Validation
All this time I thought nobody noticed my little corner of the blogosphere.
If I were to base my readership on comments alone, I would probably be able to count on perhaps four people who have actually spent more than three minutes reading through my various ramblings. The vast majority of people who have at least registered a hit on my counter at the bottom probably fall in the "how-did-I-wind-up-here?" category and are back off in search of some smutty pictures to show to all their coworkers and hide from their boss. Perhaps a few of the transients who stumble across my site pause for a moment, caught by the dark tone of the page and vaguely disturbing image of the top half of my bald head staring back at them like some fevered version of Kilroy. Alas, these visitors also quickly depart, having found no rants or witty gems to forward to all the hapless members of their mailing list.
It does get more than a little lonely, ostensibly talking to myself - and frankly, since I've already heard all my own thoughts, I feel less and less like tossing them up on the website to see what sticks to the digital wall. Of course, the hit counter at the bottom registers the raw number of browsers that pause here, however briefly, and I can see the easily gleaned details of their visit. I've had viewers representing nearly every time zone on the planet (no kidding). What I don't get, for the most part, is feedback - any feedback.
This past weekend, someone I respect approached me and actually admitted to reading my blog. He even went so far as to state that he gets disappointed when there's nothing new posted during his daily check of my site.
Somebody checks my site daily and expects new content? While it puts a certain pressure on me to perform, I'll admit that I like that. It tells me that I must be doing something that has value to someone else. I like to know that someone is not only receiving a signal, but chooses to tune it in for whatever reason they may have. I guess it boils down to the fact that I enjoy the idea that I have an audience, albeit one that requires very few chairs to accommodate.
Let me know if I should set out a chair for you, too.
If I were to base my readership on comments alone, I would probably be able to count on perhaps four people who have actually spent more than three minutes reading through my various ramblings. The vast majority of people who have at least registered a hit on my counter at the bottom probably fall in the "how-did-I-wind-up-here?" category and are back off in search of some smutty pictures to show to all their coworkers and hide from their boss. Perhaps a few of the transients who stumble across my site pause for a moment, caught by the dark tone of the page and vaguely disturbing image of the top half of my bald head staring back at them like some fevered version of Kilroy. Alas, these visitors also quickly depart, having found no rants or witty gems to forward to all the hapless members of their mailing list.
It does get more than a little lonely, ostensibly talking to myself - and frankly, since I've already heard all my own thoughts, I feel less and less like tossing them up on the website to see what sticks to the digital wall. Of course, the hit counter at the bottom registers the raw number of browsers that pause here, however briefly, and I can see the easily gleaned details of their visit. I've had viewers representing nearly every time zone on the planet (no kidding). What I don't get, for the most part, is feedback - any feedback.
This past weekend, someone I respect approached me and actually admitted to reading my blog. He even went so far as to state that he gets disappointed when there's nothing new posted during his daily check of my site.
Somebody checks my site daily and expects new content? While it puts a certain pressure on me to perform, I'll admit that I like that. It tells me that I must be doing something that has value to someone else. I like to know that someone is not only receiving a signal, but chooses to tune it in for whatever reason they may have. I guess it boils down to the fact that I enjoy the idea that I have an audience, albeit one that requires very few chairs to accommodate.
Let me know if I should set out a chair for you, too.
posted by HeadCheese at Monday, August 23, 2004
2 Comments:
Chair, please! And, if convenient, I'd like it to be a rocker, preferably padded, and if you could make it a recliner, I'd be really, really happy. I'll bring my own blanket for snoozing with after filling my brain with your witty remarks (albeit they are sparse these days.)
I don't look at your site daily, but I do subscribe to it, so I read each of your new posts. Looking forward to more :-)
Chair for me too, please! I check your blog almost daily. And if for whatever reason I miss a few days, I know I'm in for a treat when I finally do check it. - Kelly
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