Is there a turf war among bloggers? Do we protect our niche with the ferocity of inner city bangers? Gangs are no laughing matter - they are a violent, abhorrent part of our society. This is why I cringe a little when I ask, do bloggers have gang tendencies?

John Chow of the MMTs (Money Making Thugs) challenged Shoemoney in the recent past to a showdown for the most RSS subscribers. The classic turfwar was on. Who could amass the largest gang to lay the smack down on the other? In the end, Shoemoney was victorious.

Bloggers tend to belong to many different blogging networks, like mybloglog.com, blogcatalog.com, blogrush, entrecard to name a few. This natural instinct to survive by joining a group connects bloggers to that gang mentality. And those with killer instincts know that the middle of the pack serves as the best protection.

While a blogging network does not bring up images of Scarfaceto most, it can help you survive in this vast blogosphere. How else can we get the word out to our prospective audience? We need these services to survive. Otherwise, we’re out cold on a street corner, looking to re-up (been watching too much The Wire).

The John Chow vs. Shoemoney RSS feed contest may seem like a common contest, but in reality it was a marketing ploy for each of them to gain massive new subscribers. I’m sure they both benefited from their RSS feeds climbing so quickly.

This post, while tongue in cheek, should provide bloggers with a key understanding - we are all better in a group. We’re stronger with our homies at our back. Let’s face it - there’s been a blogger who has helped your blog immensely since you first started out in the biz. Someone who helped you fix your faulty css, create your logo, install a difficult plugin, or just link back to you from a post.

You betta recognize!

I read a day or two ago (God knows where - thanks Entrecard!) about a blogger who refused to link to his competitors, even though they were friends and he enjoyed their writing. He was afraid his readers would slink away in the night to read his competition’s writing and then never return. I’m here to tell you - if they go, then you need to step it up. Stop sheltering and start supporting your readers. Let them know what’s out there. You can’t shield them from the harsh world of the blogosphere forever.

What am I saying? I’m saying we need each other. We can’t worry about what colors the other bloggers are wearing. We must focus on our similarities and work together to survive. Regardless of rank, we can all benefit from link love, a helpful comment about stylistic material, a favorite in tehnorati, a digg, or a simple comment on a post.

Represent Bloggers! Do something for someone who helped you out recently or even when you first started out blogging. It won’t go unnoticed.