True Colors - An Unexpected Part 2

I thought it was over. I'd blogged and moved on. I was wrong.
Damn internet searches... they suck me back in every time.

I recently wrote a post entitled True Colors of the Rainbow, where I hit the highlights of the Gay community's hanky code. It was discovered by a serendipitous encounter - the story related to me by someone else of course. But just when you thought it was time to put your mind back into the closet - wham! - blindsided by internet search results again! Oh the vanity of Statcounter...

You know what search engine result popped up no less than 3 times in the past week: handkerchief colors meanings on msn - One should note I come up as result #9.

That tells me three distinct things:

1. If I blog about gay lifestyle more often, my hits will increase. I'm sitting here thinking Is this what they mean by "good" publicity or "bad" publicity? I'm sure my wife has some commentary on which side it falls to.
   
2. Handkerchief symbolism is still vibrantly alive - which is at glaring odds to Grey Guy's comment on my post, which said "Take it from a gay guy, that hankie code thing is so 1991!".
   
3. I've moved along from Ikea Cinnamon bun searches, as I wrote about last time. Again I ponder the phrase "Have I gone far, or am I just now far gone?"

Truth be known I was really more concerned by the fact that I was blogging about something so 1991. Whew. Crisis averted - and a colored handkerchief search. Who would have thought.

What I'm goo(gle)d for

I was shocked by my statcounter results this week. And not a good shocked at that: in an almost dark and nefarious type of way, as opposed to my usual pleasure type shock. No Ohh baby for me.

It brings great pains to my literary soul that when you search "calories" + ikea + "cinnamon bun" on Google I come up as the top search. No top results for "great blogs to read" or "up and coming writers" or "what people blog about when they are off work". I suppose that leaves me something to still shoot for but still, I couldn't believe it. The entire world is a playground for my blogging imagination, and I am known in google for my buns. Reflect on that thought for a moment.

I'm not 100% sure what my goal of this blog is but I know it isn't to be googled for my buns....or perhaps that is the real reason you are here today?

Nonetheless I will continue to feverishly write by the flickering light of the evening fire, or fluorescent glow of public transit - whenever the moment moves me. And, mental note for the future: if I am getting moved to write a story at the exact same time as my 1.5 year old is pining for attention, I should not wait a few minutes and continue to write, but rather pay attention right then and there. Why? Because I now know just because you are 1.5 years old, it doesn't mean you don't know how to turn off the computer to get the attention you want. Now that I can't remember it, nor did I save it, I'm trying to convince myself that the story wasn't funny anyhow.

To escape my current google karma I will now start to write like I am trying to extricate myself from some digital nocturnal conventicle....the conventicle of Obscure Google Searches. I can just envision the 'made for TV' movie on this blog - In a Monty Python-esque moment the "Knights who say Ni!" are replaced with the Knights who say "Ikea Buns" to passing readers, and then turn and snicker to each other. Woe is me.

Over the past few months I have settled into two main types of posts:

1. Anecdotes about my daily wanderings: Interjected with humor (or so I'm told) they cover the fields of public transit encounters, interactions with my three year old and callipygian affairs. Who would have thought riding the bus could produce so much blog material?
2. Contemplative social based thoughts as I watch life swirl around me. This is where I take my time away from my work to reflect upon what I never noticed because I was too busy working, schooling and parenting. My personal favorite so far is my quasi-mathematical theory of Patience, referred to as the S-Factor. My academia aspirations bubble up to the surface during these posts...

I have a feeling that you readers come for the first kind of posts, but it's the combination of both that inspires me to keep writing. I aspire to write with imagination that, like when reading Thoreau, it envelopes you like a thick fog, bringing you into the moment. A far cry from my Engineering days, as such I find it surprising which posts attract comments (like the I Really Don't Like Eggs) and which ones don't.

In the process I have attracted a small, but somewhat consistent readership spread from Cincinnati to Phoenix and back up to Toronto. Who'd ever thought.

So, as I continue to blog and and bring a weekly digital diversion from your work my readership will (hopefully) grow. And when that happens and you're all still around, you can say you knew me when I was googled for my buns. Oh how far we will have traveled.

Sex, Blogs & RSS Feeds

A few months Back Mimi in New York wrote an article in Journalism.co.uk on how to promote & sell your blog. As usual she was insightful and offered a well written piece. Her main points included:

1. Controversy - having some for people to comment on. You want controversy from me? Wait until you hear about my 'noodle experiment' story...
2. Fain Mail - Reply to your it (good and bad) so they keep coming back. After reading this I will try to avoid using logicalphilosopher@papernapkin.net for all further correspondence. Send me an email and you'll figure it out.
3. Links - Send out links to both people you may know (or hardly know), while linking to many other blogs. I been thinking of linking to Microsoft and maybe they will do the same.
4. Anonymity - works for some (Waiterrant, Opionistia, Grumpy Teacher and Clublife) and works well as opposite for others. Not sure where I fit into yet...
5. Good Writing - That obviously never stopped many a hollywood script writer....Rocky 6 here we come. I have serendipitously come across many well written blogs, but for every good one, there's probably 1000 more that suck. Tucker Max, while funny, fits into that category.
6. Perseverance - "Is it really a job if it counts as therapy?" I ask.
7. Do it for the love - yep, you loyal readers can sense writing fear like a fat kid on a smartie. All over it and then *poof*, you're gone.

Mimi has hit on the tops for sure, but a few things she forgot to mention, particularly given the guerilla marketing tactics the new blogging generation is know for.

1. Suck up to the geek sites - Get mentioned in Gawker or some other syndicated print paper, and *wham*, hits away. Of course, this may lead to the next point:
2. Get Dooced - yep, sure fire way to get the attention you deserve...as you leave the company with an escort. I'm sure Mark Jen and Ellen Simonetti would probably agree. While I haven't been dooced yet, I came close to it one day but that was before blogs, so not sure what it was called then...
3. Do some celebrity Hacking - You have to admit, hacking Ashton's Kutcher's phone or Paris Hiltons sidekick probably caused some attention...wanted or not.
4. Get groupies - This is important to ponder on because bloggers are poised to be the next American Idol pop-stars of the digital generation. Unlike music and the news industry, bloggers trade not in information value, but in thought value. If one can promote thought then discussion and broadcasting just happens.

So, the question is much deeper than you thought - It's not

"Will I sell sex, blogs or rock and roll?", but rather

"How can I sell sex, blogs and RSS Feeds without selling out to the geek sites, getting dooced or put in jail for hacking. Of course, groupies are cool no matter way you look at it."

I hope you didn't notice the logo...oh well, 1 out of 3 ain't bad.