In theory, this should work.

Check Google Zeitgeist, find out what the most popular search terms are, then blog about them.

If you blog intelligently about these topics instead of just tossing the phrases in randomly, you might actually have people bookmark you as being hip & trendy.

Just like the all nude Avril Lavigne.

Posted by: Harvey at 06:06 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Blogson and rusty trumpetee _Jon of We Swear is ruminating on the topic of closing comments.

I don't have a problem with closing comments to avoid spammers & trolls. The blogosphere tends to run on a 24-hour cycle, traffic-wise - the bulk of your comments will come within one day of posting.

Personally, I have a 168-hour cycle, but that's rather atypical.

Anyway, even for a post that gets passed around all over the place, it's pretty much done getting legitimate traffic after 3 or 4 days. After that, the only person's feelings you're hurting by closing comments are spammers.

And mine, but THOSE obviously don't count anyway :-P

So go ahead and close comments at your discretion. Blogging is something you should do for yourself, and if leaving comments open is sucking the joy out of the experience, then close them.

Posted by: Harvey at 08:20 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Calimus of Technography points out that Microsoft is working on making Word more blogger-friendly.

Too little, too late, but good on 'em, I suppose.

I stopped using Word a couple years ago. My Bad Money blog is littered with "?" from their &*%$ing proprietary quotes, apostrophes, & ellipses.

I curse them all and their illegitimate progeny.

I'm strictly a NoteTab Light kinda guy now. And on the rare occasions when I *do* compose in something else, I copy & paste it into NTL, which cleans all the crap out of it and gives me nice, plain, unformatted text.

Mostly I don't bother with spell-check since most of my typos are homonyms and skipped words, which wouldn't get spotted anyway. On the rare occasions that I don't know how to spell a word, I just Google it with my best guess. If I get the [definition] link on the top-right of the page, I know I spelled it right.

Meanwhile, if I weren't such a cheap bastard, I'd shell out the $10 to upgrade to NoteTab Standard, which includes a spellcheck feature, but I'm not wasting good beer money on something I'll hardly ever use.

Posted by: Harvey at 02:29 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Blogdaughter Teresa of Technicalities brings up the topic of feeling a little hurt when your friends don't visit your blog & comment, even though they've been commenting elsewhere.

Being a guy, I'm less susceptable to this whole "feeling" thing, but not completely immune. And for those on my blogroll who may wonder where I've been & why I never stop by, I'll explain it like this.

I've got a HUGE list of regular reads (Annoying Neighbors & Bloggers I've Met), and there came a point where I simply couldn't make the rounds every day any more. I'm currently on a 7-day cycle - I usually start at the top of Annoying Neighbors on Monday, and finish the last of the Bloggers I've Met on the weekend. How fast I go in the middle depends on the vagaries of random mood swings & real-life time-demands.

Now, I'm pre-disposed to comment when I stop by. If your post inspires even a short, smartass remark, I'll likely leave it. However, sometimes I'm tired or just uninspired, and I've got nothing to say, so instead of forcing it, I'll just move on and hope that I get noticed in the referer logs. It's not personal, it's just that sometimes Bosco's out carousin', and the pointy-stick-o-inspiration is nowhere to be found.

Anyway, just wanted you to know that if you're on my list, you DO get read at least weekly. Sometimes more often, if I'm following a link from somewhere else, but always once somewhere in that 7-day period.

Posted by: Harvey at 06:22 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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I'm on Blogs With A Face!

I'll be the Bad Example Clan banner. By special arrangement with the host, if you're a member of the Bad Example Clan, mention it when you send in your picture, and Thomsen (the brilliant and talented host of the site) will put you in my row (or somewhere to my right, at least, depending on your screen resolution).

[Hat tip: American Digest]

Posted by: Harvey at 12:52 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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(Following up on this post)

How?

Be brief, be polite, and only submit links that clearly fit the high-traffic blog's theme. Ask yourself, "am I certain that [high-traffic blogger's] readers would be interested in this?"

Also, don't be offended if you don't hear back. Your e-mail was very likely read, but only so many of the dozens or hundreds received every day can be responded to. Don't take it personally. It's just that there are only so many hours in a day that can be spent writing, and those have to be split between answering e-mails & blogging.

SUBJ:What's the best way to send an e-mail that you'll read? (short, no reply required)

First, please forgive the unsolicited e-mail, but I'm doing some research for a post on blogging, and I'm hoping you can help me.

Someone recently remarked to me that bloggers with high-traffic sites don't read e-mails from - or link to - anyone except other high traffic bloggers. I don't think that's true. I think it's more a matter of having a tactful approach, and I wrote a post saying as much:

http://badexample.mu.nu/archives/166595.php

Now, I'm sure you have other subjects to write about, and if you have no interest in this topic, I understand completely, so there's no need to act on this e-mail at all if you don't want to.

However, it occurs to me that you probably get dozens of annoying "please link this" e-mails every day. Discussing my post would give you a perfect excuse to school your readers on the art of sending you short, on-topic, useful e-mails instead of rambling junk - a topic that would normally be off-theme for your blog.

Whether you decide to link to my post or not, you have my express permission to quote this e-mail in full or in part.

I thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Harvey Olson
Bad Example
http://badexample.mu.nu/

Since this experiment was all about site traffic, I did NOT limit myself based on a blog's political leanings, so I tapped a few of the big left-wing bloggers, too, as well as a couple blogs devoted to celebrity gossip.

However, I was most interested in seeing whether a "cold-calling" e-mail technique would work, so I *did* go out of my way to avoid bloggers who might actually recognize me and link me as a personal favor, thus no Blackfive, IMAO, or Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler.

Here's what happened:

Protein Wisdom - Replied promptly, saying he *does* read e-mails and responds if he has time.

AMERICAblog - Prompt reply, and I found one passage particularly enlightening as to why high-traffic blogs sometimes seem to be a closed society "I usually rely on emails from my readers for suggestions for links. And, big surprise, they usually send me links from the top blogs."

For some reason, I'd failed to consider that blogless readers send links, too, but I can certainly see how 10 e-mails that say "Look what Kos posted!" might carry more weight than a single "please link me".

VodkaPundit - Prompt reply AND a Vodkalanche! WHOO-HOO! Anyway, Stephen falls into the "don't have time to read it all, or respond to it, but I try" category. So it would appear that one key to getting your e-mail read is a subject line that's intriguing, yet doesn't sound like spam.

Right Wing News - Linked the same day. Also, he did what I had hoped - used the opportunity to share his own thoughts on e-mailing & site traffic in a thoughtful post. This is about as good as it gets when you send a link. Also, check his comments section for some good discussion.

UPDATE 4-14-06 7PM:
Outside the Beltway - linked the same day, and took the opportunity to add his own thoughts about how to get noticed. #4 surprised me a bit:

4. Make it easy. Give the blogger a two or three sentence–max–summary of the post if it’s long. Include a link to the post. Include the entire text of the post. Unless they are regular readers of your site and you have some sort of relationship, simply sending along a link to the post with the expectation that they will click through is not a great idea.

My initial thought was that including the full text would make the e-mail longer and thus less likely to be read. However, James is right. Saving your target reader the click and the wait for the page-load errs on the side of convenience. My suggestion is to put the text at the very end of the e-mail, AFTER the summary, the link, and (optionally) why you think the high-traffic blogger might be interested in the post.

(Note on the update: the trackback from OTB didn't work, and I didn't check to see if he'd posted on it. I apologize for the oversight)

Hugh Hewitt - Linked the same day, however I noticed that he also gave a Hat Tip to Right Wing News. Which makes me wonder whether he was planning to link me before he read the RWN piece, or if the fact that RWN blogged about it made him to decide not to dump my e-mail into his bozo bin. Either way, I'm happy. But this also makes me wonder what the "tipping point" is. How many high-traffic bloggers have to link a post before they all feel compelled to do it so that they don't miss out on a "hot topic"? Ah... the mysteries of interpersonal influence...

