Or maybe it's just a matter of consolidation.
Anyway, as you know, I gave up blogging over a year ago.
Now some of you might snicker and point to such things as this post for evidence to the contrary, but you have to admit, compared to those times in the distant past when I might post ten or twelve multi-hundred-word, thoughtily-involved, occasionally mildly humorous posts a day, the current version is about as close to moribund as Possumblog could be, short of actually, you know, being really for real, gone-on-to-my-reward dead.
Why do I mention this?
Because I noticed something peculiar the other day--over in the sidebar at the very bottom, I was ranked as a "Marauding Marsupial" on the The Truth Laid Bear's Ecosystem. And today? A "Large Mammal."
Now friends, that's just bizarre. In its prime when I was writing thousands of words a day, with traffic on the order of a couple thousand unique hits per day, it was exceedingly rare for Possumblog to ever even get past the Slimy Mollusc stage. Oh, there were the times when it might even get Adorable Rodent status, but Large Mammal!? I don't think that ever happened.
So why now? I don't post regularly, the content of what I do wind up posting is weaker than the roots of Joe Biden's hair plugs (and not even half as funny) and yet, at least for today, I'm ranked as number 838.
Well, for one, all the junk I wrote in the past is still up and available for Googleering, so I reckon even if I did actually die, the site would still be reasonably well-trafficked by people searching for "all the "dumb guys" are running a race but the good guys will give up and come over to the concession stand where you'll be waiting with a towel and a h".
Quite a comfort, there, eh?
But I think there's probably something else happening (and I'm sure someone else has probably already noticed it and commented on it, and I just haven't seen it), but I think the huge number of Citizen Journalists-type blogs are being replaced by a fewer, larger, groupier blogs.
Let's face it, writing full-time is difficult if you actually have a full-time job. It's also difficult to keep things fresh and topical and entertaining with a one-member staff (even if you're a comedic and intellectual giant such as myself). Over the years, my guess is people have developed an affinity for a more select number of sites, ones that they trust to deliver whatever counterbalance they might seek from the traditional media sources and that do so with a certain level of expected quality or competence. With those expection also come one forced by the available technology, namely that there's going to be a LOT of content, and near constant coverage of any story, and the general result of all that means more than one person is going to have to be writing the thing.
Sorta like those things people called "newspapers."
So, anyway, I say the number of working, useful, usable blogs is shrinking (although obviously the potential readership isn't), and I suppose Possumblog happens to be the accidental beneficiary of that shakeout. It's not quite dead enough, and apparently that's good enough to get some traffic these days.
WEIRDNESS UPDATE: Maybe yesterday's spike was just a fluke--today your humble marsupial is once again nothing higher than a Marauding Marsupial, ranked in the mid-2000s. (Which is still a good bit higher than I remember it being for most of the time I was doing a lot of blogging.)
Posted by Terry Oglesby at September 16, 2008 02:04 PMWhy, Cletus was just saying as how he has found it dern near impossible to find time to blog anymore. Besides, there doesn't appear to be anyone to read what he writes.
He blames it on the mortgage crisis.
Blaming it on Bush seems to be so old school.
Posted by: Billy Joe Bob at September 16, 2008 03:10 PMMaybe you should blame it on Palin, the new and improved Object of Raging Leftist Hatred!
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at September 16, 2008 03:54 PMCrisis, what crisis? You ain't seen nuttin' yet! Bu bu bu bu bu baby you just ain't seen nuttin' yet ...
Most of us AoW/Possumblogger "habitues" just want a little taste still, like once a week or whatever. It will not be the same community as it was before, but it's tough to be a community organizer nowadays. Like someone who does stuff but has no responsibility ... like a blogger.
(Is Chester going to be mad that you left him off your "staff"?)
Posted by: Marc V at September 16, 2008 10:22 PMGlad you're still around. By the way, with your kind permission, I will be nominating Revolvoblog as 'blog of the month' in our local Volvo club publication, entitled 'Rolling', which is as neat a half-a-famous-publication-name pun gets.
(It doesn't matter that you haven't blogged there for a while, you might have been in the workshop repairing an odometer ... or an airflow meter ... or a fuel distributor ...)
Posted by: kitchen hand at September 16, 2008 10:34 PMYeah, Marc, we community organizers get no respect nowadays--it's almost like people think they're smart enough to do without us. As for Chet, he's still raking in cornflake royalties, so he doesn't care.
AS FOR REVOLVOBLOG, thank you very much, Kitchen Hand, I would be greatly honored! It's been even deader than this place, but then again, I haven't had to do anything to the car in a long time other than keep gas in it. I did get a nice email just the other day from a guy who lives nearby with his own ancient bucket of Swedish bolts, so people do still come by it sorta like they do here--by accident.
BUT, do me a favor--please don't talk about fixing the flair-oh eter-may! I live in constant dread it's going to crap out. Along with the Jetronic computer. And the fuel pump. Or that I'll walk out one morning and the whole thing's burnt up because of a short in the wiring harness.
In any event, if I win, I'll be sure and do an update just so everyone knows I'm grateful for the recognition.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at September 17, 2008 07:48 AMI been thinking about your car lately, Terry. The time has come for us to say goodbye to Volvo and I think it is going to be going to the scrap yard. Sniff. It was such a good car for so long, but it just isn't any more.
Posted by: Jordana at September 17, 2008 04:36 PMThings do eventually wear out, I suppose. Good-bye, Black Beauty!
But before you scrap it, at least give a shot to selling it in the paper or on Craigslist. Or, you know, put it up on blocks in your yard and sell it part by part.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at September 17, 2008 04:44 PMYes, you're right; I think this blog is "close to moribund". At least lately, I don't feel like such a fool dropping in and seeing the last post was 9 weeks ago! I'm hoping you'll take up full-time blogging again.
BTW, I've been visiting another blog recently, and it's pretty well written. http://bodocktimes.blogspot.com/
Now, get back to posting.
Posted by: BillW at September 18, 2008 07:50 PMBill, if only I could, but the job I have now means I just don't have the time. Now, if someone would like to pay me what I make now to sit and type silly crap all day long...
And Tony, I have no idea.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at September 22, 2008 07:03 AM