Monday
18Sep
When Is A Meme Not A Meme?
Sep 18, 2006 at 02:38PM
Or in this case, I'm it. Professor Katy sent me an e-mail yesterday inviting me to join in a meme. As a rule I don't do memes but for whatever reason I don't know, I feel like playing along.
1: Do you like the look and the contents of your blog?
Am I satified? Never. I've made great strides in the years since I began blogging in terms of content, quality, look, feel, texture, etc... but I'm constantly changing, adding new features, and expanding the horizons of BloggingPoet.com and the rest of my blogs. Look for lots of changes to come over time but don't expect any striking differences to suddenly appear. Evolution is most often a slow process.
2: Does your family know about your blog?
Nothing about me is a secret anymore. With the exception of a couple, three cousins, few of my family members are regular readers-- many in my family can't afford computers and Internet access-- but everyone knows except one uncle whose head is always in the sand.
3: Can you tell your friends about your blog? Do you consider it a private thing?
Tell my friends? Are they kidding, who came up with that question? I average passing out 200 business cards each week with my blog URLs proudly displayed and I'm also the owner of the world's first StreetPlane. Private? Get real, nothing about me is private, it's too much of a bother trying to keep secrets.
4: Do you just read the blogs of those who comment on your blog? or you try to discover new blogs?
I try, but alas it's just more than I can keep up with. My blogroll is over six web pages long with links to almost 1000 bloggers and I refuse to use a feedreader. Then there's the online communities I organize like Poets101 with almost 100 blogging members and Blogsboro-- the most successful local blogging group in the world-- with 116 members... Fact is: I'm swamped but I try, I really do try. And I discover new blogs every day.
5: Did your blog positively affect your mind? Give an example.
Depends on the day, I guess. There are days when blogging is all I can bring myself to do and other days when I think of throwing my beloved iMac out the window. Love-hate relationship? No, I love blogging but even the best marriages have their down days.
6: What does the number of visitors to your blog mean? Do you use a traffic counter?
I'm obsessed with traffic. For example: From off the top of my head, yesterday 1,150 people read the blog you're reading now, almost 4000 people read it in the last 7 days, my RSS feeds average over 700 hits a day, 9,157 people read this blog in the last 30 days, and in the last 12 months BloggingPoet.com has seen over 1 million page views. LaureatesKids.com-- my children's blog-- averages over 700 readers a week. What do all these numbers mean? Only that I've become very adept at the art and science of organic traffic generation-- nothing more.
7: Did you imagine how other bloggers look like?
Sometimes, but then I look in the mirror and think, Is that something I really want to know? Besides, I've already met several hundred bloggers and will meet many more at ConvergeSouth I hope you can make it. Did I mention Elizabeth Edwards will be there?
8: Do you think blogging has any real benefit?
You mean besides building communities, exposing crooked politicians, raising much needed capitol for worthy causes, pushing the traditional media to take on higher standards, promoting unknown talent, and making new friends... Naw, it's just a bunch of BS, that's all.
9: Do you think that the Blogsphere is a stand alone community separated from the real world?
The Blogosphere is mearly a welcome extension of communities into other communities, a way to get inside without being intrusive or demanding with each community setting their own boundries as they feel comfortable doing. Without the rest of the world we could have no Blogosphere.
10: Do some political blogs scare you? Do you avoid them?
Some do, and I avoid the ones that do. Neither of the fringes will ever control my mind.
11: Do you think that criticizing your blog is useful?
"That depends on what the definition of "is" is."
12: Have you ever thought about what happen to your blog in case you died?
I've already written a very long and thoughtful post on that very subject... but I've yet to post it. Lets just say I'm more concerned with the colorabations myself and others are currently building than with what you can already see. Sorry, trade secrets.
13: Which blogger had the greatest impression on you?
Ed Cone taught most of the Blogsboro community how to blog. Some will deny and claim "so and so" taught them, but they fail to realize that Ed is the model "so and so" attempted to emulate-- with some exceptions. While most of what I've accomplished may look very different from the way Ed does things, I've made it a point to watch his every move and learn from Ed's successes as well as his mistakes.
14: Which blogger you think is the most similar to you?
I wouldn't make that claim about my worst enemy.
15: Name a song you want to listen to.
War protest songs? Why has America failed to realize that since 9-12-2001 none of the major networks have played any of the war protest songs that were played daily from the 1960s until 9-12-2001? I was listening to a Pennsylvania classic rock radio station on 9-12-2001 when in the middle of the song, Together
by Canned Heat, the radio station stopped playing it altogether. And when the DJ complained he was immediately replaced with another voice. "United we stand, divided we fall, come on now people let's get on the ball, and work together, come on, come on let's work together, now, now People. Because together we will stand every boy, girl, woman, and man." Yeah, I'd like to hear that song again, without the protest songs, America is doomed and damned.
16: Ask five bloggers to answer these question on their blogs.
Okay guys and gals, you've been tagged. I know most of you don't usually do memes but this isn't a meme, remember?