I'll also mention that although Hugh didn't reply to my initial e-mail, he DID reply to my "thank you" e-mail that I sent after he linked me.

Wonkette - Linked same day, later in the evening, and mentioned that if a high-traffic blogger isn't responding to your e-mail, it may be because you got caught in their spam filter. Lesson learned - don't brag about how your were born in Nigeria.

Seriously, though, you know what spam e-mails look like, so avoid ALL CAPS, excessive linkage, exclamation points!!!, and other filter triggers.

QandO - Responded after about 24 hours. He brought up an excellent point about why some of the more content-oriented blogs (rather than link-oriented) might not be quick to jump on your link: "I rarely link emailed stuff, simply because of my own blogging habits. I tend to write about subjects that I've been thinking about, or about which I have something unique to say. I don't really consider myself a "linker". So, unfortunately, while it's nice for me to get emailed links, I'm probably not terribly helpful to the people who send them. Usually, anyway."

I have to agree - if I can't find a fresh angle on a story, I may not post on a link I've been sent. I mean, if I can't manage to do more than echo the A-listers' opinions, I probably can't muster the enthusiasm to whip up a post on the topic - which is why I don't do a whole lot of blogging on the big headline news stories of the day.

Winds of Change - Linked after about 44 hours. Mentions the Right Wing News piece, mostly for RWN's great money quote of "Getting links isn't about a "Good Old Boy's Club," it's about the numbers game."

Here's something to consider. Right Wing News wrote a better post than I did (I'm being honest, not modest), but I still got a link and praise in the WoC piece. When it comes to crediting sources, I usually only mention the place I got the info from. I almost never cite "the source of the source". I wonder if WoC would've linked me (source of the source) had he not also gotten the e-mail?... again - the mysteries of influence.

UPDATE 4-13-06 5PM: Joe of WoC was kind enough to leave an explanation in the comments, and also points out that linking the source of the source helps improve the shelf life of your post should one of the source links eventually become broken.

The Jawa Report - First, my condolences to Rusty Shackleford on the recent loss of his friend. I would like to give him credit for setting his contact e-mail to autorespond, so I heard about this within minutes of sending my initial e-mail. To his further credit, he responded personally at about the 48 hour mark, to let me know that he's a "reads all, responds to some" kinda guy.

The Real Ugly American - Not one of the initial e-mail targets, but he posted within 12 hours as a secondary effect of the links by Right Wing News and Hugh Hewitt, and added his own thoughts to expand my "how to e-mail high-traffic bloggers" advice to make it inclusive of ALL bloggers.

Daily Kos
Pink Is The New Blog
Michelle Malkin
Eschaton
Go Fug Yourself
Crooks and Liars
A Socialite's Life
Little Green Footballs
Powerline
The Dilbert Blog
NRO: The Corner
Lileks
Roger L. Simon
Captain's Quarters
Outside the Beltway
Ace of Spades
This Modern World
Belmont Club
Althouse

Posted by: Harvey at 09:18 AM | Comments (20) | Add Comment
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1 Great post Harvey. I have been waiting to see this follow up. thank you for the link. Blog on!

Posted by: The Ugly American at April 13, 2006 10:16 AM (a+JK3)

2 I've gotten a link from Malkin.... NEENER, NEENER, NEENER!!

Posted by: Graumagus at April 13, 2006 12:53 PM (m4jdv)

3 Actually, me too. Don't they feel great? :-)

Posted by: Harvey at April 13, 2006 12:58 PM (L7a63)

4 This insight may help. I received your email at Winds of Change.NET, and mentally filed it in the "interesting" category because Winds sees meta-posts about blogging, social networks, et. al. as part of what we're about. A minor part, but definitely there. The thing is, time is limited and sometimes I find myself focused on longer posts in order to clarify my thinking and get them out. Which means not everything on my "interesting" list makes it to my blog. This is a chronic regret, but largely unsolvable. It's also why my inbox grows a bit each day and is now over 3,000 items. Must do something about that. Anyway, I stumbled across the RWN piece just as I was opreparing to do a short bit. RWN was better, but having received the email (and indeed, given the subject under discussion) I thought it appropriate to link back to your original post as well. We often do "Hat Tip" links on Winds, but this was a bit above. I'm doing it more and more, however, largely because blogs shut down, change software and hence all link URLs, etc. Having two explicit links addressing a subject thus improves the longevity of the information I post.

Posted by: Joe Katzman at April 13, 2006 01:45 PM (s7QFH)

5 Great info... Thanks!

Posted by: vw bug at April 13, 2006 06:37 PM (0LvyK)

6 Next time you write to those heavy-hitters, please tell what a fine fellow I am.

Posted by: Jim - PRS at April 13, 2006 06:52 PM (njBz/)

7 Well, Harvey, I guess this settles the age-old question: is Harvey a whore?

Posted by: Laurence Simon at April 14, 2006 10:49 AM (uBCxH)

8 I've found your advice to be spot on. "Be brief, be polite, and only submit links that clearly fit the high-traffic blog's theme." It's gratifying to get a topic of imporance to you mentioned by a high-traffic blog, but it's always a thrill to get the hat-tip. Sort of like getting a letter in the newspaper. Even though I don't have my own blog, I've lead several blogs to interesting tid-bits that were then subjects of their own posts. And then commented on them.

Posted by: Keith, Indy at April 14, 2006 12:01 PM (pVUxX)

9 Oh yeah, and hat tip to Pajamas Media for linking this article...

Posted by: Keith, Indy at April 14, 2006 12:02 PM (pVUxX)

10 And this just in... http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?Entry=3723

Posted by: Keith, Indy at April 14, 2006 12:05 PM (pVUxX)

11 The rules aren't completely set in stone. I got instalanched even though I used to be a member of the Alliance of Free Blogs. According to some bloggers out there, Glenn Reynolds won't link you if you're a member. Wasn't the case with me.

Posted by: MikeT at April 14, 2006 12:09 PM (itu63)

12 Laurence - I am NOT a whore... I am a "purveyor of intimate transactions" :-) Mike - Alliance membership is essentially irrelevant to Instalanching. IMAO gets links all the time, and Glenn has a good sense of humor about the whole thing. Remember, he *did* try to join the Alliance himself back in September of '03: http://www.instapundit.com/archives/011513.php

Posted by: Harvey at April 14, 2006 02:04 PM (L7a63)

13 I actually linked and posted on the subject shortly after getting the email. I couldn't get the trackback to work.

Posted by: James Joyner at April 14, 2006 03:09 PM (duCq5)

14 Are you Wisconsin based?

Posted by: Marcus Aurelius at April 14, 2006 03:40 PM (43BLH)

15 I'm not a high-traffic blog, but I do link to most of the stuff I'm pitched unless (like others) I get bogged down and your email drifts down past the first page or two of my inbox. I even get pitched by some of the bigger bloggers. I definitely limit my own pitches to posts where I really came up with something new, and I keep track of who links, and stop bugging the ones who never do (cough, Powerline, cough!).

Posted by: Brainster at April 14, 2006 04:30 PM (pCPyL)

16 Hey Harvs, http://www.memeorandum.com/060414/p72#a060414p72 Have a nice day!

Posted by: Jake Jacobsen at April 14, 2006 06:24 PM (hltlb)

17 Marcus - Yes Jake - I noticed that in my referer logs a couple minutes ago. Does this make me a rock star? :-)

Posted by: Harvey at April 14, 2006 08:32 PM (L7a63)

18 Cool! I am Appleton based and contribute to the Badger Blog Alliance.

Posted by: Marcus Aurelius at April 15, 2006 01:04 PM (43BLH)

19 Good design! http://jodfpyiq.com/uzso/vnlc.html | http://ypsiipqi.com/erhe/yruw.html

Posted by: Phillip at May 04, 2006 11:13 PM (2pYcY)

20 Hm, it is very coo site only for sweet people!

Posted by: ANGIE at June 16, 2006 06:49 AM (4jB9D)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

By 10am yesterday, I'd sent out 30 e-mails regarding this post.

