Still working on the WordPress build—a process slowed by doctor’s appointments and some other medical issues. Once it’s up and running, I’m going to give it 2 months to gel.
After that, if I don’t see an improvement in traffic I’ll be calling it quits as a daily blogging site. It takes a special talent to hemorrhage readers like I have, so I think it best to put that talent to use elsewhere. Like, maybe I can be Rosie O’Donnell’s PR guy or something. She could certainly use a decline in exposure.
But never fear, folks. You’ll always have Don Surber.
And yeah, I’m feeling rather crappy today.
In fact, I don’t feel much like posting.
Self-fulfilling prophecy, I guess.
Don’t discount the largely-silent majority who patiently await the return of the ‘possum-on-the-halfshell.
Quit your bellyaching,
Saddle Up, Move Out.
Sgt. John M. Stryker, USMC
Jeff,
Whether you post four times a day or four times a month, the blogosphere would be a much less interesting and enjoyable place without Protein Wisdom.
Just sayin’.
Well, if it’s any consolation Jeff, I’ve become a daily visitor to this site because you offer a level of insight I can’t find anywhere else.
I think it’s extremely important that your insights be known and shared. Because of the truth!! I would suggest that before you PR for Rosie, perhaps a little PR for this place might do some good.
After all, there are plenty of people in this country that would really appreciate your posts. You can go to Hot Air, or MM, or Pajama…even NRO, all places with good traffic, and not find such insightful truths as you find here. Your IP is a goldmine waiting to happen. It’s just a matter of them being able to find you and also being able to recognize your brilliance within one or two clicks of getting here
Never Give Up! Never Surrender!
DANCE, MONKEY!
No thanks.
Of course, I could wind up feeling better, say fuck it, and forget about getting linked by Malkin, et al.
I imagine I can take this site in whole new directions, that way—though some of you might not like my wilder side.
It’s not Beatiality, It’s inter-Species Erotica
….says the guy with over 7 million visits.
Isn’t Glenn linking enough? Heh.
Jeff–
With all due respect to your guest posters, the reason your traffic has dropped off is because YOU haven’t been posting.
Once you remedy this situation, I am confident your traffic will soar.
If you don’t believe me, plot out your traffic against the trailing average number of posts you put up in the prior week.
I’m looking forward to seeing the conversion.
No, that takes very little talent and very little effort. If you’re not writing, people who would otherwise visit, don’t. Surely you’ve noticed the correlation between your level of output and the level of traffic/linky love.
That said, you should either enjoy doing it, or be pulling in crazy blog money. Otherwise, what’s the point?
You don’t know us very well, do you?
Hey now, buck up little camper…
/in a shitty mood too…
//that’s why I’m posting on your blog, not mine.
///like yours better anyway.
I have another suggestion: Check out the evidence of what’s going on in the world and switch sides vis a vis Bush and the “GWoT”. I’m not saying you give up on your beliefs, just that modify them from what you believed in 2003 and 2004 about the progress of the war in Iraq, etc. Bluntly, when you align yourself with a cohort of society that is disappearing (although, there will always be the crazies, see MacArthur’s post-Korea career), you are left with the 20-25% of the population which supports your ideas on the war. There just aren’t enough folks to draw in which to draw.
Some of the people of who used to read you have changed their opinions and, unlike me, probably get tired of being called stupid everyday.
So, you could emphasize more of the libertarianism and less of the war-fighting aspect (after all the joke/observation re: Jonathon Winters and Robin Williams is the most salient observation I have ever heard). As a common sense, intellectual you skewer the sillier aspects of the culture at large (I’m thinking that Creationist museum outside Cincinnati is a good start), and increase your traffic.
Lastly, in your absence other, equally rambunctious and desperate pro-war bloggers took center stage. You need to re-establish the unique voice.
Just my thought
timmy, condensed: “SELL OUT, BROTHER!”
Though he proclaims this to be his singular thought, we know this to not be the case. Pity, us.
C’mon Jeff, all the cool kids are doing it! Don’t you want to be popular?
Jeff – If I may … I have read your site since shortly after 9/11, back when I believe it was called celluloid-wisdom. This has been my favorite site, literally, for years. You can blame me for part of the fall-off in traffic, as once you quit posting on a regular basis, my visits decreased dramatically. It is not that I do not enjoy the guest posters, but they are simply not a replacement for the real thing. To me, it is like comparing a Lexus LS430 to a Toyota Camry. Sure, the Camry is a very good car, and both cars share many common characteristics, but in the end, they are not even remotely comparable.
PW is uniquely Jeff. Now that it is returning to same, or towards same, I suspect that traffic will increase accordingly.
Jesus, timmah, back when I was in grade school, they taught us how to recognize propaganda techniques—the idea being, that if we knew about them, it would be easier to tell when they’re being used on us.
