Random bullshit
When I first decided to start a blog, I had not a frigging clue what I was doing. I had a feeling of what I wanted to write about and had read other peoples blogs for a while but that was about it.
I wrote a couple of posts, then I read this guys blog on how to get people to start reading and got some tips on the whole process. I followed the links and registered for blogdumps, technocrati, blog fusion and best blog of all time as per the advice given.
These sites didn't produce any readership and all I got was spam comments about penis enlargement and junk stocks.
Finally, I figured the best way to get people to read and visit was to go out and do it the hard way. I started hitting the next blog button and anything I found that was well written, current and thoughtful got a comment from me and was added to my favorites.
I probably visited several hundred blogs in the course of a few weeks and tried to leave a pertinent comment on whatever topic was at hand. Many of these folks were in the same boat I was. They were putting their heart into writing but no one was reading. I probably deflowered the comment sections of about 50 different blogs.
I also went to my favorite popular blogs and began participating consistently with well thought out comments.
Slowly, people started showing up over here little by little. My writing and topic choices were getting more refined as well. However, It was still a learning process.
My ultimate goal was to use this blog to help people. I had a dream ever since I was a kid of being an advice columnist. I'm sure that sounds pretty gay compared to the other kids who wanted to be cops, firemen and gynecologists. I figured I had plenty of experiences and made enough mistakes to be able to pass on some advice to someone in need.
Things didn't turn out that way exactly, and I ended up sharing my experiences, rants and sense of humor instead of addressing people individually.
I had thoughts of using this blog as a business venture but I've grown too fond of you guys to annoy you with spam and sell you shit that you don't need or care about.
However, if any of you want me to review a product that you produce, I'll be happy to do a write up on this blog.
Which brings me to the "best blog of all time" I subscribed to it thinking that whoever runs the place will read submissions and decide to choose someone each day to highlight based on the content and quality. Then after a while, I started getting spam from the guy saying the more money I send him the better my chances are of getting to be the best blog, and If I sent a hundred bucks I was almost guaranteed to be best blog of the week. What the fuck? According to this guys logic the best blogs are the ones that pay him? Fuck him in the goat ass. I'm all for capitalism but that's just bullshit. That's like saying that the NFL team that sends the most money to the league headquarters gets to go to the Superbowl.
As soon as I got that Email I removed the link and unsubscribed.
Anyway, I want to say thanks again to those of you who choose to stop by to read and or comment each week. Also, if any of you guys want me to add you to my sidebar links or if you have a blog you want me to check out, just drop me a line and I'll be happy to oblige.
posted by Bill Rowland @ March 06, 2007
50 Comments
50 Comments:
I did the Bestest Blog too and when I got named Blog of the Day, I sent the guy five bucks as a thanks, mostly because I got like 400 hits that day. After awhile though, he started asking for more money... my readership from that site had dwindled, and now I'm back to about where I was before... not horrible, not spectacular either. I get most of my hits these days from regular readers and from Google hits. lol
I know I had lost track of your blog for awhile, but I'm trying to get back into reading my blogroll regularly, and I realized what I had missed about this place. Your posts are funny, thoughtful, and I find that I agree with most of what you say -- which can't hurt. ;)
I think I discovered you via the bestest random button originally…but now your on my list. Although according to Paul (http://singlemanwriting.blogspot.com/) being on the list is not always a good thing.
I don’t pay anything for bestest…so he has never asked me to up the ante….not sure I’m in the blogsphere for forever…I have also thought about earning a little cash on the side…but I am concerned it would suck me in.
By the way….rumor has it if you call someone gay you get sent to rehab….laughing laughing laughing.
I don't search blogs anymore. I like the people I have and I have no extra time to spend looking anymore. I cherish each of you in different ways. I look at you as a hard working guy with great morals and you are honest. And it keeps me coming back for more.
Haven't a clue how I found you - I think it might have been thru the Frothmistress. I always enjoy your posts. You are certainly a great story teller and I am a big fan of great stories.
Hope you keep them coming. I suppose I could go back in the archives too...
I remember that day... you were the first "foreigner" to leave a comment on my blog. I started it for my mom and my brother and a few friends to keep up-to-date with what I was up to in London... and it changed things. I liked having other bloggers visit and get involved with my life. it's very cool. cheers Hammer!
Awwwww Hammer, you're SUCH a cool guy. You just are.
I haven't done ANY of that stuff - I got most of the blogs I read from your site - apart from Meg, you were my first read.
As for selling stuff....yeah, that's kinda weird, especially for me...but I don't plug my CD or anything - hopefully one day soon I'll have a website and people can go and buy to their heart's content =)
To anyone who's reading...Hammer wrote a lovely review of my Kids CD - I recommend you take him up on his offer....