So far, I've gotten 4 links plus 3 replies.

I plan to wait about a week and then file a final report on who did & said what.

In other news, you KNOW you're having a good blogging day when you can barely detect a VERY enthusiastic link from Matty O'Blackfive amidst all the referrals from Vodkapundit, Right Wing News, Hugh Hewitt, and Wonkette.

Geez... look at this... I'm dropping names like Matty at a blogmeet now...

Posted by: Harvey at 06:51 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 I kept waiting for my email... are you trying to tell me something?

Posted by: tommy at April 06, 2006 09:08 AM (FKK2+)

2 If it wasn't the Easter season I'd have to come up with a better excuse for why I'm not getting linked.

Posted by: Alan Kellogg at April 07, 2006 04:22 AM (C6h92)

3 Hey Harvey, That was a great post and you offered some good advice. I thought I would provide an update of my own. Moved by your post I sent you an email and added some thoughts of my own over at my blog and tracked back to your post. (for some reason it didn't work) The post included: Something important that I thought was missing from the advice is that sincerity does come through in an email. As the old saying goes “you can fool some of the people some of the time….”. I think part of the reason I have been successful in getting links from other bloggers is that I am a fan of their blogs and really do read them. My buddy Random Yak has added some comments as well. I hope you take a moment to read them. I bet you are busy fielding a ton of spam emails after that post . Blog on!

Posted by: The Ugly American at April 07, 2006 06:13 AM (TEE0r)

4 Well done! http://hhsvghfp.com/paiw/eqjo.html | http://vntxwfkl.com/dprn/ztkw.html

Posted by: Marla at May 04, 2006 11:13 PM (/Zly6)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Zeuswood of Harshly Mellow is getting a little burnt out from being the moderator for Carnival of the Vanities and is thinking about just ending it.

Zeuswood - the question of whether your co-ordination of the COTV is worth your effort is something that only you can decide, and I won't criticize if you call it quits. I abandoned a carnival of my own after 10 editions. Maintaining one is a LOT of work.

However, the question of whether the COTV still has a place in a blogosphere which currently boasts over 250 active Carnivals is another matter.

And I'd say - yes, the COTV *is* still relevant.

Why? Because unlike the myriad of "themed" carnivals out there, the COTV has NO theme. It's an eclectic smorgasbord of literary tidbits.

Or a box of chocolates, if you want to be Gump about it.

Either way, its themelessness IS its attraction. Some people don't WANT to know that all 50 posts are going to be on the same topic. They want the excitement of unwrapping the box to behold the shiny present inside.

Or possibly the dead puppy (NOTE TO SELF: airholes!)

So although the COTV may wax or wane in popularity during any given week, it's still as wrong to say that it's "lost in the crowd" as it is to say that "Tiffany's is just a drop in an ocean of jewelry stores".

The Carnival of the Vanities is a beautiful thing. I discovered many of my now-favorite bloggers by exploring its enchanting links. To let it go... to let it die... a tragedy.

Anyone who would like to take up the moderator's mantle for the COTV, please fully inform yourself of what you're getting into, then drop a comment at Harshly Mellow.

Posted by: Harvey at 08:23 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Recently I got an e-mail from Doll of Freedom Watch, who noted that it seems nigh-impossible to get a link from high-traffic bloggers unless you, yourself, are a high-traffic blogger - or at least a member of Pajamas Media.

Now, I haven't tried hitting up any BlogTitans for linkage for quite a while, so I don't know how true that is these days. However, I *do* have my own theories on how to go about doing so, which I quote from the original post:

Suggested format - Apologize for the unsolicited e-mail, acknowledge that you know [BIG BLOGGER] is very busy, briefly tell why you think this post might be of interest to him, give the URL, thank him for his time, sign your name. END

In the next few days, I'm going to conduct an experiment to see how well this actually works. I'll file a report afterwards.

Meanwhile, although I'm only a B-list blogger myself, there are still bloggers with even LESS traffic who occasionally feel the urge to ask me to link something. If you're on my blogroll or you're at least a semi-regular commenter, I'll likely jump at the chance.

If you're a lurker or just a passing Googler, you'll have to gain my confidence first.

Now in my case, you can skip the apology and the "I know you're busy" bit and just start off with:

BLATANT EGO FLATTERY - Say something nice about a recent post. You don't have to lay it on TOO thick, but at least make a passing reference to something on the front page so that I know you took the trouble to at least GLANCE at my writing. If there's nothing in the e-mail to show that it's aimed specifically at me, I'm just going to assume it's spam and delete it.

After that, just follow the standard "begging for linkage" format outlined above.

Also, if you blog under a pseudonym and your e-mail address has your real name, please include a link to your blog's URL so I can figure out who you are. My tarot cards are out getting re-laminated, so my psychic powers are a little ephemeral at the moment ;-)

But DO feel free to e-mail. I don't get around to every blog as often as I'd like, and good blog-fodder is always appreciated.

Just ask Doll.

Posted by: Harvey at 08:27 PM | Comments (34) | Add Comment
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1 What if I tell you to gfy? Would that get me a link? Especially if I haven't posted anything?

Posted by: _Jon at April 03, 2006 10:12 PM (/R7YK)

2 Here, link to this: http://curmudgeonlyskeptical.blogspot.com/2006/04/todays-coffee-spitter-do-you-think-if.html

Posted by: _Jon at April 03, 2006 10:21 PM (/R7YK)

3 Great post. It was not necessary you mention me, my blog, or my email, but since you did, thanks.

Posted by: doll at April 04, 2006 12:12 AM (tSe5Y)

4 I usually just tell them they don't have the balls to link me, and then type "neener neener neener". Usually in all caps.

Posted by: Graumagus at April 04, 2006 02:36 AM (DW6m4)

5 I think Harv just wants everybody to notice and compliment what large breasts his blog has...

Posted by: Kermit at April 04, 2006 05:26 AM (RTy2V)

6 B blogger? Wow. I would have given you an A any day. ;-)

Posted by: vw bug at April 04, 2006 05:30 AM (3cg+5)

7 _Jon - Nah. I wouldn't link you if you were the last blogger on earth :-P Kermit - they ARE intoxicating, aren't they? :-) Bug - I was referring to site traffic, not quality ;-)

Posted by: Harvey at April 04, 2006 06:30 AM (L7a63)

8 Your post on how to get a link from a high traffic blogger is the best yet. If I had a blog I would want to link to you. //BLATANT EGO FLATTERY - Say something nice about a recent post. You don't have to lay it on TOO thick, but at least make a passing reference to something on the front page so that I know you took the trouble to at least GLANCE at my writing.// Per your instructions, now post a picture of Dean Cain

Posted by: shimauma at April 04, 2006 06:46 AM (oH+XM)

9 I realize I'm being just a tad too serious here. But at one time Eugene Volokh had posted a request on his blog - to people who wanted him to link something. His requirements were... Send an email with the url of the post, and then copy and paste the post into the email. That's because it was faster for him to scan the post content in that way and decide if it was something he wanted to blog. Then again maybe Grau is onto something.

Posted by: Teresa at April 04, 2006 10:08 AM (FZwDL)

10 I'm no good at begging for links. Only tech support. ;-)

Posted by: Richmond at April 04, 2006 11:36 AM (e8QFP)

11 I'm no good at begging for links. Only tech support. ;-)

Posted by: Richmond at April 04, 2006 11:39 AM (e8QFP)

12 .. "top shelf bloggers"?.... "A-list bloggers"?.... screw that..... all bloggers are equal.... ten hits per day or ten thousand...... blogging isn't about getting traffic from begging people to link.... that's just bullshit....