From your comment, I’m guessing that bit of grade-school education has been dropped, because I’ve never seen a more blatant use of the Bandwagon outside of an After-School Special.
Hey, maybe timmy has an idea! It worked for David Brock, and look at how respected he is.
What will your ego do?
Timmah! still thinks it’s all about George Bush. I’ve seen this a million times, and it always amazes me.
What are you gonna do in January of ‘09?
Welcoming the soldiers and Marines home from Iraq…
Pablo, you’ll have taken your head out of your ass and put it in the oven as you learn of a filibuster proof majority in the Senate and 50 seat majority in the House. Probably goona stay that way for awhile, given the GOP’s craven collapse to paleo-conservatives over immigration. I anticipate 30+ plus million of the 41 million Hispanics in this country will vote for the party that doesn’t hate them…(see Pete Wilson and Prop 187). Maybe, you turn the oven on, Pablo, I mean if the gas is still on in the trailer.
Jeff, don’t do it if you don’t enjoy it, but I have to say I’ve enjoyed just about every direction you’ve taken the site for the last several years. You have fine instincts for what this place should be.
I’d hate to see you go, but I understand feeling down. God knows I’ve never been able to generate any enthusiasm for my own site, even from me. I lack pluck that way. I’m a pluck-lacker.
But the absurdity of the world is evergreen, and you have a knack for making it even funnier than it already is. I hope you’ll keep it up.
Jeff, I said to emphasize didn’t things; I explicitly did say you should not give up your beliefs. It’s just that emphasizing a position in which ten people support you, rather than others where a 35%-50% of the people support you would seem to be a way to increase traffic.
In any event, stick to your guns, Quixote, that windmill will come toppling down any day now. Otherwise, I’d get a resume together.
Dunno. Maybe find a pseudonym and post snarky comments on blogs hoping to deflate the self-importance of their administrators.
I hear there’s a lot of growth potential in that.
Or maybe I’ll just write a book of bad poetry and market it as a religious text.
timmah – Do you believe that we should not be confronting our opponents in the GW on Terror ?
All – From the residents of Indiana : We apologize for timmah. We know not of which he speaks, and he does not reflect the views of our fine State as a whole. Have mercy on him.
And remember, Christians do have separatist tendencies.
Good day.
No, Tim, you never do seem to tire of being called stupid. I gotta hand that to ya.
Ignorant and masochistic is no way to go through life, son.
And by hate timmy means “aid and abet them in illegally voting” or “pay them to vote for us”.
Because every Hispanic is an illegal, right, Timmah?
JD, PW regulars know what sort of state Indiana is, you have no fear from them.
B Moe, your wonderful post, indicative and dripping with the assumption that all Hispanics are illegals, is just a marvelous piece of bigotry. Mind if the Democratic Party uses it in campaign ads? Your authorship of it may keep you warm on those cold minority nights…oh, hold it, you voted for Kerry, right? I saw on the Commissar’s comments where you denied voting for Georgie. Or, are you doing a Peter? In the moment of your Savior’s needs, you are denying him on message boards?
Seriously, Jeff, with brains like JD, B Moe and Pablo, you have to keep posting.
You forgot me, timmy.
You quit posting, Jeff, and people like “timmyb” win.
I am very much against an amnesty program. You believe that I am against it because I hate hispanics? Do you feel that this is what it boils down to?
Why?
Tim: I… am an enchanter.
Arthur: By what name are you known?
Tim: There are some who call me… ‘Tim’
Arthur: …greetings, Tim the Enchanter.
I mean, think about it. That’s all.
But tim does not think, Fred. I thought that was part of his so-called charm.
Jeff:
I have been a regular reader for about a year and would genuinely miss the site if it weren’t around. Yours is a wonderful blend of analysis and offbeat humor. Unlike other readers, I also enjoy the contributions of the other writers–Dan especially.
Keep up the good work.
Cowboy
Oh, and timmy . . . you’re an ass.
Know exactly how you feel. I’ve lost about 30% of my readers since February and am contemplating life without blogging. Sue has taken to keeping ropes and sharp objects out of my reach it’s gotten that bad.
I’ve been thinking of starting a reader poll on whether I should stay or go but fear the trolls coming out of the woodwork to vote – not for me to go but for me to stay so they can continue torturing me.
Kirk asked:
Rhetorical bludgeon. He hopes to use accusations of hatred to intimidate people into joining his bandwagon lest they be labeled “haters” an so on.
It’s been done.
A long time ago I wrote complimenting you, but saying I hoped you wouldn’t burn out like Steven Den Beste. Still here after 2-3 years or so, and still hoping you carry on. You provide a way of true individualist thinking that most of the rest of the blogosphere doesn’t, so far as I’ve seen. Entertaining, funny, and not afraid of taking people head-on, to boot.
