Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Learning The Ropes Wednesday

I figured since I don’t know much about blogging, I’d troll around some other blogs, see what they’re up to, and make sure I don’t inadvertently rip anyone off. I’d hate to go to all this trouble just to replicate what’s already been done.

So, using the handy Next Blog button, which Blogger indicated would take me through a series of random blogs, I conducted a scientific survey of approximately 62,000 sites. At least that what it seemed like. It only really took me about ten minutes. By the way, Blogger’s definition of “random” appears to be “twenty, then we start repeating.”

Here are the results:

Only 10% of all blogs are written in English. I admit, this was a little shocking to me too, and it somewhat limited the scope of the scientific survey since English happens to be the only language I read. However, if only 10% of bloggers are blogging in English that means most people are doing something else, and that means English could be just the niche I’m looking for. That’s good news.

Now, of those 10% English language blogs, roughly 72% want me to look at pictures of their children, 15% want to save my soul from the fiery depths of Hell, and 8% can get me a good deal on athletic footwear, as long as I don’t mind waiting six to eight weeks for delivery from Costa Rica.

In addition to the raw numbers, here are some other various tidbits I picked up along the way:

There are a lot of amazingly talented photographers eating up global bandwidth.

“The current crisis with astronomy and particle physics in the UK is a two-prong problem.” I would’ve guessed three.

Spanish language blogs with Content Warnings = naked women. Admittedly, this is where the scientific survey bogged down a bit.

So, to sum up:

Write in English. Check.

No family photos. Check.

Never consult Blogger in matters requiring an accurate definition. Check.

Also, visit more Spanish language blogs. No problemo.

And I thought this was gonna be hard.

13 comments:

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

Blogless! You are bloggin!!!! Happy days! Another blog to come waste my time at! But I knew that if you ever actually followed through on your blog, you would be hysterical. Now you can't disappoint me!

I shall be linking you immediately!

McKoala said...

I love the truth-ometer.

I avoid family photos too, although my kids are undoubtedly infinitely more talented than any others on this planet, including yours. That would be if we left cricket out of the argument, of course. Roll on soccer season!

Robin S. said...

Can we say bad words on your blog?
If your kids read it, I'm gonna have to rein in.

You are so damn funny. It's good to read more than a sentence or two of it!

Wonderwood said...

Yo, BT! Now you, too, can waste an hour or so of good writing time on your blog, rather than working on your WIP. It's a great distraction. Well, not for me so much, since I only seem to write a new post about once a month, but I've heard from others it can be addictive. Good luck!

Blogless Troll said...

Thanks everyone for stopping by. This is kinda cool and weird at the same time.

ello, I'll try, but I'm not making any promises. If I have to resort to plagiarism, it'll be from your blog. You crack me up.

Mic-aye, thanks again. I'm still laying the blame at your feet.

robin, nah the kids won't read it, so curse away. I'm sure as hell not gonna be the one to rein you in.

And yeah, Wood, I know. But I've been stuck for a while anyway, and it's usually when I'm busiest that solutions to plot problems pop up seemingly out of nowhere.

Chris Eldin said...

When are you going to get an avatar?
Would you let us pick one for you?
heh heh!!
;-)

Blogless Troll said...

Um, okay. Maybe we'll do a contest Friday.

Robin S. said...

Yessss! My vote will include a picture of you and a campfire.

And I'm so relieved about the bad words thing. Thanks for that.

Chris Eldin said...

*looks through Rod the Roofer's pics*
Frickin yum.

Sarah Laurenson said...

Good job, BT. Love your writing and your sense of humor.

Chris Eldin said...

Please do my writing exercise!!!
I grovel at your feet....
:-)

Blogless Troll said...

Thanks, Sarah. That's very kind.

Anonymous said...

I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know

what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.


Kaylee

http://www.craigslistsimplified.info