TypePad informs me I've got one day remaining on my 30-day free trial. I think it's time to assess the value of my 29-day blogging adventure.
I've posted 31 times, and received 62 comments--all thoughtful, responsible comments (thank you Spammer Gods, for protecting my site with your powerful mojo). I'm getting around 70-80 hits a day now, only a few of which are from me or my minions. (My younger daughter still hasn't read my blog; I think she's afraid I'm writing embarrassing stuff about her--as if the Royals don't provide enough material!) I like to think it's quality, not quantity. You guys are the few, the proud, and mostly related to me by birth.
Go ahead, think of yourselves as a select group. While EVERYONE is reading Atrios, you're a discriminating reader, reviewing carefully selected blog: Amero-British blog, hucksterish Daily Mirror-style blog, dog-on-dog blog, inquisitive, thoughtful blog, superior nyah-nyah-nyah blog, and some trash, let's face it.
I've moved up in the world of search engines: What Do I Know? often appears on the first page of Google hits, depending on the search terms. The most popular search is "freaky frog ringtones" and second is "juicebars". (Maybe I've been out of the states too long, but I had no idea juicebars had become so popular.) Oddest was a search for "Bonnie Franklin nude." I don't wanna know.
The other day, when I'd just told myself no one reads this crap, so why go on, I got an email from my aunt. "ARE YOU SICK?" she asked. "Why haven't you posted yet? I read you every day. I don't know where you get your news. I don't see that kinda stuff on CNN." My aunt, mind you, only recently started using a computer and never cared about email or the internets.
This is why I'll let that free trial period lapse and pay for the remaining 11 months. Amazingly enough, someone reads this crap I write every day. After years of filling my hard drive with fiction, I've found fans in the unlikeliest of places. (And if you're the one who searched for "Bonnie Franklin nude", shame on you!) They even care if I get sick. (A few sniffles, but I'll get over it. Thanks for asking.)
Eat your heart out, Atrios.
