Thursday 19 July 2012

From homo sapiens to homo bots : Traffic and blogs


Bloggers are obsessed with creating as much traffic to their blog as they possibly can...I have come to this conclusion by one simple observation. The internet is overwhelmed with "services" and "companies" who operate from a living room or a basement somewhere and who's main focus is to promote blogs and create back-links for them...in exchange for a monthly fee of course. 

I have also noticed the rapidly growing habit of the so-called "follow-exchange." Meaning that bloggers agree to follow each other in order to create the illusion to new visitors that their blog is more popular than it really is, and to direct traffic to their blog with the hope that it will bring them more revenue through the ads they display...even though the bloger who follows you simply because you followed him, probably doesn't give a shit about your blog and will never bother to read your posts or participate in any way. I call these type of "followers" the "homo bots." Homo sapiens who have gone digital and now operate as any other machine-made bot like the millions of bots who spam your twitter account on a daily basis, desperately trying to get you to click. Yes, once again, it's all about the money...


I understand a writer's need for readers. After all, a book's purpose is not to be loved or hated...a book's purpose is simple. To be read. I strive to find readers for my book like any other writer, and nothing makes me happier than knowing that my book is being read right now by someone, somewhere...but when it comes to "writers" who pack their sites with advertising gadgets and marketing tricks and try to promote their blogs not because they want to be read...but because they want to be "clicked," one thing is for sure...



...Whoever said the famous quote "the pen is mightier than the sword" must be rolling in his grave as we speak!

Personally...I couldn't care less about the traffic on my blog. Actually, you know what?... F*%k traffic! "Why?" you may ask...well, the answer is simple...

...You see any damn ads anywhere?!


To any new visitors who might be reading this post, I say welcome and I really hope you enjoy my writing and everything else I have to offer through my work. As for the readers who have been following The Unwords already, I can only say thank you and that I'm truly honoured that you chose to read this blog, this post, at this moment in time, out of all the millions of blogs out there. I have no interest in creating traffic for this tiny speck of dust in the infinite cyber-universe. It would be pointless for an ad-free blog. I don't wish to have a thousand followers who are only following because they have something to gain by doing so. I only want a few who actually enjoy being here... I am not here to promote a website, I am here to promote ideals...I do not promote my writing through my writing, I promote the various issues I elaborate upon at the time and I try to engage my reader, to motivate my reader, to make him contemplate these issues and to steal a little bit of the thoughts he has in his mind...not the money in his pockets. I'm after the password of his heart...not the password of his Paypal account.


This post is dedicated to Hira, the first to follow this blog and one of the first who ever reviewed the book. She has a fantastic blog and a real passion for poetry and I'm really glad she liked The Unwords. This is her blog, do check it out.


This post is also a huge "thank you" to Jelena and Tzellofouska who, through their comments and active interaction with the blog, have exposed me to their tremendous intelligence and truly great personalities and I truly wish all the best to them. Jelena hasn't yet followed my advice to create her own personal blog and because she is indeed a fantastic writer, I'm thinking of suing her for keeping her writings concealed from the rest of humanity. Tzellofouska on the other hand has a great blog which fans of intelligent, thought-provoking writing will greatly appreciate, and especially all the metal fans out there.



13 comments:

  1. THANK YOU from my part for your kind words, I really appreciate you taking the time to read my thoughts! I enjoy reading each and every one of your posts which are of the kind "I wish I'd thought of that myself and expressed in the same way and with the exact words this genius person does so"! Thanks for sharing these with us and I hope you continue to do so. :)

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  2. I find your blog refreshing :) It is nice to come to a page and not be overwhelmed with all the ads. I only want to visit someone's blog to read their thoughts, not to skim my way through all of the ads to find good writing. I come to your blog and it is just there. Good writing and no gimmicks.

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  3. Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton said that... Poor guy. LOL! Thank You, my dear Friend for wonderful words. And... just so you know... Go ahead! Sue me! :D I've got Hansi by my side! Thank you. I feel a little bit embarrassed, because I cannot share your opinion on my writing. I'm a reader, dear. And as I already told you once, if I created my own blog, you'd be the only one to hear about it. Password protected!
    Your post sounds like a goodbye. Don't you dare! I have read your book and will read it couple of times again. I love your book, because it punches you right in the face just when you think that the world is a pink Eden. Don't want to exaggerate, but your way of Speaking can be compared to Mr. Gurdjieff, who's starting to fall into oblivion. I enjoy reading your blog 'cause it's pure, black and simple. And because you always have something to say - not a chit-chat crap, but real ideas and real Thinking.
    And thanks for your time when it comes to reading my letters, comments and stuff.

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  4. Being anonymous is incredibly hard...I have to face a lot of scepticism and a lot of reluctance from people all the time. It's completely understandable though and I have become accustomed to it. But whenever I get the chance to show my appreciation to the people who bypass that "awkwardness" I do, and I will continue to do so. The Unwords are not about their author, the same way this blog is not about my writing...this blog is about you, us...everything about us that shouldn't be left unsaid but no one talks about. All things that truly bleed us and should be pointed out but no one points their finger at. This blog would be useless and "The Unwords" would be entiled "Just Words" if it wasn't for you...and I thank you all for your kind words, from the bottom of my heart.

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  5. Just because these are not "Just Words" I would like to see your book read by 90% of humanity. Well, it's too much, but shouldn't be. There are many things we, the Planet, should Speak of and See. "The Unwords" and this blog were not written by a computer, but by a human being. That's why you, my anonymous friend, are important as much as your book.
    OK, I'm shutting my mouth / fingers before I start writing about modern literature and its readers.

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    1. I agree! I recently read the first chapter of the book and I must say it's a fantastic piece of literature. I'm surely going to buy it, first thing on my list! :)

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    2. Yep. :) Unfortunately, the author is against all sorts of profits, pay pals and amazons. I do understand why. Maybe some publisher would succeed in promoting the book and informing people. But, we all know how it goes... L'art pour l'art has lost its meaning. It's all about the money.

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    3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWKk6h8-aew Here's one song; my heroine today... <3 Overdoze! :D

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  6. I don't see The Unwords getting traditionally published while me still being alive. First because the only way they know how to tempt people is with money...and if there's one thing that my reader learns about me personally through The Unwords, is that I cannot be bought with money. Then there's the matter of The Unwords being impossible to market and profit from to begin with. There is no author's name on it for starters, plus the publisher that would pick up The Unwords would have to agree not to alter its content in any way, especially the ending. And only an insane publisher with suicidal tendencies would agree to that. :)

    Jelena already knows what I mean...I can't really talk about it here cause people visit the blog who haven't read it.

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    1. All true... But, what if I become a publisher one day? :) I mean, IF. Dreaming is nice... sometimes...

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    2. However you prefer it to be like, it's still a great piece of art, underground art, meaning the best kind :)

      We, the readers can promote it to our circles of people who can really appreciate it. Something I'm sure you would want yourself. I don't think it's meant to become mainstream anyway!

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  7. I COULD NOT HAVE SAID THIS BETTER! Wanna know why I curiously came to your blog? Because you didn't say...a follow for a follow. I DO NOT want people following my blog that is not interested in it whatsoever just so I will follow them. If I choose to follow someone, it's because I'm seriously interested in their stuff. However, I will usually (out of curiosity) go to a new followers blog just to see what kind of stuff it is that they write..if interested I will follow...if I'm not (And usually, I don't, considering I have a VERY short attention span and I'm only truly interested in awesome topics (often horror, humor and controversial.) SO ANYWAY, with that being said....you have something great going on here! Love yet another post of yours again!

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