JW
Lenslinger
Paul
Jo
Joel
Updates: Some of those I picked have given their answers-- I think it's important you read what they have to say:
JW
Jo Janoski
Joel
Update 2: Like a virus it spreads to others:
Fecund Stench has caught it as well.
1: Do you like the look and the contents of your blog?
Am I satified? Never. I've made great strides in the years since I began blogging in terms of content, quality, look, feel, texture, etc... but I'm constantly changing, adding new features, and expanding the horizons of BloggingPoet.com and the rest of my blogs. Look for lots of changes to come over time but don't expect any striking differences to suddenly appear. Evolution is most often a slow process.
2: Does your family know about your blog?
Nothing about me is a secret anymore. With the exception of a couple, three cousins, few of my family members are regular readers-- many in my family can't afford computers and Internet access-- but everyone knows except one uncle whose head is always in the sand.
3: Can you tell your friends about your blog? Do you consider it a private thing?
Tell my friends? Are they kidding, who came up with that question? I average passing out 200 business cards each week with my blog URLs proudly displayed and I'm also the owner of the world's first StreetPlane. Private? Get real, nothing about me is private, it's too much of a bother trying to keep secrets.
4: Do you just read the blogs of those who comment on your blog? or you try to discover new blogs?
I try, but alas it's just more than I can keep up with. My blogroll is over six web pages long with links to almost 1000 bloggers and I refuse to use a feedreader. Then there's the online communities I organize like Poets101 with almost 100 blogging members and Blogsboro-- the most successful local blogging group in the world-- with 116 members... Fact is: I'm swamped but I try, I really do try. And I discover new blogs every day.
5: Did your blog positively affect your mind? Give an example.
Depends on the day, I guess. There are days when blogging is all I can bring myself to do and other days when I think of throwing my beloved iMac out the window. Love-hate relationship? No, I love blogging but even the best marriages have their down days.
6: What does the number of visitors to your blog mean? Do you use a traffic counter?
I'm obsessed with traffic. For example: From off the top of my head, yesterday 1,150 people read the blog you're reading now, almost 4000 people read it in the last 7 days, my RSS feeds average over 700 hits a day, 9,157 people read this blog in the last 30 days, and in the last 12 months BloggingPoet.com has seen over 1 million page views. LaureatesKids.com-- my children's blog-- averages over 700 readers a week. What do all these numbers mean? Only that I've become very adept at the art and science of organic traffic generation-- nothing more.
7: Did you imagine how other bloggers look like?
Sometimes, but then I look in the mirror and think, Is that something I really want to know? Besides, I've already met several hundred bloggers and will meet many more at ConvergeSouth I hope you can make it. Did I mention Elizabeth Edwards will be there?
8: Do you think blogging has any real benefit?
You mean besides building communities, exposing crooked politicians, raising much needed capitol for worthy causes, pushing the traditional media to take on higher standards, promoting unknown talent, and making new friends... Naw, it's just a bunch of BS, that's all.
9: Do you think that the Blogsphere is a stand alone community separated from the real world?
The Blogosphere is mearly a welcome extension of communities into other communities, a way to get inside without being intrusive or demanding with each community setting their own boundries as they feel comfortable doing. Without the rest of the world we could have no Blogosphere.
10: Do some political blogs scare you? Do you avoid them?
Some do, and I avoid the ones that do. Neither of the fringes will ever control my mind.
11: Do you think that criticizing your blog is useful?
"That depends on what the definition of "is" is."
12: Have you ever thought about what happen to your blog in case you died?
I've already written a very long and thoughtful post on that very subject... but I've yet to post it. Lets just say I'm more concerned with the colorabations myself and others are currently building than with what you can already see. Sorry, trade secrets.
13: Which blogger had the greatest impression on you?
Ed Cone taught most of the Blogsboro community how to blog. Some will deny and claim "so and so" taught them, but they fail to realize that Ed is the model "so and so" attempted to emulate-- with some exceptions. While most of what I've accomplished may look very different from the way Ed does things, I've made it a point to watch his every move and learn from Ed's successes as well as his mistakes.
14: Which blogger you think is the most similar to you?
I wouldn't make that claim about my worst enemy.
15: Name a song you want to listen to.
War protest songs? Why has America failed to realize that since 9-12-2001 none of the major networks have played any of the war protest songs that were played daily from the 1960s until 9-12-2001? I was listening to a Pennsylvania classic rock radio station on 9-12-2001 when in the middle of the song, Together
by Canned Heat, the radio station stopped playing it altogether. And when the DJ complained he was immediately replaced with another voice. "United we stand, divided we fall, come on now people let's get on the ball, and work together, come on, come on let's work together, now, now People. Because together we will stand every boy, girl, woman, and man." Yeah, I'd like to hear that song again, without the protest songs, America is doomed and damned.
16: Ask five bloggers to answer these question on their blogs.
Okay guys and gals, you've been tagged. I know most of you don't usually do memes but this isn't a meme, remember?
JW
Lenslinger
Paul
Jo
Joel
Updates: Some of those I picked have given their answers-- I think it's important you read what they have to say:
JW
Jo Janoski
Joel
Update 2: Like a virus it spreads to others:
Fecund Stench has caught it as well.
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