As I checked in on this site Monday afternoon, I couldn't help but notice that a radio personality listed on the Top Talkers of 2008 web poll at right suddenly became quite popular. Sure enough, this person went from a scant few votes to over 400, a literal overnight sensation. Hmm... interesting.
Well, it certainly doesn't take a village idiot to figure out what's going on. So, I did a check of my site stats. Unlike other 'surges,' this influx didn't appear to come from a website or message board. Readership numbers (of various "entry links") and vote tallies didn't seem to jibe at first. And said host's website looks like it hasn't been touched in years. So, it seems like a very strong clandestine word of mouth campaign. Or a host is actually (gasp!) stumping for votes on the airwaves. Turns out that yes, this thing has evidently become big enough to inspire individual on-air campaigning activities.
Yes, I have read the testy emails from many of you confirming my suspicions. Some of you are claiming that a few hosts on Sirius Left are going all Boss Tweed on this thing.
And in a scenario reminiscent of an old-time Texas election, some say these hosts are encouraging a little trickery. But just like Jolly Ol' Saint Nick, I know who's been 'naughty' and who's been 'nice,' even without a Sirius subscription. With that, I say hello to our newest readers, Sirius Left's Alex Bennett and Lynn Samuels.
Well, it certainly doesn't take a village idiot to figure out what's going on. So, I did a check of my site stats. Unlike other 'surges,' this influx didn't appear to come from a website or message board. Readership numbers (of various "entry links") and vote tallies didn't seem to jibe at first. And said host's website looks like it hasn't been touched in years. So, it seems like a very strong clandestine word of mouth campaign. Or a host is actually (gasp!) stumping for votes on the airwaves. Turns out that yes, this thing has evidently become big enough to inspire individual on-air campaigning activities.
Yes, I have read the testy emails from many of you confirming my suspicions. Some of you are claiming that a few hosts on Sirius Left are going all Boss Tweed on this thing.
And in a scenario reminiscent of an old-time Texas election, some say these hosts are encouraging a little trickery. But just like Jolly Ol' Saint Nick, I know who's been 'naughty' and who's been 'nice,' even without a Sirius subscription. With that, I say hello to our newest readers, Sirius Left's Alex Bennett and Lynn Samuels.
Here's the story. Seems Bennett and/or some of his listeners discovered the poll, and since Monday or so, he's been hawking it on his radio show, encouraging votes for Sirius folks like Himself, Samuels and Mark Thompson. Okay, fine. I guess at this point, if hosts want to campaign, who am I to say otherwise? As a matter of fact, have at it. But some have accused Bennett of telling people how to 'fudge the numbers' using a little computer trickery. I didn't hear it, so I do not know. In the comments on this entry, Bennett denies any wrongdoing, aside from giving a little free publicity to 'the funnest blog on earth.'
When a similar incident happened soon after the poll went up a month ago, sure, I got a little pissy about it. But looking back, that was unwarranted. Heck, I obviously saw it coming. I probably encouraged it. A few weeks ago, I did restart the poll, over a thousand votes already in the bag. It was not really because of chicanery, but mostly because I left off a few names that myself and others really wanted on there, but were accidentally left off. And yeah, the foolishness happened again. And no, I'm not going to get pissed about it. Nothing to really get worked up about.
There's an old saying, 'we learn from our mistakes.' Story goes, when Thomas Edison was working at inventing the incandescent light bulb, he went through hundreds of unsuccessful attempts. In his eyes, he didn't fail. He just discovered more ways not to invent a light bulb.
Another old saying goes, 'if life deals you lemons, make lemonade. So, let's take a look at the lemons:
1. The method was flawed from the beginning. My fault. I was trying a new, rather complicated way of doing it. For some reason, I tend to make things more difficult than they should be.
2. The poll has possibly been 'juiced,' sometimes by semi-nefarious methods.
3. Some hosts have resorted to blatant self-promotion.
4. It's not being taken all that seriously. Or maybe it's being taken too seriously.
5. This Blogger poll widget is kinda goofy.
And with that, we make lemonade:
1. I learned another way how not to make a light bulb.
2. I obviously saw it coming. I even encouraged it somewhat by adding names of people who I knew some die-hard fans would give a boost to.
3. The offenders are obvious to anyone visiting this site. Nobody's being fooled here.
4. Thanks to this silly little poll, this blog is getting lots of free on-air radio promotion. That usually costs a lot of money. Thanks, Sirius! You rawk!
5. Let's face it, at the very root, it's a silly web poll.
6. This has all promoted a lot of interesting activity, discussion, enthusiasm and fun, and has brought a wider mix of readers and commenters. I like that.
And with that, we make lemonade:
1. I learned another way how not to make a light bulb.
2. I obviously saw it coming. I even encouraged it somewhat by adding names of people who I knew some die-hard fans would give a boost to.
