tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189482.post2348701482360938322..comments2024-03-26T21:46:56.291-07:00Comments on The ZehnKatzen Times: On Blogging, Stat Addiction, and PopularitySamuel John Kleinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00514541030057763303noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189482.post-20066586178131998252008-12-09T11:11:00.000-08:002008-12-09T11:11:00.000-08:00I would be sad, indeed, if the things I like most ...I would be sad, indeed, if the things I like most about any of the blogs I follow were to disappear in favor of specialization. I don't think that specialization is required at all, Dale. I belive it was Robert Heinlein who said, "Specialization is for insects." Sometime remind me to tell you about my 8 different college majors. :-) <BR/><BR/>But it's amazing how, once I picked an area of focus, I could apply it to almost anything I wanted to write about -- specialization not required.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189482.post-46340378519666505562008-12-09T09:45:00.000-08:002008-12-09T09:45:00.000-08:00SJKP, thanks for the kind word. I think Judy has t...SJKP, thanks for the kind word. I think Judy has the right answer if your goal is to rise in the blogging world (by whatever measure) -- find a niche and stay with it.<BR/><BR/>I myself have a suspicion of specialization (one that predates blogging), but that's my li'l pet peeve that doesn't detract from the real-world value of it.<BR/><BR/>That said, I like your blog as it is, even if not every post sings to me in the same degree as every other. Imagine that! We don't have exactly the same interests in exactly the same proportions!. <BR/><BR/>I will just say keep up the good work, and I'll point out that we're allowed to change what we mean by "good work" as time and circumstances go by.Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10523307255698594696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189482.post-59661599398899716692008-12-09T08:39:00.000-08:002008-12-09T08:39:00.000-08:00I really started blogging just to find out what th...I really started blogging just to find out what this blogging stuff was all about. I never thought I would please anyone but myself. And, indeed, for months I was thrilled when the hit counter showed any visit that was not my own. <BR/><BR/>When I first realized that people were actually reading me on a regular basis and not just stumbling over accidentally, I felt a bit of panic. What if they don't like me? Then I realized that those that don't like me won't come back, and those that do like me will. And it was best to just keep doing what was interesting to me and what pleased myself. <BR/><BR/>At first I blogged about everything. But it was soon apparent that I was not going to make it as a techie blog or a political blog. There are too many other blogs that cover those topics much, much better than I could. When I started to focus on one area that I did have some expertise in, then I started to gain a loyal readership. I can still blog about anything, more or less, but my main topic is the thread that holds it all together and the other topics have to take a back seat.<BR/><BR/>I'm certainly not one of the more popular blogs. I don't get hundreds of comments to each post. My hit count diminished during a summer hiatus and has yet to fully recover. I've resigned myself to never getting rich from my blog. But that was never really the point. I do have a cozy relationship with my regulars - sort of like chatting over a cuppa in my living room.<BR/><BR/>And that's what keeps me coming back to yours, too.<BR/><BR/>BTW, if you haven't discovered Woopra yet (www.woopra.com)... stat addicts paradise. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189482.post-79719190330493968952008-12-08T22:36:00.000-08:002008-12-08T22:36:00.000-08:00Jaggy, thank you for what you said there. That was...Jaggy, thank you for what you said there. That was really cool of you to say. And especially the grammar remark, which completely makes my day.<BR/><BR/>It did occur to me that if I wanted to keep doing this thing I love then I have to have a better idea of doing it. For too long, my blogging model has been similar to the business model of the underwear gnomes from Southpark:<BR/><BR/>1. Blog<BR/>2. ???<BR/>3. Profit!<BR/><BR/>Again thank you for your words. They were quite inspiring and reassuring. And thank you for visiting.Samuel John Kleinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00514541030057763303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189482.post-90044269088320716642008-12-08T22:18:00.000-08:002008-12-08T22:18:00.000-08:00I, too, am a bit addicted to my statcounter. I lo...I, too, am a bit addicted to my statcounter. I look back on the days of ten and twenty hits being huge records. My returning hits were all my own... and now I fall in the two- to three-hundreds for individual hits in a day. It's so exciting to think that somebody in Scotland or Finland or China is reading my nonsense.<BR/><BR/>Way to go on all your milestones. Keep up the research. Just don't force it. If your passion flags, take a break. Your true readers will stick out a vacation.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and you get serious bonus points for having good grammar. Nothing turns me off a blog faster than bad grammar. Yay you!Jaggyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07413612883412951249noreply@blogger.com