Posted by: Eric at April 04, 2006 07:33 PM (r5XsL)

13 Hooray for bullshit! :-)

Posted by: Harvey at April 04, 2006 08:15 PM (L7a63)

14 I'm all about whoring out the blog. But, I'm also all about pimping out my husband's blog. Even though I post constantly, when he posts something, it's usually a much better read than the dribble I spew. btw - I usually encounter your bad examples courtesy of Richmond at One for the Road. But today, I found you while dropping in for a martini at Vodkapundit. Just in case you were curious.

Posted by: wRitErsbLock at April 05, 2006 12:23 PM (yHahS)

15 I have to disagree with Eric there. I think audience size is important for some messages. For example, a good idea on a social or political policy is much better expounded on a site with ten thousand readers than just ten. It helps everyone by spreading a good idea further.

Posted by: _Jon at April 05, 2006 01:24 PM (ZM3Qb)

16 And here's a suggestion for what not to do. Don't bombard a blogger with emails about every single post you put up. That gets old very fast, and in almost every case will earn you a prominent place on the recipient's email filter.

Posted by: Bill Quick at April 05, 2006 01:25 PM (buOBD)

17 I would be interested in seeing the results of your experiment, and I hope you will post them.

Posted by: Bill Quick at April 05, 2006 01:27 PM (buOBD)

18 Came here by way of the Vodakpundit -- whom I consider a A-lister. I found him from one of the super A-lister, Instapundit. I was a Z-list blogger but believe I've moved up to S or U. Maybe you could include a ranking from A to Z and how you qualify for a level. Most of my visiters come by way of my going to places that allow comments. When I see a post about something I've posted about, I comment with a link back to my blog. I don't know what that's called, although I've seen it mentioned as whore blogging. Example: The Matrix is loading and it's not computers that are going to put us in pods of goo. If you don't want to know, take the Red Pill: continue reading. If you want to know, click Green Pill.

Posted by: scout29c at April 05, 2006 01:50 PM (ViYz5)

19 all bloggers are equal.... ten hits per day or ten thousand...... blogging isn't about getting traffic from begging people to link.... that's just bullshit.... While I agree that blogging isn't about getting traffic by begging people to link, I definitely disagree with any assertion that all bloggers are equal. I don't think I would even qualify for a "B-list" with my MONTHLY count currently around 1000, but my posts are good, often provocative, and always worth reading. Still, my policy of NOT asking for links (via email or other means) may put me at a disadvantage. People who put the extra effort into their work deservedly get to reap the rewards. This is fine with me, as my blog is about what I think and what people who come to read it think, not about who specifically I can get to come around. If I read something somewhere and think I can add to the discussion, I leave a comment. If people want to follow the link back to the RWRepublic, great. If not, that's great too. Everyone being able to decide what he wants to read and write is one of the basic philosophies of America. This is the first post I've read at this blog, and I arrived here via RWN. Good luck with it. RWR www.rightwingrocker.com

Posted by: RightWingRocker at April 05, 2006 02:31 PM (KzpML)

20 With all the photo blogging I've been doing lately I must rank a DD blogger at the moment. And no, that is not my bra size . . .

Posted by: oddybobo at April 05, 2006 02:42 PM (6Gm0j)

21 If you want a link from IMAO, you can just ask, Harv... or post it yourself.

Posted by: Frank J. at April 05, 2006 03:09 PM (xpMEn)

22 Or you can write about the process, O Bad One®...

Posted by: chris Muir at April 05, 2006 03:13 PM (RklOC)

23 I followed Hugh Hewitt's link to this page. It appears this practice of begging works. At least Hugh thought it was shrewd. I'LL BE BACK! Bob. kimbobwineblog.blogspot.com

Posted by: Bob Masitti at April 05, 2006 07:34 PM (WHCOZ)

24 I followed Hugh Hewitt's link to this page. It appears this practice of begging works. At least Hugh thought it was shrewd. I'LL BE BACK! Bob

Posted by: Bob Masitti at April 05, 2006 07:35 PM (WHCOZ)

25 If you want po;otocal discussion par excellance you guys need to go to Publius' Forum Yes, that's... http://www.publiusforum.blogspot.com/

Posted by: Warner Todd Huston at April 05, 2006 08:02 PM (5rQpQ)

26 When I first starting blogging I did exactly what you suggested and it worked beautifully. (I think it helps to be a blue eyed blonde female in a sea of male geeky bloggers though) But the picture will only get you so far. There are plenty of pics on the net. Anyway, I just got tired of doing that though. I haven't asked someone to link me in about a year so...do you wanna? You big bad example hunk of a blogger! (is that flattery enough for you?) Oh yeah, Did I mention I love geeks?

Posted by: Rightwingsparkle at April 05, 2006 08:29 PM (1+NkI)

27 Did I mention that for great pooleetical talk you should go to Publius' Forum? Yes, that's http://www.publiusforum.blogspot.com/ I might have mentioned it, though.

Posted by: Warner Todd Huston at April 05, 2006 08:49 PM (5rQpQ)

28 I know some bloggers are busier (with emails) than others, but why any blogger would pitch a post about apples to a blogger mainly interested in kumqats, I'll never know. Remember, people, it's not a hierarchy. We're the Army of Davids! Woooooooo!

Posted by: Allan at April 05, 2006 10:57 PM (Bke9o)

29 The reason I never link-beg from the big name bloggers is that, while I'd enjoy getting linked from them, I really don't care about most of their blogs. Perhaps it's just an irrational backlash against the "blog establishment," if there can be such a thing, but I have an equal distaste for the A-list con bloggers (Instapundit) and lib bloggers (Daily Kos). I don't particularly like their blogging style (heavy on links, light on commentary) or their blogging frequency (two dozen posts in a day is a bit much, even if most of them are short). Basically, it seems like the A-list bloggers have primarily gotten there not by being particularly good, thought-provoking, or unique, but simply through knowing how to market their blogs. Which means that I, as someone who reads a blog for the content and not the popularity, prefer to steer clear of the A-list bloggers.

Posted by: Pieter Friedrich at April 06, 2006 12:19 AM (kdlhM)

30 WTH - I think this makes you a comment-remora :-) Pieter - You're quite right. Most of the A-bloggers are all about marketing, and quantity. Also, they tend to be run by people who already have a certain status for non-blog-related reasons (for example, Michelle Malkin was a columnist first, and Hugh Hewitt has a radio show). On the other hand, they've also got regularity & consistency going for them. When you visit, you KNOW you'll find SOMETHING interesting amidst the pile of links. It's a "shotgun blast" rather than a "rifle-shot" approach. But I know what you mean about preferring less-frequent yet more-insightful commentary. That's why I miss USS Clueless so much. Oh, and for a blog with just about the perfect mix of regular posting, thoughtful commentary, and fun links, I recommend A Sweet, Familiar Dissonance.

Posted by: Harvey at April 06, 2006 07:40 AM (L7a63)

31 Great post, Harv, and it's catching lots of links from big-traffic bloggers. Exactly how many emails did you send out?

Posted by: physics geek at April 06, 2006 11:05 AM (Xvrs7)

32 Can I get into the prostituting of ones self http://blackright.blogspot.com/ to try and garner coveted hits for my blog http://blackright.blogspot.com/ which does allow comments http://blackright.blogspot.com/ did I mention that it is http://blackright.blogspot.com/ and in case you forgot http://blackright.blogspot.com/

Posted by: gsplsngr at April 06, 2006 11:55 AM (Cl7j6)

33 PG - 30... and you won't believe some of the people I tapped :-) OO! Another comment-remora!... but I'll let this one go because your name is even less common than mine... and I like your T-shirt ;-) http://blackright.blogspot.com/2006/03/thanks-to-michelle-malkin-for-above.html

Posted by: Harvey at April 06, 2006 02:58 PM (L7a63)

34 You wanna link, go ahead and link. Do it for any dang reason. BTW, I'm getting about 900 hits a day at my new place, but most of those are bots.

