2008... Orchids and New Blog Content
Hi,
Where to begin? In ballpark numbers, this is my 130th post. And while it's been fun, I don't feel like I've been at my most productive. So whether you're new to this blog, or have been with us right from the start, I'd like all of us to gather around the virtual coffee table and have a little confab... Borrowing from the movie "The Untouchables"... "Let me pay you the compliment of being blunt."
The simple fact is that this blog isn't generating the traffic it should, and that's my fault. Let me explain... For months, the boss and I have been looking at ways to spread the "eBirdseed.com blog" word. To be honest, none of our research floated my boat. Instead, something kept nagging at me... In our last post, I mentioned that the wife and I had gone on a bird-blog bender, and as a result added a few new blogs to our blogroll. But beyond those additions, I also noticed a distinct trend in those other, more successful blogs - that of writing beyond the subject of just birds. One person wrote about the passing of her mother. Another wrote about "Sweeney Todd". And still another commented on collecting coins. When all is said and done, these are worthy subjects. Some of the sites aren't dedicated birding sites, and even amongst those that are, one can only "blog the bird" for just so long without a quick break. Put simply, the nagging that I've been experiencing was (and continues to be) that I had to add variety and up the quality.
So, in keeping with the "coffee table theme", here is what I propose... As always, each post will offer up backyard birding and home stuff - stuff like the photo below of one of the blossoms on the orchid my sister in law sent to my wife for her birthday.
And naturally, feel free to ask every birding question imaginable, and I will address them as I always have. (I owe reader Gerry six responses!)
However, I'll also toss out an issue for discussion. And I won't be speaking as "CapeCodAlan at eBirdseed.com", that lovable klutz with a camera... I'll just be debating as Alan, a wholly different and much pricklier creature. Anyway, all are welcome to participate... Just do your research, be articulate and thoughtful, and wear extremely thick skins. You know where the "Comment" button is.
To make sure that the coffee table doesn't burst into flames, three people will have veto power before a subject or response ever sees the light of day. My wife, Gordon, and I will all be waiting with "Web Mallet." It's entirely ok to disagree... It's completely unacceptable to be disagreeable or use "hate speech".
Alrighty then, let's get started... Check out the screen shot below...
How's that for the news? Now there's professionalism... "Study: Divorced parents do just as good as married couples"? And who can forget the "UFOs over Haiti?" tripe? Ok, let's play Journalism 101... The title of the study piece was grammatically gruesome. Let's try something like, "Study: Parenting skills of divorced equal those of married counterparts". And the junk UFO piece should never have even hit the Internet - that was debunked by Snopes et al... (http://www.snopes.com/photos/odd/haitiufos.asp) So what's the "coffee-table bottom line"? As a news outlet, Yahoo! needs to get its act together. And Yahoo! is certainly not alone. I'll bet you dimes to donuts that no significant news carrier mentioned that in the last 24 hours roughly 25,000 children around the world died from a combination of malnutrition and illnesses that most of us would treat via a quick run to the local CVS. (Childinfo.org) Nope... There are no legitimate stories there... But wait! There's plenty of bandwidth for Jessica Simpson... The bottom line is that American media is for the most part insipid at best. (Yes, they do occasionally stumble upon a real story, but for every time they carry something like http://potw.news.yahoo.com/s/potw/58554/can-a-soccer-ball-change-the-wo, they hold court to 100 pieces of sensationalistic junk.)
Enough ranting... Told you that a change was coming to this blog.
Better run. Granted, this is rough, but it's a start. Let me know what you think of these comments.
And remember, this isn't eBirdseed.com proselytizing... This is me.
See you by the feeders...
Where to begin? In ballpark numbers, this is my 130th post. And while it's been fun, I don't feel like I've been at my most productive. So whether you're new to this blog, or have been with us right from the start, I'd like all of us to gather around the virtual coffee table and have a little confab... Borrowing from the movie "The Untouchables"... "Let me pay you the compliment of being blunt."
The simple fact is that this blog isn't generating the traffic it should, and that's my fault. Let me explain... For months, the boss and I have been looking at ways to spread the "eBirdseed.com blog" word. To be honest, none of our research floated my boat. Instead, something kept nagging at me... In our last post, I mentioned that the wife and I had gone on a bird-blog bender, and as a result added a few new blogs to our blogroll. But beyond those additions, I also noticed a distinct trend in those other, more successful blogs - that of writing beyond the subject of just birds. One person wrote about the passing of her mother. Another wrote about "Sweeney Todd". And still another commented on collecting coins. When all is said and done, these are worthy subjects. Some of the sites aren't dedicated birding sites, and even amongst those that are, one can only "blog the bird" for just so long without a quick break. Put simply, the nagging that I've been experiencing was (and continues to be) that I had to add variety and up the quality.
So, in keeping with the "coffee table theme", here is what I propose... As always, each post will offer up backyard birding and home stuff - stuff like the photo below of one of the blossoms on the orchid my sister in law sent to my wife for her birthday.
And naturally, feel free to ask every birding question imaginable, and I will address them as I always have. (I owe reader Gerry six responses!)
However, I'll also toss out an issue for discussion. And I won't be speaking as "CapeCodAlan at eBirdseed.com", that lovable klutz with a camera... I'll just be debating as Alan, a wholly different and much pricklier creature. Anyway, all are welcome to participate... Just do your research, be articulate and thoughtful, and wear extremely thick skins. You know where the "Comment" button is.
To make sure that the coffee table doesn't burst into flames, three people will have veto power before a subject or response ever sees the light of day. My wife, Gordon, and I will all be waiting with "Web Mallet." It's entirely ok to disagree... It's completely unacceptable to be disagreeable or use "hate speech".
Alrighty then, let's get started... Check out the screen shot below...
How's that for the news? Now there's professionalism... "Study: Divorced parents do just as good as married couples"? And who can forget the "UFOs over Haiti?" tripe? Ok, let's play Journalism 101... The title of the study piece was grammatically gruesome. Let's try something like, "Study: Parenting skills of divorced equal those of married counterparts". And the junk UFO piece should never have even hit the Internet - that was debunked by Snopes et al... (http://www.snopes.com/photos/odd/haitiufos.asp) So what's the "coffee-table bottom line"? As a news outlet, Yahoo! needs to get its act together. And Yahoo! is certainly not alone. I'll bet you dimes to donuts that no significant news carrier mentioned that in the last 24 hours roughly 25,000 children around the world died from a combination of malnutrition and illnesses that most of us would treat via a quick run to the local CVS. (Childinfo.org) Nope... There are no legitimate stories there... But wait! There's plenty of bandwidth for Jessica Simpson... The bottom line is that American media is for the most part insipid at best. (Yes, they do occasionally stumble upon a real story, but for every time they carry something like http://potw.news.yahoo.com/s/potw/58554/can-a-soccer-ball-change-the-wo, they hold court to 100 pieces of sensationalistic junk.)
Enough ranting... Told you that a change was coming to this blog.
Better run. Granted, this is rough, but it's a start. Let me know what you think of these comments.
And remember, this isn't eBirdseed.com proselytizing... This is me.
See you by the feeders...