Okay, after reading your site for years, you’ve finally forced me to comment.
Yours was always the first site I checked every morning after logging onto my computer at work because I knew what awaited me would be well-written, thoughtful and funny, and I might even discover a new angle from which to approach a subject that had become stale in the minds (and then words) of others.
The guest-posting drove me off—I stopped checking every day, and then every week, and soon I was checking only once a month or so.
Nothing against the guest posters – some of the posts captured my attention. However, most did not. I like your style; theirs, not as much. I have limited time to read each day, and I want to read what I like the most.
Now that you’re back, I’m checking your site first thing in the a.m. again, and I betcha’ I’m not the only one. If old readers know you’re back, they’ll be back too.
Do what you always did, and you’ll get what you always got. Links, readership, and buckets of gratitude for having a delightful mind and sharing it with the rest of us.
Course, I’m also someone who enjoys the comments of both Dan Collins and “rho,” so perhaps I’m insane.
Jeff,
At the very least, I hope you get to feeling better. However, I’m one of your more recent readers, and it would be a damned shame if you went, declining readership or not. But whatever you end up doing, I’ll keep reading.
As for Rick at RWNH, I’m a regular reader of yours as well. I hope you keep things going, and you probably know better than anyone why it might have declined. I can’t say that I agree with your recent change of heart towards Iraq 100%, but I understand where it comes from. Unlike Kommissar and a few others, I know it’s a principled viewpoint and not a move towards sticking your finger in the air in the hopes of gaining a few “progressive” friends. I enjoy your writing whether I agree with it all the time or not.
Oh, and Rick, one more thing: nice post today about Larry “Lavrenti” Johnson. Keep it up.
Uncrap yourself NOW, Mister! And as the doctor would say to a depression patient before resorting to breaking out the pills, get yourself a hobby. Blogging, perhaps.
[hint, hint]
Jeff, I wonder if the problem with traffic isn’t simply that the public needs a little breather before the big election season. And it’s Spring! Love is in the air!
Ever since Clinton was elected the second time(!), I’ve been reading blogs like a coke-addicted monkey. A coke-addicted monkey that reads blogs. Whatever. Anyway, even I find myself tired of politics, and maybe I’d rather take a spin around the block than be stuck indoors, reading. But I know that come DECISION ‘08, everyone will be back online, soaking up the outrage.
Perhaps you should look at the drop in interest as the caesura between movements; the sorbet between courses; the pickled ginger between sushi plates; the second thwap on the snooze button.
Love your site, been reading you for years, even though I never have understood the entire Friday armadillo thing. (I think I must have missed some crucial back story there at some point.) So take a breather if you need to, but I hope you’ll participate in the upcoming election season.
At fucking best.
And Jeff, it’s simple: Just do what got pw where it was. With PJM linking and that crew advised you’re back in force, history will repeat itself.
Don’t reinvent that wheel. Do what you do. You have too much to say that needs saying. Build it and they will come.
If you feel that continuing a popular regular feature like the Friday ‘dillo report makes you a dancing monkey, then maybe you do deserve to hemorrhage readers. People take comfort in the familiar, whether it is Lileks’ diners, Glenn Reynolds’ “heh,” or Charles Johnson’s end-of-day photograph.
You’ve asked and been told more than once what features people like, and the ‘dillo features very high in the list, along with more posting by yourself and less posting by the guests. If those regular features are the bane of your life now because of bad memories of the Mad Doctor, so be it: don’t bring them back, and deal with the consequences of your decision. Don’t whine about it, though.
Let me take this real slow, notice the bold part, timmy:
That part refers to the portion of legal Hispanics who are traditional Democratic voters, that is they vote in return for entitlements.
Uh, is there some law among progressives that requires one to vote for one of the two main party candidates? Because you guys keep making these ridiculous assumptions, believe it or not it is possible to have not voted for Bush or Kerry either one.
Jeff:
Here’s something that’s bound to cheer you up: two new words (new to me, anyway).
Steatopygia
Floccinaucinihilipilification
Use them in good health.
TW: ‘Cuz if you buzzed off, I’d miss98 you terribly.
I forgot to mention, that accusing me of bigotry right after you accuse all Republicans of hating Hispanics was priceless.
Another word:
Provigil
Elevates the mood, sharpens the mind, and costs $6.60 a pop. But half a pill ought to do the trick.
I enjoy whining, Bob. How dare you piss on one of my few remaining pleasures.
Hateful bastard.
Hateful bastard.
*laughs*
I’m too happy to be insulted today, Jeff. I just saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, which made my day. Keith Richards as Capt. Jack’s dad was magical.
KEEF RULES!