Posted by: Alan Kellogg at April 07, 2006 04:12 AM (C6h92)

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I don't do "link exchanges". I blog because I like reading other blogs, and I'm not obsessed with traffic.

Not that I'll turn it down, mind you, it's just that I've risen to my Peter-Principle-approved level of incompetence in the blogosphere, and I'm fairly content to rest on my laurels.

So when I got an e-mail asking me to exchange a link with the NY Hotties blog, I was dubious, at best. My first assumption being "Yay. Another porn site trolling for traffic. Where's that delete button?"

But... the first part of the e-mail intrigued me "I was browsing through blogs when I came across Bad Example, and I think it's fabulous! I love your love notes. Your wife is a very lucky woman."

Whether Alexa was sincere, or even if it WAS spam, at least she obviously took the time to read my site before contacting me. The e-mail wasn't generic. So I figured the least I could do was return the favor with a visit.

Not the best first impression. The site had loading issues, and the headers & sidebar have an air of "corporate soft core" about them. Nevertheless, I browsed the front page. Hard to get a good feel for the site that way, because she makes the mistake of using extended entries for text, which I'm against. Especially when the extensions open in a new page on a site that has issues with slow load times.

Still... I checked the archives - she's been doing this for over a year & a half. A good indicator that the e-mail wasn't just about getting traffic.

Anyway, I browsed the first few months. Turns out that - while there's plenty of the purely prurient - there's also a good mix of personal observations & commentary. It's not just about the smut.

What really intrigued me as I read, though, was that she has a full command of the English language. She's smart. She can write. Her vocabulary, spelling & grammar are high end.

But there are two posts that convinced me that this site is actually worthwhile. First, although she's not fond of Bush or Republicans, she's not a raving loon about the topic, and is willing to believe her own eyes rather than what she's told. She discussed the CBS Memo Fiasco as follows:

Although it sucks that the memos are fake, the amazing thing is that the blogging community completely outdid the media establishment on this one. Apparently, bloggers proved within a day that the memos are fake. IÂ’m so proud of my fellow bloggers.

Check out this post on Little Green Footballs. The author compares the "original" memo to a version that he typed on Microsoft Word. The similarities are striking. In fact, the memos are identical.

These memos are going to be a complete disaster for the Kerry campaign.

Interestingly, the comments on the post were generally civil, sane, well-written, and on-topic. Apparently her audience is fairly high-end, too.

But enough about politics. Recently she made an intriguing observation on the Olympics, on the difference between the way the Canadian media treated a bronze medal winner and the way the US Media treated a silver:

And I remember watching a whole news story about an athlete from Canada that had won one of the events.

By 'won' I mean he got a bronze.

You wouldnÂ’t ever have guessed that from the story though. It was reverential, awed, and respectful. The guy, at least in the producers' eye, was a hero.

[snip]

I tell you all of this because IÂ’ve been thinking about Sasha Cohen. Who won a silver medal in WomenÂ’s Figure Skating on Thursday.

Oh. You may not know that. You may only know that she fell. And fell again. The media likes to show it over and over and again.

Message? Sasha CohenÂ’s a loser. SheÂ’s soft. She [f***ed] up.

How very un-American of her.

Forget that Sasha was the most beautiful, most glorious skater/ballerina to take the ice in a long time. Forget that she fell, got up, and pulled herself together completely, enough to earn a place on the podium. Isn’t that a perfect ending in itself—at least one to a commercial movie?

Over and over I watched American commentators approach our loser athletes who won silvers and bronzes and ask them minutes after their race, "WHAT WENT WRONG."

So... I'll give her a spot on the 'roll, because the writing is good.

Which is NOT the same as a link exchange.

Which I still don't do.

So don't even ask.

Posted by: Harvey at 03:45 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 769 words, total size 5 kb.

Blogdaughter Boudicca's real-life sister Morrigan gives a reason that she can't blog:

As far as blogging goes, I am just not a writer. I wish I were, I really do because I have ridiculous things happen to me. I did meet some great people in Tennessee and hopefully I'll tag along again. I will continue my skulking about the blogosphere envious of all the talented writers.

She just strung four coherant sentences together into a paragraph, and - in the process - effortlessly incorporated two metaphors: "tag along" and "skulking about the blogosphere".

I've written plenty of posts where I didn't even manage that.

Mo... seriously... if you can leave a comment, you can blog. I hate to drag out the big guns, but here it goes:

My first month as a blogger.

Notice how most of my posts are basically just comments on other people's posts. Nary an original thought to be found. Just proving my point: if you can leave a comment, you can blog.

"But my writing sucks!"... Well, EVERYONE sucks when they start out.

Everyone.

Here's Instapundit's first post:

Well, it looks like the Department of Justice is finally going after the music industry for antitrust violations. Expect more of this kind of thing in the future, and not just with regard to the music sector, but with regard to all entertainment industries. Here's how it shakes out from the Bush Administration's viewpoint: First, the entertainment industry genuinely breaks the law: there's lots of payola and other anticompetitive practices, as extensively documented in Salon over the past several months. Second, it's unpopular with two groups of voters Bush needs: old people, who don't like its products, and young people, who don't like the industry because of its stands over things like Napster, DVDs, and so on. Third, it gives lots of money to Democrats, and its leaders spend a lot of time bashing Bush.

The question is, how sophisticated will the Bush administration's assault be? With care, the administration could launch an assault that would split artists from studios and labels, further dividing and demoralizing a major source of Democratic support -- and maybe even splitting off some people who will decide they like the Republicans after all. Is Bush that smart? Is Ashcroft? Is Karl Rove? Stay tuned.

Boringest thing I ever read in my life. That's how HE started. Now he's on top of the world.

Then there's Frank J. of IMAO, who writes DAMN funny original content, now that he has about 3000 posts under his belt. But look at this post from his first day of blogging:

The U.S. Army is now making computer games for free download. The military was always the only part of the federal government I didn't mind my tax money going to because they kill evil foreigners, but now I get video games out of the deal. Kick ass!

Two sentences of commentary on a news story. That's it. Now he gets 8000 hits a day and he's got two books in the works.

Oh, and the great Straight White Eric? Here's his day one (his blog sucked so bad the permalinks didn't even work. You have to scroll to the bottom of the page for this):

ok..ok...ok.....so, I set up a brand spanking new blog, and the FIRST thing the wife says is..."that is crap, you need a new title for it..".....SHEEESH!!....some people just CAN'T be satisfied....oh well..the debate is still out...maybe she's right...but do you think that I'D admit she is?...hmmm...just have to wait and see, I suppose....anyway, I'm off in search of a great Robert Service poem to post on here...stay tuned...for those of you who don't know of Mr. Service's work, lets just say this...he was in the Yukon WAY before Goretex was invented...enough said...

There isn't even a LINK in that post.

So here's the truth about blogging - everyone's got 10 sucky posts inside of them. Underneath them are brilliant shiny diamonds of breathtaking literature. But the ONLY way to get at the diamonds is to start shoveling out the suck. You HAVE to be willing to be really bad before you can be any good.

Put the pride aside, play the fool for a bit, and let yourself become something more beautiful than you can currently imagine. Every rose that one day turns its face to the sunshine started as a seed laying face down in the dirt.

Let yourself blossom.

Posted by: Harvey at 07:53 AM | Comments (20) | Add Comment
Post contains 757 words, total size 5 kb.

1 Mo - start the blog but don't tell anyone about it. See how it feels after a month or so.

Posted by: _Jon at February 14, 2006 08:50 AM (uHRYR)

2 Dang. Most of my posts still look like those examples...and I've been trying to do this for over a year...

Posted by: Ogre at February 14, 2006 09:02 AM (/k+l4)

3 "...if you can leave a comment, you can blog..." Amen, brother!

