blink your eyes just once, and see everything in ruins

So the latest amusement comes from here, and I thought it was worth it to bring some of the reasons over to this blog, mainly because anything that makes me smile right now is worthy of a small celebration. So here we go.

1. You've no idea why you started the blog in the first place.

Actually, I know exactly why I started this blog in the first place. Now, I've also started three others since I arrived here (I know, I know, trust me I know), and those aren't as frequently updated because...there's only so many hours in the day, frankly.

2. You only promote your posts on Twitter and post nothing else.

I used to do this. Mainly because Twitter was my main point of social media. Since then, I've picked up a Tumblr, which has nada to do with this blog for the most part, and I got nagged into a Pinterest account, which I hardly ever update. How'ver, interesting thing happened a few days ago: a new follower of my SL profile asked me why I never used the feed to send out new post notices. I told her I didn't see a need for it, but she convinced me that it's a fairly effortless way to up my blog views.

Unfort, from there it gets strange. We got into a minor tiff when she told me that the next big thing to do was to get friends to "love" the posts, so I'd be on the trending page, and that's when I hit the brakes. That was my "oh HELL no" point, and I told her so, at which point she flounced off. Here's the interesting bit: she deleted her conversation with me. Which--and I was unaware of this until this happened--deleted MY record of the conversation as well.

So...I guess I owe a minor point of gratitude to the woman I've forgotten the name of, because her dramatic flounce killed all record of the interaction on my feed which mentioned it. So...thanks?

3. Your Twitter avatar sucks.

Take that back!

4. You switched all your efforts from your blog to Facebook.

See, and this will never, never, EVER happen, because I never intend to have a Facebook account. Ditto for a Google+ account.

5. You're on Blogger.

Oh, that's low. But seriously--why does Blogger have such a bad rep? Granted, Blogger's made some changes that I'm not too keen on, but other services either aren't as convenient or it would just be a stone bitch importing everything over.

6. You're too afraid to make a video or audio.

It's not fear, precisely, as lack of equipment. For instance: I don't own a webcam or a freestanding mic. I own a headset with mic, which works well enough for Skype calls, but kind of sucks for recording anything. Plus, while there are people on SL (and some other services) who've heard my voice, it's never been my goal to ensure that people hear--or see--me. 

7. You write way too much.

This is true.

8. You wander off topic.

This is also true.

9. You forgot who your target audience is.

Now, this one's an interesting point. When I started my blog, I had my target audience firmly in mind: me, and that's not ego saying that--this was a publically-maintained private venting spot. (I know, don't think about it too hard, it'll cause brain cramp.) At this point...well, I'm still not a huge blog, nor do I want to be, but I'm read by a small segment of the population internationally, and I'm close to breaking 150,000 page views. That's kind of a large number (though it lessens the impact when we factor in that's over the past six years.)

The thing is, though, I'm still primarily writing what interests me, because if it's not interesting to me, then why do it? What I'm hoping is that somewhere in all the emotional clutter there will be genuinely interesting things for other folks as well...and, by and large, that's proven out. Right now I can say fairly comfortably I've found a tiny little niche of entries on emergent technology, gadgetry, gaming, gender issues, comics, fashion and music that seem to appeal to people.

10. You forgot to put the link in your email signature.

Why would I do this? By and large, my email has nothing to do with my blog.

11. You still haven't hired a content creator.

...Why would I hire a content creator? I write everything that I'm not quoting from someone else. It's my blog.

12. You hide behind your company name, logo or avatar without mentioning who you really are.

You know, this used to be true? How'ver, over the years I've slipped a fair amount, so--while my so-called "real name" still hasn't been revealed, a lot about who I am as a person has been. (And, considering both the ladies who live with me call me Em a fair amount of the time, that whole "real name" thing is getting vague as well.)

13. You can't write a shocking headline.

Sure I can. I just have to find the right song lyric.

14. You have no sense of humour.

This is debatable, but at times, I will accept that yes, my dogmatism and literal nature do get in my way, humor-wise.

15. You don't bother to follow anyone, listen to anyone or engage with anyone online.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA....

16. You forgot to pay your web-hosting bill.

Considering Blogger is a free service...How'ver, taking this last one seriously, it's true--I don't have my own website. I'd like to have my own website, but alas, affording one? I cannot do currently. Still, should my fortunes ever change, I'd be happy to join the ranks of people paying for data. There's a lot more on the site these article bits come from; but these were the main ones I wanted to address.

On to other news. There's a fascinating article on the neuroscience of illusions that is well worth the time to read; in brief, it breaks down why our memories so often trick us, because our brain, while one of the greatest organic processors ever designed, has built-in lag. Ordinarily, it's nothing we notice--it's on average about one one-hundredth of a second--but that's enough for illusionists of all stripes to use to confuse what we think we just saw, with what we actually did see.

And the Lindens still need mesh clothing samples donated by makers of mesh clothing, in order to get Qarl's mesh deformer properly tested and encoded. Come on, people, what's the hold-up? Get on this!

Bob Egan's on a pilgrimage, of sorts--because America (but in particular New York City) is constantly in a state of architectural flux, he decided to try and document all the places he could find where album covers, or early video of musicians, was shot, as best he could. You can check in on his progress here; he also has a Twitter account.

Finally, this...it's kind of odd. Apparently, there are women who go past idle daydreams of wedding details, to actually buying the wedding dress, registering at stores, selecting invitations, flowers, chapels, reception halls, bridesmaid gowns, and wedding music, all without actually having a spouse in mind. I can't decide if this is a good use of current resources to put aside these items for the "rainy day"--the rain in question arriving in the case of said spouse--or if they're way too obsessed about getting married in the first place.