Patterico's Pontifications

8/24/2019

When we don’t Write About Topics You want to Read

Filed under: Blogging Matters — DRJ @ 6:47 am



[By DRJ]

Sometimes commenters request that the posters here write on specific topics and sometimes those requests are denied — typically because of time constraints by the blog’s host or, in my case, by a lack of interest in the topic. Commenters have several options when that happens:

1. Leave a brief comment about the topic (with links, if appropriate) on the most recent Breaking News and Off-Topic Links post. I will post a new Breaking News post later today, and I try to post new ones every 4-5 days. A comment may be enough to stimulate discussion if the topic interests people.

2. Write an expanded comment about the topic (also with links) that explains your opinion and other sides on the topic. Why is this important to you, and why should it be important to us? If you have a different take on the topic than what you have read or seen elsewhere, be sure to share and explain that.

3. Submit a guest blog post on the topic (with links and opinions) and send it via email to Patterico for his consideration. Be sure to edit and proofread — something I have done a poor job at recently! — before you send it. I suggest you write it, sleep on it, and read it fresh in a day or two. Does it flow well and can someone not familiar with the topic grasp your point?

Of course, there is no guarantee Patterico will publish what you write if you submit a guest post, but he has used The Jury for guest posts before. I think he is still open to that, plus we all benefit from engaged posters and commenters.

— DRJ

2/7/2011

AOL Buys HuffPo for $315 Million

Filed under: Blogging Matters,General,Morons — Patterico @ 7:31 am



Since they get 500 million page views per month, that’s about $0.63 per monthly page view.

Wow.

That caused me to run a few numbers here. Over the past year we received 5,041,591 page views, for a monthly average of 420,133. Multiply that by $0.63 and you get a web site worth $264,683.

AOL finance dudes, listen up! Bargain of a lifetime: I’ll unload this puppy for a cool $200,000.

Call me, babe.

UPDATE: A commenter caught me cooking the numbers by turning the fraction upside down. Busted. I am changing the post to reflect the correct numbers. Dude, you just cost me over $400,000!

UPDATE: I should not have trusted the commenter. The actual number is not 57 cents, as he claimed, but 63. I updated the numbers yet again.

5/29/2010

Website Update (Updated)

Filed under: Blogging Matters — DRJ @ 2:42 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

As Patterico mentioned recently, his website changed hosts and I think we’ve all noticed an improvement in performance. However, you don’t need me to tell you that there were problems yesterday because one of Patterico’s posts generated significant traffic from several big links.

Fortunately, the new website host took these problems as a challenge and is working diligently to resolve them. The changes they already implemented made a big difference on the administrative side, and I think the website loads better overall. Now we’re down to dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s.

Once again, we’re calling on you for help in this process. Please use the comments to list problems you are having now — not yesterday’s or prior problems, but current problems or things you notice in the coming days.

And thank you very much.

— DRJ

UPDATE: I forgot to mention the timeframe for this post. The host will be working on these issues between now and Tuesday or Wednesday. Thus, you may not see improvements until next week but they are working on it.

5/18/2010

Website News

Filed under: Blogging Matters — DRJ @ 7:16 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

The website changed hosts today and while the migration has been a little rocky, posts and comments seem to load faster.

Please use the comments on this post to list the things that seem strange or don’t work, and we will ask the new host to fix them in the coming days. For example, comments still lack formatting and show the name “You” until the browser is refreshed. And some readers who use Blackberrys are unable to comment at all.

We appreciate your patience over the last weeks and months, and thanks for helping us get the kinks ironed out.

— DRJ

5/14/2010

Facebook Privacy

Filed under: Blogging Matters — DRJ @ 2:25 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

CNN reported yesterday on concerns about Facebook privacy:

“In recent weeks, the site has been hit with several privacy bugs and scares that, among other things, made private chat conversations briefly visible to Facebook friends. And on April 21, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new Facebook feature called the “Open Graph,” which essentially brings Facebook-like functionality to a number of websites.

CNN.com is one of several dozen sites that partner with Facebook to display and share users’ interests.

Some Facebook users, including Sam Schreiber, say they are bothered by the fact that their online preferences are showing up all over the internet now, instead of just on Facebook.com.”

Nicholas Carlson of SAI’s Business Insider claims a source provided copies of emails between Zuckerberg and a friend written “shortly after Mark launched The Facebook in his dorm room.” If true, they demonstrate Zuckerberg’s initial casual or joking attitude toward Facebook privacy:

“Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard

Zuck: Just ask.

Zuck: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS

[Redacted Friend’s Name]: What? How’d you manage that one?

Zuck: People just submitted it.

Zuck: I don’t know why.

Zuck: They “trust me”

Zuck: Dumb fucks.”

Carlson concludes Facebook’s attitude toward privacy has been “consistently aggressive: Do something first, then see how people react.”

— DRJ

4/28/2010

A Note to Stashiu3

Filed under: Blogging Matters — DRJ @ 11:33 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Thanks to Stashiu3 for helping to keep Patterico’s website alive each day. It’s his one year anniversary today, and please congratulate him for a job well done.

— DRJ

UPDATE BY PATTERICO: I second the motion; motion carries. Stashiu puts in countless hours to monitor for trollish or inappropriate comments, reboot when the site (all too often lately) slows or goes down, etc. Please give him your thanks.

By the way, we are still working on a
solution for the slow server and down times. Please be patient; it’s taking longer than we had hoped, but we are still optimistic. In the meantime, the help of someone like Stashiu is more valuable than ever.

Let him know you appreciate it.

4/26/2010

Blogging Quote of the Day

Filed under: Blogging Matters — DRJ @ 4:32 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Nick Denton, founder and president of Gawker Media:

“Are bloggers journalists? I guess we’ll find out.”

— DRJ

4/20/2010

Website Problems

Filed under: Blogging Matters — DRJ @ 8:42 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

We know the website isn’t working and comments aren’t loading today. We really are working on it and once we get it fixed (hopefully soon), let’s all compare blood pressure readings to see who suffered the most.

— DRJ

3/31/2010

An Update About Technical Matters

Filed under: Blogging Matters — DRJ @ 7:11 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

You’re in trouble when I’m writing a “technical update” because this isn’t my field. Nevertheless:

1. A lot of work has been done but there is still tweaking being done to resolve lingering performance issues. It would help if you could leave comments on this thread advising of any problems — including things like slow loading, error messages, and coding issues. That would help us pinpoint when the problems occur and what issues are still unresolved.

2. For now, comments post in a slightly different way than before. Comments appear immediately but at first they will look different to the author than to others. Until you refresh the page, your comment appears without formatting and shows the author as “You,” regardless of your screen name. Since readers must refresh the page to see new comments, your comment will always appear to others with formatting and your screen name. And while we’ve requested that this feature be changed back to the way it was before, we’ll have to wait and see.

3. The strike code has been corrected.

Thank you for your patience and for continuing to visit and comment.

— DRJ

2/12/2010

Guess Who’s Blogging Again?

Filed under: Blogging Matters — DRJ @ 1:36 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Beldar, one of my favorite Texans and bloggers, is back and he has several new posts to choose from.

— DRJ

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