"Fuck him in the goat ass"....hahahahahahahahahahahahaha You make me laugh with stuff that usually wouldn't!! :+D
I can't remember how I found you either - maybe through GOC or GuyK. I think it was your post about bullies that I started commenting and linking to you.
I do not think being an advice columnist is gay...and I think you'd be good at it!
When I first started I had some help from one of the best..the late and great Rob Smith..aka the acidman of Gut Rumbles. Rob told me he could throw several hundred hits my way..but it was up to me to keep them coming back. He was right..I have managed to keep a steady 260 per day average..enough to keep me at it.
Rob told me another thing or two about blogging..you can't please everyone so you might as well please yourself. I write what I think and write damn near the same way I talk. If people come back then I do appreciate it and it helps my ego..but I also realize that I am not gonna please everyone and do not try.
Thanks for coming by..hope to see you again.
allie: I remember that, I thought it was cool when you got BOTD. After a while though, when the money started rolling in he began basically, selling reviews.
Thanks for the kind words :)
Katherine: thanks for the link to paul's site. Yeah I've got my list too as you can probably tell :)
Rehab..hmmmm I could use a vacation ;D
Carrie: that is very nice of you to say. I've got my hands full too and pretty much discover new blogs from people linking and commenting.
Jeannie: It was either that or L>T I'm starting to lose my once excellent memory for details. Feel free to browse the archives but remember in some of my first ones I was still trying to find my voice.
Helene: I'm glad to hear that :) It's gratifying to see people randomly meet and start to know each other from far off places.
KB: Thanks, that's very kind of you to say :) I can't wait to review your next CD.
Shannon: I remember seeing you link to me from technocrati. It's really gratifying when someone can relate to a post and topic that means a great deal to me.
jen: thanks, I feel better about my masculinity ;) Maybe I could start a side blog. "Dear Hammer"
guyk:
Rob was one of my favorite reads back in the day. I remember when he decided to rant using the word "nigger" and 500 pussy ass bloggers dropped him from their blogrolls. He didn't apologize for being himself and that just made my respect for him even greater.
I started my blog after being inspired by Rob, Lawdog and Madogre. Rob passed just as I wrote my first post and I didn't even know it till the next day.
I've got you on my blogroll now and will continue to visit your site.
I just love your stories. Keep it up.
I think you do a wonderful job blogging. Interesting thoughts and great stories; some funny and some quite sad. I often don't have anything to say but I read you atleast twice a day.
I think Lexcen sent me your way and I ended up reading back into your archives. You have good stories, great humor, and a level of decency missing from a lot of people these days. Including myself I might add! Personally, I try not to concern myself too much with how many people read my blog. A few people who find it entertaining enough to return is quite satisfying to me. Quality not quantity I feel is what is important. And I have achieved that already. A blast of hits from one source or another means very little more than just another number. Keep up the good work. I like that Dear Hammer Idea...you should pattern that wordpress spot you have along that vein. It could be like a laboratory experiment.
Greetings from AMERICA'S FAVORITE BLOG!!!!!
I think I found you first, but I don't know how...
It's funny, I used to have over 100 hits a day, but over half of them were for image searches on google, which pissed me off, so I deleted the offending images, now I am down to about 40, sometimes 50, per day, and that's how I like it.
I would never pay someone to send people my way. Nuh Uh. That's not how we roll over at:
AMERICA'S FAVORITE BLOG.
I tried once, you won't. No biggie.
For the record, I'm a big fan of your blog. Since I found it, I've always been impressed with the scope of your topics and the savvy of your writing. Kudos.
Now, that your head can't fit the door, thanks for the tip. I'll definitely avoid anyone advertising "the best blog of all time."
fathairybastard: thanks man. I will.
leann: I appreciate it. Thanks for the kind sentiments :)
JP: Thanks for compliment! When I went looking for readers I didn't expect to find more than a few. You're right, it's quality that matters. I don't even check blogstats anymore unless I'm curious to see who an anonymous poster is. Excellent idea about the wordpress site.
Infinitesimal: Funny :D I get more perverted searches than anything.
The pay for blog hits is like like those myspace creeps who are charging for attractive people to be their friends.
Dick: That one went over my head.
James Burnett: Damn, now I'm going to have to start neck excercises in order to support my big head ;)
Thanks for the kudos. Very much appreciated.
I found your blog by luck, I was going through Annie's first blog's links and saw you. Came over, liked what I saw and linked you soon after. I'm not sure how I got most of my readers, although if you do a Google search for "donut addict" I'm the second and third search result.
I started my blog to change the world.
*snorts in disgust*
I would NEVER allow an ad on my blog, it wasn't about making money to me.
