Well... not exactly as this blogger put it. But close enough.
This is a fairly content rich blog... (by design), considering the fact that i'm using a standard blogger platform. So writing just for myself sometimes feels like a waste of my time. Although I mainly do this because it's cathartic and because I like to feel engaged with what's going on in the World.
Traffic for this site is dead. I don't bother looking at stats anymore... This site plateaued back in mid-late 2007. Blogs on generic platforms often get to a certain level and then they tend to plateau. In addition to the platform, the other issue seems to be the kind of content on the site....not so much the quality. The quality of the stuff here is o.k. as far as i'm concerned. Granted, I don't have the time to really dig like I used to in order to find rare interviews, video content, etc. But I have seen blogs with fairly poor or mediocre content that pull in massive amounts of readers and feedback.
I could make this a Race blog...or a Black issues only kind of thing... that would increase traffic a bit. But I refuse to do that for reasons I have already mentioned many times. It would also help if I could play music as I once did....although that didn't garner much feedback either. I wish the American Mafia (the RIAA) had something better to do than literally pimp recording artists out of their money, while preventing music education and the exploration of mostly 20-30 year old material from almost forgotten musicians. That was half the reason for starting the blog. I see this blog mostly as a chore now...because I don't really enjoy it like I used to. Limited feedback only makes it worse.
There's only so much I can do with a generic platform and no resources. I could pay tons of money for premium Google placement... but I don't have the funds, and I wouldn't choose that route anyway. I think blogs, like newspapers or magazines, should sink or swim based on the content.
I hope to replace the generic header...something that I have been meaning to get around to. But life often gets in the way. I may have to pay for that to be done...since I don't want to screw up my frontpage trying to do it myself.
Something that my few readers might not be aware of.... I have been working on a broken computer for over a year....no funds to replace it. Yep... i'm broke. I was broke before the Depression started (Yes you could say my College Degrees have been a waste of money... I often joke with co-workers... telling them that my degrees would serve me better as scratch paper). But the broken PC has meant that I work even harder to post. The process is often a pain in the neck even with a fully functioning system.... Folks don't know how hard it is to try to come up with semi-interesting analysis and topic ideas every few days. The other bloggers put in a good effort as well.
I admit that some of the topics are boring because they deal with policy nonsense. Folks don't want to read that stuff. But I find it interesting.... blame the nerd in me. I hope to do more original posting (as opposed to relying on newspaper sites). But that takes more time... time I don't have. But I have noticed that even when I do more original posting (my own stories, or providing my own commentary/analysis on an issue...rather than news clips)... there is no change in traffic or feedback. I get Z-E-R-O.
I'm going to try to take a few weeks off to concentrate more on my continuous job search, which has not been going too well. This blog is causing my migraines to flare up.
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5 comments:
Well, you know my feelings on you changing the focus of the blog. I wouldn't like it.
I know you're looking for something permanent. For a temporary job, have you thought about taking the Census Test?
Good Luck with the job hunt. Shit is rough everywhere (without the degrees.) Go get it!
I'll say it right now_I greatly Appreciate this site and the sacrifices made to keep it going!
MOA is an Intelligent, "content-rich" blog which has always been its strongest appeal to me.
H*ll, IMO:
The biggest reason this country finds itself on the precipice of total collapse is because, for at least the past 15-20 years, the majority of Americans:
1. became intellectually LAZY.
2. willingly allowed themselves to be "dumb-down" to the point where even boderline intellectully functioning POSEURS like Reagan and G. Dubya were able to PLAY Americans for FOOLS.
3. granted BLIND trust to the government (Republicrats) which have literally been in bed with Wall Street and the "rich" for as long as anybody can remember.
But I digress.
I wish you much Success in finding a good job AI.
Its tough to get people to put their opinions in writing on any blog. I'm not sure why people don't comment, but I don't think you should write for others. Write what interests you. If they read, great, if not, also great. Good luck. And Happy April Fools.
I don't know what it is with this obsession with comments you seem to have as of late, but I don't consider the number of responses an indication of how successful or valuable your blog is. For as long as I been a reader, this has been one of my favorite joints. I'm sure that many other people would echo my sentiments (besides, unless you personally visited your own site over 368,000 times, I would say you have somewhat of a following).
But if the lack of comments is your greatest cause for concern regarding your work on this blog, allow me to offer two cents. This is yours to do whatever you want with it.
(1) For starters, considering the "content rich" nature of your blog - chalked full of viable sources that cover a lot of ground - readers are often left with little else to add to the discussion. So you will either have dozens of people leaving comments saying "I agree, AI"...or you have people going commentless. An absence of comments does not necessarily translate into an absence of readership.
(2) Your posts, while very well written and thoroughly researched, are usually trumped by the subjectivity (often harsh) you display in your comment sections. Voices of dissent are usually painted as 'idiots' who 'haven't checked the facts' or who are 'incapable of intellectual thought' (I'm not suggesting you'd said anything of these things, but your responses to dissenting voices using has this sort of vibe). It's sort of like Bill Maher. The whole "I'm smarter than everybody else, I'm always right, and my sources are so much more reliable and well researched than yours" thing repels folks far more than they attract them, even if it's true. Not opening up the floor for unprosecuted discussion could be one of the reasons why your responses aren't where you'd like them to be. This one I had to learn myself, seeing as though I'm often guilty of being too mean with people with whom I disagree.
I remember once when - as a slangish term of endearment - I called you "dawg". At that point, you handed me my ass for it; suggesting that I was calling you a K-9. Fortunately, people like me have thick enough cybernetic skin to take those public beatings. But many others are not as thick-skinned. Simply put, if your joint is not inviting, don't expect a flood of comments to go rushing through your blog.
All of this notwithstanding, I ultimately agree with T3FLON. More than anything else, this blog should be a reflection of your interests. If people subscribe to it, all the more power to you. But if you did not receive one more comment on your blog, you should still consider it worthwhile. Do you.
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