Posted by: pam at February 14, 2006 09:03 AM (l6NIn)

4 Hey, I like to think I have 10,000 sucky posts I can write. I'm only on 300 something.

Posted by: Contagion at February 14, 2006 09:22 AM (Q5WxB)

5 From the woman who made C's in English and still has bad grammer... you can post. ;-)

Posted by: vw bug at February 14, 2006 12:28 PM (NyrfU)

6 Do you mean I'll actually have a good post at some future time? Excellent... So far I have over 800 sucky posts, guess that means eventually I have millions of good ones.

Posted by: Teresa at February 14, 2006 03:17 PM (FZwDL)

7 Harvey, thanks for not pickin' on me. Most all of mine suck, if you're awake. I kept readin' comments at Vman's, and JmyFlynny kept makin' great comments, IMHO, and I started buggin' her to start one. She doesn't update much, but she finally did start one. Morrigan, ju can doit! Just don't trust Harvey. Blog rule #1, never trust Harvey... he's bad money, and a bad bad example. Just ask him. He's got more blog offspring then Blogger does. He should've named his joint Johnny Appleseed, hell, he, or some part of him is every where, and just remember Morrigan, if you ever need a laugh, when you're feelin' down, and thinkin' you can't do it, just come on over to my place, if that don't change your mind, you're not awake like I said above...

Posted by: RedNeck at February 14, 2006 04:52 PM (tSJ8V)

8 ... hey, man... my first post?... it sucked?.... bite me....

Posted by: Eric at February 14, 2006 07:30 PM (r5XsL)

9 I still suck.

Posted by: GaMongrel at February 14, 2006 07:45 PM (tYXgL)

10 heh... I started out slowing then fizzled out altogether! Eric, you are an ellipsoidal ignoranus!

Posted by: Madfish Willie at February 14, 2006 07:58 PM (D2pBz)

11 slowly.... fucking spell checker can't read my mind!

Posted by: Madfish Willie at February 14, 2006 07:59 PM (D2pBz)

12 vw bug... has bad grammar, and also can't spell hehehe

Posted by: Shadoglare at February 15, 2006 07:26 AM (Vz9/T)

13 Been doing it for a couple of years now, and there might be 10 shiny examples of decent posts out of the 1000 or so that I have written. I do it for me, almost as a stress reliever. Not quite as much fun as duct-taping my children to the trunk of the car, but it keeps me out of jail.

Posted by: Richard at February 15, 2006 11:05 AM (/ypef)

14 *sigh* I think I shall continue being the voyeur. At the point that I feel like I can perform, I will be well prepared and ready for the show.

Posted by: Morrigan at February 15, 2006 09:05 PM (35+yA)

15 Mo - voy away, but keep this in mind: there's NEVER a good time to start a blog. There's always other things you could be doing. You just need to jump in and start swimming. Learn as you go. Because you'll never be 100% ready to step into the unknown. Meanwhile, keep commenting, it's good practice :-)

Posted by: Harvey at February 15, 2006 09:24 PM (ubhj8)

16 I'm still waiting not to suck at blogging, I don't know that I really have a talent for it somehow.

Posted by: Amanda at February 16, 2006 04:22 PM (L4Sch)

17 ... you know, Harv... sometimes people just like to watch... there isn't anything wrong with that.... ... Mo, you can do as you please... I'm just glad you are hanging around and reading...

Posted by: Eric at February 16, 2006 06:17 PM (r5XsL)

18 Eric - you don't need to lecture *me* on the pleasures of "just watching" ;-)

Posted by: Harvey at February 16, 2006 08:41 PM (ubhj8)

19 Eric, Harvey, y'all quit fightin' over the woman and play nice now... You gotta do what you gotta do. If you want to just "chime in" that works, but somethin' tells me she could pull bloggin' off as an after thought.

Posted by: RedNeck at February 16, 2006 09:58 PM (tSJ8V)

20 HEY! MY FIRST BEGINNINGS AT BLOGGING WERE GREAT AND YOU EVEN WROTE ABOUT IT. NOW THEY SUCK BUT THEY DIDN'T IN THE BEGINNING AND NEITHER WAS 'ABOUT ME." YOU WERE ACTUALLY QUITE AMAZED. REMEMBER??? I SUCK NOW CAUSE I'M NOT DOING MY JOB; SURE I CAN KEEP UP WITH THE NEWS IF I WANTED TO; SURE I COULD TALK ABOUT TERROR. I COULD ALSO DISCUSS EVERY OTHER DAILY THING BUT I'M THINKING OF GOING INTO STORYBLOGGING AND STUFF LIKE THAT. I HAVE TO SET UP A COMFY PLACE TO TYPE. IT'S JUST THAT I'VE GOTTEN SO SICK LATELY THAT I'VE LOST MY TOUCH. I'M HOPING IT'LL BE BACK SOON ENOUGH BUT I AM BOUNCING BACK AND FORTH AT WHAT I REALLY WANT TO DO AND WHAT I WANT TO SAY. BUT IN THE BEGINNING, I DIDN'T SUCK AT ALL, HARVEY. HUGS CINDY AAFFLLAACCKK

Posted by: firstbrokenangel at February 16, 2006 10:55 PM (jHRvj)

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Blogdaughter Boudicca of Boudicca's Voice points out that her real-life sister Morrigan had a birthday recently (Happy Birthday, Mo), and, in the comments, Pam of Pamibe said what everyone is thinking:

Let me get this straight... her life is blog fodder 24/7 but she has NO BLOG? Why not?

I don't like to be negative, so I'll look at reasons why you, Morrigan, SHOULD have a blog:

1) You already have a cool pseudonym, so you just need to add an "'s" then pick a noun, and there's your blog name. I'm not up enough on Celtic mythology to know what that noun should be, but I'll bet that either you or Boudicca are.

2) If you read this post and decide to start blogging because of it, then I'll be your blogfather. Which means that your sister Bou will also be your blogsister. How cool would THAT be? Cooler than having her for your blogmother, THAT'S for sure.

3) Blogger is free - www.blogger.com - you can be posting stuff in 5 minutes. Decorating your site to make it pretty and/or functional takes a little longer, but you can do that as you go along. I've known people who had their "edit me" links on their sidebars for WEEKS. Believe me, your blogroll is the least important thing about your site.

4) "I don't have anything to blog about!"... You send e-mails, right? Pretty much anything you would e-mail to someone "because it's really cool" would make a good blog post. Then you'd be able to just post it and have people come read it instead of trying to find everyone's e-mail address.

5) "Who would want to read my boring crap?"... Definitely everyone who met you in Tennessee. Probably some of your family. Possibly a few of your friends. None of your co-workers. Strange but true. Your readership will NOT consist of who you think it will. But that doesn't matter, because the people who will visit your site will be cool people who really like you that you'd NEVER get to know otherwise. There's an audience for EVERY writer. I think it's time you let yours find you.

Drop me a line at harvolson-at-gmail.com.

We'll talk.

Posted by: Harvey at 04:27 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
Post contains 375 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Not happenin'. She readily admits that she has TONS of blog fodder, but says she's not the writer. She thinks that's my department. We are thinking of doing something at my blog, where she tells me the story and I pen it. We've been tossing it around since Pam's comment. We've thought about writing a book together in the past, she's got some funny funny stuff, but we may just play on my blog.

Posted by: Bou at February 13, 2006 05:21 PM (iHxT3)

2 Looking for MORE children? Geeze... you might want to consider getting another dog or two. ;-)

Posted by: vw bug at February 13, 2006 05:50 PM (NyrfU)

3 "None of your co-workers." Unless one of your minions discovers it and tells everyone at work. Then you have co-workers swarming your site.

Posted by: Contagion at February 13, 2006 09:10 PM (e8b4J)

4 I'd read Mo's blog in a heartbeat.

Posted by: Jim - PRS at February 13, 2006 09:30 PM (njBz/)

5 Thanks for the Happy B-day, Harvey. As far as blogging goes, I am just not a writer. I wish I were, I really do because I have ridiculous things happen to me. I did meet some great people in Tennessee and hopefully I'll tag along again. I will continue my skulking about the blogosphere envious of all the talented writers.