Thanks for the tip, dicentra, but I’ll prolly just stick to sperm.
Ah hell, Is TINNUH! hangin’ around again? And here I thought we sprayed for coprophagic worms just last week…
I blame Collins. That dirty, dirty whore*.
* – Yes, I’m just kidding. Don’t get yer panties in a knot.
yeah! seconding this. though it could just be me (current plan is to pick RTO up tonight, just something distracting about having a husband again). I haven’t been reading other sites as much lately. and it was your 2004 election stuff that drew me in many years ago.
I can’t believe I’m the first one to say this.
If Jeff Goldstein quits blogging then the terrorists will have won.
Seriously though, people change direction all the time. If Picasso could quit painting* then …
* Yes, he did. Shortly before the funeral.
Dude! I’ve only been reading you for about a year.
More to the point, if Jeff quits blogging, it’s a victory—albeit a pyrrhic one—for a certain deranged Oregonian.
That can’t happen. I want to see her living in tent city in Portland.
I think you should fix your RSS/ATOM feeds: the top three posts/feeds have been the same since around Christmas … at least in my feeder it looks like you’re not posting at all.
You’re using the wrong URL. Try this one instead.
Whine all you want, Jeff. But just keep posting! Please…or not. Do what’s best for you, but DUDE, you would be missed!
Jeff:
Everyone is scrambling for more ‘dillo news. My suggestion?
Switch to ‘possums.
The noble opossum has so many of the attributes of the armadillo, but with so much more elan. (Sorry about the French).
For one thing, you’d be appealing to a much wider audience. The ‘possum inhabits a much larger American range. Like the ‘dillo, its only natural enemy is black, rubber, and radial.
Additionally, you’d be employing an “other”–marsupials are so under-represented in our culture!
Please, Jeff, remember the ‘possum.
BECAUSE OF THE POUCH!!!
er, and a german shepherd mix.
<b>A tribute to the optimism that defines the American Spirit<b>
That’s what you ARE Jeff….been a regular stalker since 2005. You’ve taught not only me,but everyone I’ve shown your site to a lot. My 13 yr old daughter LOVED the ‘dillo, but came back for the politics and the meta-narratives. But then,she’s always been a fast learner.
Jeff,seriously man…While I personally love Dan and Darleen and Karl and Maggies husband, YOU are the star of the show.
Without you,there would be MANY like me without a voice and without a laugh…..DAMN I hope I said that right…..
You know, Google has screwed up sitemeters. I read your blog every time I’m on my box…but unless I click on the target Google Reader tab corresponding to the particular post I’m reading, you don’t get a hit. I’ve verified this, it’s true.
Sure, that’s just me. But how many Google Reader feed readers are out there, now? It’s the best reader I’ve ever used, and I like my toys…
I’ll start clicking in on the posts. Someone get the word out that Google is ruining Sitemeter. And, further94, the sky is falling…
Wouldn’t be a big deal if my pay wasn’t tied to hits.
Do you count feed stats?
I pretty much stopped coming to this site now. Still read it every day but now I can read every post via Google Reader. If this has an effect just cut the length of the post the the feed things pick up to force people to click to the site to continue reading.
If I can figure out how, sure.
There’s this little tidbit I’ve discovered…
I tried to pick up Ace’s site with my Google reader. No go…Google couldn’t do it. It found a feed, but didn’t give up any posts. Ace seems to have insulated himself from Google Reader, whether by design or accident. If by design, he sure isn’t sharing, huh?
I’ve figured out how he did it, but if I squeal on this page, then the secret’s out, and the trick won’t work, anymore.
There’s always email, I suppose…
I’ve never heard of this Google Reader thing.
Then again, I hate Google.
Don’t quite know how the RSS stuff works. This guy has an interesting article on it though he poopoo’s the effect RSS feeds really have (was written in 2/06 so the percentages he remarks on could have changed (and, I am not the Duncan he mentions)).
I have seen some use RSS advertising. I also know WordPress at least tracks RSS activity though I don’t know what that does for site ads.
Don’t know. I have Ace subscribed too and, now that you mention it, I do not recall reading anything from him on Reader. Maybe it is the munuvian moat keeping him safe from RSS?
I have a small-time blog (read: easily monitored) and I’ve noticed a definite shift, since last month, in the referrals from Google searches.
Before, I would get a few hits on topics in the news, past and present, that I’ve blogged. Nothing earth-shattering, but there.
Now, the only Google stuff is for Images, photochops especially, and those are getting old. Google Images hasn’t changed; the Main Google Engine has.
I’ve heard a lot of bellyaching from people who use search engines in business, about blogs and blog hits. Maybe Google has made a paradigm shift in their strategy…to please everyone, except bloggers.
Bummer, that…