I have NEVER asked anyone for a penny, other than a few times I've asked folks to send money to the world food bank.
But that wasn't for me, it is for dying people.
I set out to convince the world that mankind is God in evolution.
My blog has been a complete failure. Sigh.
"I had a dream ever since I was a kid of being an advice columnist."
He, he, he, I'm laughing through my tears, thanks for the laugh.
I'm amazed at how often you post. I seem to post in an irregular fashion. I think I'd initially found your blog via the next blog method, and wasn't sure what kind of reception I'd get, being so much more liberal than you and many of your regulars.
To your credit, it's never been an issue. You are (literally) a scholar and a gentleman.
brandon: I'ts cool how seemingly unrelated topics and bloggers form a family tree of sorts.
BBC: We all plant seeds, sometimes it takes a while for them to germinate. Even if it seems what you say goes in one ear and out the other, your idea is forever implanted in the readers mind and they will have to deal with the information eventually. Be patient you may have affected more people than you realize. I will say your piss and vinegar approach certainly gets peoples attention.
stucco: I don't have to agree with everyone 100% of the time. I can recognize decent folks of all persuasions. And you're certainly one of the good ones.
I'm glad I discovered you, today, quite unexpectedly!!!
Yes, I've said for years that I'm a gardener planting seeds.
Can't say that any of them have sprouted.
Fuck it.
Hammer, I'm not sure, but I think you found me first, somehow.
Anyway, your blog is a great find because it is the only non-political site that is among my regular visits. You are just a breath of fresh air to me.
As far as site traffic goes, I never really have obsessed about my ratings, though I do check sitemeter frequently out of general curiosity. I figure just type what you mean and mean what you type and the rest just takes care of itself.
"I probably deflowered the comment sections of about 50 different blogs."
hehehe! I always get a big thrill doing that! BTW, you never forget your first do you!
I lost mine to a Jordanian girl and a Tunisian woman! How exotic is that! The amusing thing is after leaving many silly comments & following links on their blogs, over a years time I seem to have built up a significant Middle Eastern readership. I find that pretty fascinating actually, the unintentional & unexpected direction things take!
Funny, I figured my poor taste and vulgarity would not be appealing to many of that demographic.
Spinning girl: thanks for stopping by! :)
MadZ: I'm honored. Thank you. I like the type what you mean and mean what you type creedo. It's the only way to be.
Chris: I know what you mean. blogs make for strange and unexpected bedfellows. Just goes to show that common folks around the globe are more alike than most would have us believe.
I used to read alot of blogs that were "recommended" by Bestest Blog. Then I realized that most of them were paying upwards of hundreds of dollars to attract zillions of readers. Fudge that crap. My blog has not really found its identity yet - probably due to the chaos in my life since I started blogging. I was hoping to blog about farm life but my dream has practically become my biggest nightmare. Still it helps to keep up with others (I usually do not see any humans but once a week) and to divert my attentions from problems.
nomas: Yeah that paying for visits shit is like blogstitution. Totally lame. I don't mind donating when they work hard to do something worthwhile but paying blog slotting fees isn't my bag baby. I like your blog about the farm. It's different than the norm.
Scott: I'm an insomniac and I hate most TV so I've got a little extra time to catch up on about 100 different people's lives several times a week.. and yep I remember the poo story. That seems like a long time ago.
I am not so busy with how MANY that makes comment on my blog, I'm more interested in the quality of those people that leave a comment behind.
I live a very silent and withdrawn life, so the blog is the only contact I have with the world...
I don't have to be famous ... Neither in the one nor the other way.
Hammer, you are just a damn good writer, period.
You can't hide talent it will come out.
Kirsten: Good point. I notice that we eventually attract all kinds good and bad one way or another. I consider myself fortunate not to have the same problems that some of the more controversial bloggers have.
keeskennis: Thank you for the kind words my friend.
I found your blog the old fashioned way.... someone said something about it on thier website.
I have a very small list of blogs that I read, even if I don't have time to read.
Yours is one of them. Oh, and thank you for not filling your blog with PPP and advertising. That's refreshing.
Its the fact that you're the kind of guy that actually thought out reasons for blogging that keeps me coming over here. I just love your practical, no nonsense style, your stories and anecdotes. I approach your blog every day with the same comfortable attitude I have for the people who pull up a chair on my porch to shoot the breeze for awhile.
A "Dear Hammer" side blog would be a great read. When you don't have serious questions, it would be easy to make up your own.
You write about life. You do it in an incredibly funny and heartbreaking way. Some of your topics, well, either can make you cry or laugh. I ususally end up laughing though.
I'm still on the Bestest Blog thing, because I still use his random blog button. When I try blogger's Next Blog, 9 of 10 times, I get a blog in a foreign language. I don't care enough about numbers of readers to buy myself a one day spot as Bestest Blog though.