Posted by: Morrigan at February 13, 2006 09:47 PM (1ba5x)

6 Bug - It's not so much that I want another blogkid. Hell, if she wanted nothing to do with the Bad Example Family, I'd STILL want her to start blogging. I just HATE seeing talent hidden away in other people's comments where it's not being appreciated.

Posted by: Harvey at February 13, 2006 09:55 PM (ubhj8)

7 *Tries to think of a blogger that *is* a writer*.... Hmmmm... nope... can't think of a one

Posted by: Shadoglare at February 13, 2006 10:17 PM (utpGN)

8 Hell, they let me blog, proving that one does not need to be a writer, or computer literate, either.

Posted by: Peter at February 13, 2006 10:26 PM (gFaZi)

9 She got a sister? will her sister's blog be better looking?

Posted by: GaMongrel at February 14, 2006 05:51 AM (tYXgL)

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Blogson Blue Tige pops the question:

Most of us are familiar with blog parents, blog grandparents, blog brothers and sisters, maybe even blog aunts and uncles. Those things are easy to figure out. What my question is, is what is YOUR input on blog relationships, blog dating, blog husbands and wives, blog flirting? Pick any or all and let me know what you consider to be right/wrong, good/bad, does/don'ts.

Some interesting discussion in his comments.

And he brings up a particular point during that discussion:

My realm for the question is only online. Not wanting to bring the idea of real life meetings into the picture. For instance do people or can people blog statements about so and so being my blog girlfriend/boyfriend, etc.

The important point with blog flirting (as with ANY flirting) is to keep it clear that it's a tease, and not a pass.

Good ways to maintain the clarity:

1) Be happily married and post love notes to your wife on a daily basis. Or at least regularly mention how happy she makes you. 75% of your flirting should be aimed at your significant other, then feel free to scatter the other 25% around as you see fit.

2) I've never heard the term blog boyfriend/girlfriend used. I think the terms have too much real-world weight to be useful for light flirting. Better to use less serious-sounding phrases. For example, I've seen the term "blog-crush". This sounds pretty 4th grade, so not much harm there. You can also take it in the opposite direction and use "love-slave in my blog-harem", which is so unrealistically over-the-top as to prevent anyone from taking it too seriously.

3) Using emoticons - like :-) or ;-) - after a flirtatious statement goes a long way toward preventing your intentions from being misinterpreted.

Aside from that, it's a matter of knowing your audience. Don't flirt with someone until you've read their blog long enough to understand their personality and sense of humor, then exercise the principles from point #2: be either cutely juvenile or blatantly exaggerated.

And always, ALWAYS remember point #1 - devote most of your energy towards flattering the one who wears the ring that matches yours.

Posted by: Harvey at 11:23 AM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
Post contains 372 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Good advice, Harvey...

Posted by: Richmond at January 21, 2006 12:14 PM (e8QFP)

2 Hard to do, for those of us who are single and welcome the attentions of those who not only literate, but good with a phrase.

Posted by: Miss Cellania at January 21, 2006 01:12 PM (8HRYA)

3 And something else Harvey does very well is that he spreads that 25% evenly so that the object of his flirtations have to compete for their continued 2% of adoration. That way they know that their special to Harvey they are no means the only one in his life Which makes for a safe and harmless flirtation.

Posted by: michele at January 21, 2006 01:23 PM (UjcAL)

4 homo...

Posted by: Madfish Willie at January 21, 2006 01:26 PM (nVA0o)

5 or, of course, if your wedding rings don't match....

Posted by: caltechgirl at January 21, 2006 04:38 PM (uI/79)

6 :-* *big wet kiss for Madfish Willie* :-P (with tongue)

Posted by: Harvey at January 22, 2006 10:14 AM (ubhj8)

7 Well, if you wanna see how ugly it can get when members of a blog family fight, go see what happened between my "blog daughter" and her husband. Oh, wait - you can't. They took their blogs down 'cause they were fighting *in* them. Very embarrassing....

Posted by: _Jon at January 22, 2006 10:23 AM (/R7YK)

8 Actually, SilentWarrior is back posting again.

Posted by: Harvey at January 22, 2006 10:29 AM (ubhj8)

9 Blog fights are fun... I had one once... ONCE!

Posted by: Madfish Willie at January 22, 2006 12:51 PM (nVA0o)

10 And if you stick that nasty ass tongue of yours in my mouth again, I'll bite the fucking thing off and stuff it up your ass!

Posted by: Madfish Willie at January 22, 2006 12:52 PM (nVA0o)

11 So, you're saying you want to put something up my ass? NOW who's the homo? :-P

Posted by: Harvey at January 22, 2006 02:54 PM (ubhj8)

12 Bloody right: in my last year of U, I lost my significant other to 'chatline buddy'. 10 years ago, & I'm still bitter about it. I'd have to call 'her' a 'buddy', as it turned out my 3-years-must-have-brought-on-boredom-Psychology-major-now-PhD-boyFIEND was doing the rub'n'tug with "Suzanne's" gay roommate, Dave. I was pleased to tell him that: a week after he dumped me for not being 'as pretty' as the woman in the 'group photograph'. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Only last year, my parent's marriage broke up after 40 years, because my denture-wearing geriatric mother started hoisting her nightie on C-U-C-me cameras... *blech* There really should be some form of cheating definition for that level of emotional trauma: losing your S.O. over their freaky masturbatory ritual... BlueBerry Pick'n can be found @ www.ThisCanadian.com "Silent Freedom is Freedom Silenced"

Posted by: BlueBerry Pick'n at January 24, 2006 09:07 AM (RwG41)

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Can anyone recommend any good free software for image compression?

Currently, I usually use Photo Crunch. It's a small, intuitive piece of software that does only one thing - compress images - and does it well. I love the live preview feature so you can tell what your image will look like and what size it will be BEFORE you do something irreversible. The only downside is that it's $8.

It's WORTH it, especially if you tend to post pictures every day like I do, but still...

Anyway, I know that Irfanview is free, and you CAN use it to compress images, but it doesn't have a live preview feature. You just have to guess how far to compress the image, then check it afterwards. Useable, but not user friendly (on THAT feature, anyway. It's great for everything else).

Any suggestions?

Posted by: Harvey at 05:49 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 147 words, total size 1 kb.

Thanks to a Christmas present from Blogdaughter Michele of Letters From New York City, there's now a Lite version of Bad Example for your PDA. A link will be permanently available at the top of the left sidebar.

If there are technical issues with it, holler in the comments so I can start panicking.

Also, it's currently set to display the last 15 posts. Is that enough? Too much? Nobody cares?

[Hat tip for the magical code: Grumbles Before the Grave]

Posted by: Harvey at 08:19 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 79 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Who gives a flyin fuck...

Posted by: Madfish Willie at January 09, 2006 10:58 AM (SyfL7)

2 BTW, the link is returning a 404 error page.

Posted by: Madfish Willie at January 09, 2006 10:59 AM (SyfL7)

3 The link in the sidebar not the link in the post.

Posted by: Madfish Willie at January 09, 2006 11:04 AM (SyfL7)

4 Make one of those for Madfish Willies Cyber Saloon.

Posted by: Madfish Willie at January 09, 2006 11:05 AM (SyfL7)

5 MW - DOH! ...typo in the link... Fixed now.

Posted by: Harvey at January 09, 2006 11:27 AM (ubhj8)

6 Hey, hey Blog daddy... Looooking Good! BTW, this format is also good for old computers, dial-up connections, cell phones, and for those work environments where anything other than a white background indicates that you're surfing on the web... like mine. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

Posted by: Michele at January 09, 2006 01:30 PM (FRjNx)

7 btw, 15 Post is enough. Any more and cell phone users won't be able to download & read you.

