Obligatory Blog about Blogging, whatever

I pretty much agree with what TBogg said about the whole Billmon LA Times editorial. That being said, let me now add my own meaningless self-indulgence to the issue.

Except that there is, to blogging, at least in Attaturk, a mix of compulsion and attention whoring to it (much like constantly switching between the first and third person). Of course, there is no desire to crave attention to the level of say a Wonkette but that's just me.

As with most trends, the actual real-life Attaturk is normally about 6 to 12 months too late to catch the wave.

I have a long history of this. I learned how to do the macarena so I'd be ready for a killer "Millenium Party". I imagine in about a year I'll finally start wearing ties and shirts of the same color.

So forgive me as I engage in the meaningless introspection we liberals are so famous for.

This blog has grown exponentially in six months, from less than 50 readers a day to about 1,500 to 2,000 on a good day.

That's nice, but I have a feeling it will not grow all that much further because the blog started too late to really catch the wave of loyalty amongst liberal readers, like say Kos, Atrios, Josh Marshall, Pandagon, TBogg, Oliver Willis et al caught. Even though, for whatever it is worth, this blog's output (because if nothing else Attaturk is compulsive) matches or exceeds theirs (in quantity, if not in quality --Attaturk believes in the volume theory of snark).

Timing is everything in life, and my timing is just good enough to not catch the uptick on the bell curve. But there is also an advantage to not having a Kos-like 250,000 readers a day. When he says something off the cuff, he gets in trouble, like last April with a remark about mercenaries. I can say about anything I please, and I don't have to worry about offending too many people, getting spammed, or losing ad revenue. And I'm anonymous, so I can tell people I am writing this blog while not wearing pants and nobody necessarily gets sickened by a known image.

I'd be lying if I didn't say...I'm an anonymous attention whore!. I would not have this blog or blogwhore without such a desire. And if I could make money doing this...well, make money writing, I'd do it (Need a wacky Bar Mitzvah toast, I'll write ya' one for $50, $55 for Baz Mitvah's though -- I know little about judaism, but even less about women so $5 for the research). Although, if I did make money doing this I would feel a responsibility for actually doing quality too -- and frankly doing things well, is too much to expect from my vantage point.

I guess without expressly doing so, having a blog for many, myself included, is an implicit indication that we are all frustrated writers of one thing or another. I am hardly a trained or professionally skilled writer -- as my frequent elipitical sentence structure, misuse of language, and misspellings would testify too. Or is that just an indication I am a lousy editor?.

Probably a little of "A" and a little of "B".

In any case, every person has their price, and Attaturk has his.

But this blog demonstrates that price is pretty damn low.

Intellectual slut that I am.