be consulting that site just to see what topics are being discussed on the blogosphere and what issues churches from a wide range of traditions are facing.\u00a0 And I\u2019m glad that Cranach is in the mix.<\/p>\n

    UPDATE:\u00a0 Adrian has done something similar with organization blogs, those with multiple authors representing a particular ministry.\u00a0 The rankings are here<\/a>.\u00a0 The widget with the continual updates of the blogs\u2019 content is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    ILLUSTRATION:\u00a0 I\u2019ve been using versions of Cranach\u2019s seal, a bit of heraldry featuring a crowned dragon with a ring that Lucas Cranach used to sign his paintings, to go with our special posts, \u201cMonday Miscellany\u201d and Friday\u2019s weekend \u201cDiscussions.\u201d\u00a0 Last week I used another one for \u201cBlog News,\u201d explaining about what I learned about our Disqus commenting software.\u00a0 This week we have another bit of \u201cBlog News,\u201d so I might make that an occasional feature, illustrated with this color version of Cranach\u2019s seal, which we used to use as our logo when this blog was young.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Adrian Warnock has devised a set of criteria for Christian blogs and has asked the Artificial Intelligence application ChatGPT to apply them and to rank the blogs accordingly. Cranach came in at #8! (Other Patheos blogs also did well.) He has also designed a widget that gives brief summaries of what the top blogs are posting about. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":70406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,34,44],"tags":[15015,218,15012,2411],"class_list":["post-75729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-personal","category-technology","tag-adrian-warnock","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-christian-blogs","tag-cranach-blog"],"yoast_head":"\nBLOG NEWS: Cranach is #8!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Adrian Warnock has devised a set of criteria for Christian blogs and has asked the Artificial Intelligence application ChatGPT to apply them and to rank the blogs accordingly. Cranach came in at #8! (Other Patheos blogs also did well.) 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