Posted by: Michele at January 09, 2006 01:32 PM (FRjNx)

8 "Glad you've joined the enlightened! "

Posted by: _Jon at January 09, 2006 03:50 PM (/R7YK)

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NZ Bear of the Truth Laid Bear, revered keeper of the Ecosystem has been tirelessly tweaking his code lately to try to... well, I guess the short answer is to make it harder to artificially inflate your rank through the indiscriminate usage of open trackback listings.

Longer answer can be found at the Bear's "Unveiling" post and/or the updated Ecosystem FAQ.

The result is that a lot of people experienced sudden, massive shifts in Ecosystem rank. Including my own 150 position plunge and devolution back to Large Mammal. Essentially, it's a new game with a new playing field. You're starting over.

Fortunately, basic strategy remains the same. It's all about seeding good will and reaping the rewards of positive attention. The more you use links and comments to reward the good posts of other people, the more you'll grow.

The Ecosystem re-formatting was just a bump in the road. The journey continues. Just try to relax & enjoy the adventure.

Posted by: Harvey at 02:47 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 Heh - that'll teach me to ignore the Ecosystem... LOL. I only go looking at that stuff when someone makes particular mention of it - otherwise - I find it fun... and I'm very impressed with NZ bear's work... it's just that rankings have never been my goal. So, I'll just blog along as usual. And let everyone else get bent about what really is not such a big deal. *grin* After all - I think I still have about the same number of readers as I always have - it may go up or down periodically - but overall it's consistent.

Posted by: Teresa at December 08, 2005 03:06 PM (FZwDL)

2 If I had not heard people talking about it, I wouldn't have even known. Heck, I still don't have it working right on my blog. It doesn't display what I am, and hasn't since I moved to mu.nu.

Posted by: vw bug at December 08, 2005 03:32 PM (BAHyt)

3 Dude... all you got to do is put your blog name on comments at sites that have a drop down comment viewing script and they get added to the count... but only for one comment-link on a front page.

Posted by: Madfish Willie at December 08, 2005 08:13 PM (0/gfb)

4 vw bug: I think there is a post at Munuviana that deals with this issue... check the stuff in the sidebar under Useful Thingies!

Posted by: Madfish Willie at December 08, 2005 08:15 PM (0/gfb)

5 One of these years, I'm going to write my own damn scripts to track links and stuff for everyone. The fact that *I* will always end up in the #1 spot will be total coincidence...

Posted by: Ogre at December 09, 2005 05:51 AM (/k+l4)

6 Sites that have that have a drop down comment viewing script? What sites have those? Any I've heard of?

Posted by: basil at December 10, 2005 04:30 PM (HGSz8)

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Blogson _Jon of We Swear suggested that I compile a list of blogging slang & acronyms for the benefit of newbies.

Trouble is, I've been at this so long, I can't remember what is and isn't tough to figure out.

So I'll start with a few that had me puzzled the first time I saw them, and y'all can chime in in the comments with other things you saw that had you scratching your head. Depending on the response & my mood, I may compile a list to be posted later.

MSM - Mainstream Media - refers collectively to big city newspapers and cable news networks, often in the context of them having a consistent political bias and the habit of overlooking important stories, e.g. any story from Iraq that doesn't include a body count.

WRT - With Regard To

WTF? - "What The F***?", or if your kids ask - "What's This For?"

Posted by: Harvey at 04:37 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Graumagus of Frizzen Sparks points out that - according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office - it's offensive, immoral, and scandalous to have pride unless you're the right color.

Hope there wasn't too much white in that.

Posted by: Harvey at 08:18 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Bloggranddaughter Sissy of And What Next... muses thusly:

Isn't it funny how the quick, couple of sentence posts that you just pull out of your ass surprise you sometimes with more comments then the posts you put thought into?

Simple explanation:

With a well thought out post, you may raise responses in your readers' heads, but then you cover those points, so there's nothing left to say but "nice post", which is too lame to leave as a comment.

With a two-line throwaway, the responses aren't addressed, so your readers leave them as comments.

The less YOU say, the more you leave for your readers to say.

[submitted to the Wizbang Carnival of the Trackbacks]

Posted by: Harvey at 01:23 PM | Comments (17) | Add Comment
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1 This was a stupid post. Why would anyone leave a comment?

Posted by: That 1 Guy at July 27, 2005 01:26 PM (+pQUB)

2 "This was a stupid post" buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurned!

Posted by: Patriot Xeno at July 27, 2005 01:45 PM (LPdru)

3 Well I certainly won't be leaving one..

Posted by: Sally at July 27, 2005 01:46 PM (wrm6o)

4 Nice Post Harvey!!

Posted by: Machelle at July 27, 2005 01:56 PM (ZAyoW)

5 Comments? People get comments? Geeze what am I missing?

Posted by: Teresa at July 27, 2005 02:07 PM (nAfYo)

6 I agree with Teresa... ;-)

Posted by: VW Bug at July 27, 2005 02:19 PM (dkZJv)

7 And what are we supposed to be learning from this???

Posted by: Barb at July 27, 2005 02:48 PM (u8Zgq)

8 I'm doing my duty. This post HAS to have a comment.

Posted by: Bou at July 27, 2005 04:18 PM (5JHEt)

9 I'm constantly amazed by what attracts comments. Heck, I'm amazed ANY of my posts get comments. Now, what was the question?

Posted by: pam at July 27, 2005 04:37 PM (l6NIn)

10 You have a point. Have you considered growing your hair to cover it?

Posted by: songstress7 at July 27, 2005 08:23 PM (ie93s)

11 Why are all you people commenting here?

Posted by: Ogre at July 28, 2005 06:04 AM (/k+l4)

12 We're lemmings, Ogre.. Actually, I think there's some sort of law of inverse ratios here, combined with the tendency for comments to generate more comments as readers respond to other commenters...

Posted by: Susie at July 28, 2005 10:36 AM (PWYyH)

13 This is not a comment.

Posted by: Jim - PRS at July 29, 2005 08:29 PM (BjDAE)

14 This comment intentionally left blank.

Posted by: zonker at July 30, 2005 08:05 AM (/y7q3)

15 What is this "comment" of which you speak? You mean people actually leave them?

Posted by: SilverBubble at July 30, 2005 12:49 PM (v5SdF)

16 .

Posted by: mesablue at July 30, 2005 02:46 PM (DbZQx)

17 Nope.

Posted by: fatman at July 31, 2005 03:40 AM (B35TV)

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In the comments to my post "Finding Your Blog Voice 2: Just Try It", Lynn of Reflections in D Minor said this.

In a way, I feel like I've become a lazy blogger. I started out with the intention to write essays (at first I thought maybe one or two a week) but then I got to be driven by the need to post something new every day but also, surfing and sharing what I find is fun and people seem to like that. To get back to what I originally intended I'd have to do less surfing, more reading and thinking but I'd still sort of like to really write more often.

By the way, I like it when you post stuff like this - just your own thoughts about whatever.

Ok, that last line has nothing to do with the topic, but I included it because I like compliments.

Anyway, yeah, I'd like to do more thoughtful pieces too. They just FEEL good to write.

However, there's nothing wrong with putting up stuff that's "just a link" and has no substantive commentary.

The great thing about Lynn's "just links" is that - since I don't get over to the classy side of the 'sphere much - it's a lifeline to things that stretch my mind.

Which brings me to my point. There have been several occasions when I've seen a cool link to something at numerous of the large blogs, but I liked it so much that I posted about it anyway, even though I figured everyone else had already seen it.

People commented to thank me for posting it.

People linked to me and posted about it themselves.

The lesson here is that even if you think a topic is "everywhere" and you don't feel like you have anything to add by chiming in with your little link, go ahead & chime anyway.

Remember that for some of your readers - who surf in different circles than you - you may well be the only "everywhere" they go.

Posted by: Harvey at 10:41 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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