My blog started out as, and I guess always will be, a place for me to finally write out childhood memories, and also to vent a little about stuff in the news as well. 99% of what I have put on there are my own thoughts, with the occasional cut-paste to pass along information. And lots of my photographs too, I guess.
You do great work here.
Dear Hammer,
Thanks for the heads up on 'blog of the day'. I had wondered if it was a good site. Asking for money stinks. "WHO'S WHO IN BUSINESS" does that in the stock market, and it is such a joke. Only people who AREN'T in the business are impressed.
When I had an erotica blog, people flocked there like crazy... But I also think it was because I went to their blogs every day and commented back if they had left a comment on mine. Reciprocity seesm to help. Common interests do too.
Or maybe it's just that they relate to who you are or what you write about... Or a combination of all of the above...
I really enjoy your blog, reading about your experiences, with your intelligence and bluntness and pithy sense of humor and basic kindness.
Have a great Wednesday !
Ryan: glad you made it over here and have become a regular visitor :)
kat: I think we approach blogging in the same way. Not too serious and pretentious :)
JAM: thanks for the vote of confidence :) The dear hammer idea is starting to sound more interesting as a side project. I like the way you use pictures and stories behind them on your blog I can't even remember where the pics in my albums came from or when they were taken.
Thanks annie: Reciprocity is important indeed. I appreciate your kind words they mean a lot :)
I must say Hammer, you have developed quite a following. I'm proud of ya! And you write about interesting stuff. I read all of them...comment on most of them. Keep makin it do what it do!
Flyinfox_SATX
Hammer,
I used to have a link on your blog. You must have erroneously removed me. Or, I pissed you off one day. I think it's a fifty fifty on either. Either way. If you're done being mad at me, go ahead and put me back on the sidebar. If you're not, ignore my request. :)
I haven't written on my own blog in a while. Going through a lot of bs. So Mr. Advice.....I filed for divorce from my husband, and life has gotten pretty interesting..... Figure, you might have some sort of advice. Bear in mind that I am a shoot first ask questions later type of gal. Military upbringing, I guess.
billmaker: my mistake I'm sure, I shouldn't drink when I mess with my settings. Thanks for the heads up :)
flyinfox: Thanks bud. withall the nice things people are saying I'm going to have to buckle down ;)
Wow...I spent like 10 minutes just reading your comments on this. 43 people left comments before me!!
I'd say you've done alright for yourself in the blogworld. I'm fairly new as well, but have my little circle.
I always see your comments on Helene's blog and Ryan's too...so I came from there.
enjoy reading you, do want to be addded to your blog list if you will look at my site and see if it fits in with what you feel comfortable with. Seems everyone thinks very highly of your writing, I think you have made it!
Hammer, you have an impressive talent for writing. Sorry that my commenting here has slacked off, but I still read here regularly.
Here is a blog I think you would like, if you haven't found him by now... http://bewaretheaspergantus.blogspot.com
...and feel free to add my humble blog if you like.
vancouver: thanks for visiting. Nice blog you have there. You will be added to my bookmarks shortly :)
Editor: Thanks for visiting, I've added you to my links :)
Jean: I think I lost you for a while when you took time off. I'll be happy to put you in the links :)
Thanks for the nice compliment.
Rob Smith of Gutrumbles was my inspiration for starting a blog. (Damn, I sure miss him!) I can't remember how I found your blog but I think it might have been via Janet's Ordinary Life. I love your take on things and your sense of humor! I only had to read a couple of your blog posts before I added you to my blogroll right then and there. I knew you were a "keeper". :-)
Hammer,
Thanks for adding me back on to your blogroll. It's nice to know I didn't piss SOMEONE off, for once. (lol) Drunk blogging is fun. Since I'll be alone on friday, gonna make a few amaretto sours and blog to my drunken hearts content. Maybe I'll invite a few friends over and make it even more fun!!!!!
Have a great day Hammer. My days are getting better and better.
Hammer, you appear to be doing just fine. ;-)
I think your blog is great...I did the same as you when I started and had the same results.
That is why I started "BlogDumps" in the hopes it would create a community if bloggers that were passionate about blogging for the sake of blogging. I hope you didn't get alot of the spam and bull coming from my place and if you did sorry.
All the best
Wolfbernz
cindi: thanks Rob was an inspiration of mine too :)
Bllmaker: amaretto sours mmmm. the good thing about drunk blogging is that word verification usually stops me eventually ;)
rose: thank you :)
wolfbernz: Blogdumps is great, you are the only one who has come over and visted and mentioned me on your site. Haven't received any spam either. Thanks :)
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