My good friend the Pedant-General draws my attention to Joel Achenbach's article on the seductive lure of blogging. His mantra, "Ignore the blog. Do your work.", is as effective for him as it is for me - it doesn't work. Paradoxically, the busier I am the more compelling is the urge to break off from whatever it is I am doing and consign some random thoughts to a post. August, traditionally the quietest month at Seat Towers, has seen a diminution of contributions, perhaps because my time is being spent tidying up and preparing for the end of this business year (next month) and the advent of the next. I suspect, though, that my creative faculties are still on holiday somewhere in the Cilento, and will only rejoin me after next week's Bank Holiday.
But, back to Mr Achenbach. His blog started "...in January as a catch basin for mental detritus, for the kind of stuff not good enough for print, but too good to waste on casual conversation or, worse, mere thinking." But, then along came visitors - and vistors who left comments. Then the blog became a conversation - but one which became focused on a few key issues. "It's obvious what people want: political screeds and celebrity gossip." He complains, "The more you mention people like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, the more readers you will have, and the more links, and the more you will rise in Google's estimation."
Well, if you must blog about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, let alone Karl Rove, the great conspiracy of the religious right, alien abduction, Jessica Simpson or even Iraq, the inevitable Googlanche of visitors will undoubtedly fall on your head.
Mr Achenbach's cries have sparked a thought, though. It's time we had another competition and once I've drawn the strands together I think we'll have a contest for the best poem incorporating a series of random words which might inspire Googlers to visit your blog. Sharpen your pencils and prepare to get poetic.
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