While I run this blog primarily because I have ideas to express, dirt to dish, etc., I am grateful for my readers. So here are three questions for my readers:
1) Do you generally enjoy the fare offered here?
2) Are there topics that you'd like to see get greater attention?
3) Are there topics you wish I'd not spend as much time on?
I appreciate your support. If you'd like to offer comments privately, you can click on my profile and find an e-mail link there. Thanks to everyone!
12 comments:
1. yes, but the MN politics i could do without.
2.more topics of a sexual and violent nature for titillation purposes. with pictures!
oh, and gender wars. they always worked to up my traffic.
religion debates are good too.
3.way too much niceness. you need to edge it up a little.
1) I really like your work. Nice mix of local, regional, and national politics in addition to some fun pop culture stuff and always well written (which really means a lot to me - poor writing makes me cringe). The political stuff is often less edgy than on other blogs and provides a nice, highly credible balance to link to in support of some of my political posts.
2) The site works well. I would recommend continuing to trust your own judgment and creativity. It no doubt will continue to evolve, more than likely for the better.
3) I wouldn't be broken up with less Packer coverage ;), but on the other hand I forwarded the links of some of your posts to some of my Wisconsin friends and relatives who went into shock (and have yet to completely come out of it) when #4 thew his final pass for an INT. You did a great job of putting the situation into perspective in spite of your understandable disappointment in your team. You can hardly be characterized as a fair weather fan and the rare sane perspective coming from such a person was a good life lesson to some of the younger folks who weren't being shown a good example by alleged adults of how to put a sporting event into perspective in the larger scheme of things.
I've always liked your writing and still do. Why? It's mature, but down to earth. That's pretty much the crux of it. I don't think you need to change anything.
1) Yes.
2) The Cubs' awesomeness.
3) No more pictures of Amy Klobuchar or Al Franken, please. You're scaring the children!
In seriousness, don't change a thing, Mark. Continue to write about what you care about, and we'll continue to enjoy reading.
Keep up the good work, sir.
Oh, and the Brewers suck.
It's very reflective of your interests and personality which is what makes it good. Write about what you want and don't concern yourself with marketing surveys.
Don't mess with success!
- D
Thanks everyone for your comments.
Gino, I try to edge it up, but I think I lost my edginess about 20 years ago. I have to demur on the pictures, though - my kids read this blog from time to time and I have enough things to explain to them already....
Thank you, RH - your support means a lot. You, Daria and the rest of the Boots On crew run a great blog; you say the things that need to be said, and well.
Ben, thank you, too. When this blog was new, you gave me a lot of encouragement and I am much in your debt. I learned a lot about the right way to blog from your example.
Dan, thank you for the kind words. And based on Wednesday's results, I'd have to agree about the relative merits of my Brewers, although I'd be remiss in not pointing out that my boys have now won 4 of 6 meetings against your boys and that all have the games have been in Chicago.
SA, thank you - I greatly value your opinion and your friendship.
Daria, thank you, too. You always have valuable insights to share and your support means a lot to me.
now, for some seriousness:
your blog is unique in its content.
like the local paper, you cover, and cover intellectually well,
all topics of life.
sports
politics
entertainment
general news, local/national
current events
obviously, the liberal arts degree is at work, and not wasted.
More Latin
I once had attend driver safety school to atone for a speeding ticket. There was a room for a 4 hour class, and another for an 8 hour class. I was in the 4 hour class. Someone raised their hand and asked "what do you have to do to get in the 8 hour class?" The instructor said "just keep doing what you've been doing." That would be my advice as well.
A Truck Driver
I'm late to the party but I concur with the general sentiment. Blog about what's important or interesting to you ... otherwise, why bother?
I spend my day job helping people market themselves and part of that is understanding what their audience wants and then trying to present yourself (or company) as the one that can deliver that. That's fine from a business perspective and helps you make money, but blogs aren't business (generally) and there are many money-making opportunities here.
There are plenty of blogs out there to cater to every taste, trying to chase traffic by being something or someone other than who you are may lead to short-term "success" in terms of traffic, but I think it also leads to a short-term blog. It's hard work trying to be something that doesn't come naturally and it ultimately robs the joy and satisfaction from the exercise.
You write well and express yourself very succinctly (something I need to work on); I don't know what your traffic is or how important that is to you, but rest assured that you are burying nuggest of solid-gold wisdom here and many who eventually uncover them will count themselves blessed.
Thank you for the very kind words, NW. While every writer wants to reach a larger audience, your perspective is spot-on. It's usually not worth chasing traffic for its own sake. My best traffic day came from a totally random thing - writing about Eric Carmen in the context of the Raspberries for one of my "Guilty Pleasure" contests. The Eric Carmen fan club got wind of my post and I got quadruple my typical traffic. It's so random that it's not worth worrying about.
Beyond that, if I can even approach the level that your blog reaches, NW, I'll feel pretty good.
Gino, thank you for the kind words, too. I really admire your candor and the way you think things down to the roots. You are that rarest of birds, a wise guy who is genuinely wise.
ATD, thank you, too. You are one of the finest people I know.
Marty, thanks for the advice, but 'round here Latin is de minimis.
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