3. The offenders are obvious to anyone visiting this site. Nobody's being fooled here.
4. Thanks to this silly little poll, this blog is getting lots of free on-air radio promotion. That usually costs a lot of money. Thanks, Sirius! You rawk!
5. Let's face it, at the very root, it's a silly web poll.
6. This has all promoted a lot of interesting activity, discussion, enthusiasm and fun, and has brought a wider mix of readers and commenters. I like that.
7. Chaos can be fun.
8. Finally, as news is a bit slow and I have nothing really to write about, I've actually got a rather interesting topic this time around. And one that will no doubt spur quite a bit of reaction from many of you.
All in all, I have become amused by all of it. I'm not angry. What's the point? It's really all for fun, right? I certainly don't hope that Bennett, with his many years in radio and all, is spending hours or so sitting in his pajamas in front of his laptop clearing his browser cache and cookies folder while casting multiple votes for himself. If that's truly the case, he needs better hobbies. Pronto.
And wouldn't you know it? I actually like Alex Bennett, and I'm probably one of the few I know who does. I chalk it up to sentimental reasons. I listened to him back in the 80's, while living in the San Francisco Bay Area where he did the morning show on Live 105. It was one of the funniest, most entertaining things I've ever heard on the radio. Kept this lonely bitter teen sane during a few crappy years growing up in that hellhole known as Fremont, California. For that, I thank you, Alex.
Sure, most people who read this blog absolutely detest the guy, and believe me, I've read the emails and comments from those of you who feel this way (they're even less kind about Samuels). Bennett's not your typical 'liberal' talk show host. You either like him or hate him. He's not a person everyone likes, like, say, a Rachel Maddow. But I like the fact that he's a bit cranky and off-the-wall. His style of radio is to often challenge and piss people off, rather than reinforce what you already believe. It's old-school confrontational talk radio. Old-timers like Joe Pyne, Bob Grant and Alan Berg did this. And unlike, say, a Sean Hannity, this isn't just reading daily political party talking points memos word-for-word. Bennett obviously knows the object is to keep people tuned in, and say whatever comes to mind. I can't help but to laugh at the fact that years after I grew up listening to him everyday on the radio, he's now pimping my blog on his show. Welcome to the internet.
But back to the topic. So hi, Alex and Lynn! Glad to see you! And since you are now my readers, how's about throwing us peons a bone and put up podcasts of your shows or something? Especially for those of us uneasy about subscribing to "Mel's Folly," knowing full well that he may up and cancel Sirius Left on a whim as he chops away at the two satellite monoliths in his fold to justify that Howard Stern money. Let's hope this doesn't happen. At the very least, I'd sure love to hear audio of the on-air plugs you've been giving me this past week. Email the mp3's to ltradiomail@yahoo.com.
8. Finally, as news is a bit slow and I have nothing really to write about, I've actually got a rather interesting topic this time around. And one that will no doubt spur quite a bit of reaction from many of you.
All in all, I have become amused by all of it. I'm not angry. What's the point? It's really all for fun, right? I certainly don't hope that Bennett, with his many years in radio and all, is spending hours or so sitting in his pajamas in front of his laptop clearing his browser cache and cookies folder while casting multiple votes for himself. If that's truly the case, he needs better hobbies. Pronto.
And wouldn't you know it? I actually like Alex Bennett, and I'm probably one of the few I know who does. I chalk it up to sentimental reasons. I listened to him back in the 80's, while living in the San Francisco Bay Area where he did the morning show on Live 105. It was one of the funniest, most entertaining things I've ever heard on the radio. Kept this lonely bitter teen sane during a few crappy years growing up in that hellhole known as Fremont, California. For that, I thank you, Alex.
Sure, most people who read this blog absolutely detest the guy, and believe me, I've read the emails and comments from those of you who feel this way (they're even less kind about Samuels). Bennett's not your typical 'liberal' talk show host. You either like him or hate him. He's not a person everyone likes, like, say, a Rachel Maddow. But I like the fact that he's a bit cranky and off-the-wall. His style of radio is to often challenge and piss people off, rather than reinforce what you already believe. It's old-school confrontational talk radio. Old-timers like Joe Pyne, Bob Grant and Alan Berg did this. And unlike, say, a Sean Hannity, this isn't just reading daily political party talking points memos word-for-word. Bennett obviously knows the object is to keep people tuned in, and say whatever comes to mind. I can't help but to laugh at the fact that years after I grew up listening to him everyday on the radio, he's now pimping my blog on his show. Welcome to the internet.
But back to the topic. So hi, Alex and Lynn! Glad to see you! And since you are now my readers, how's about throwing us peons a bone and put up podcasts of your shows or something? Especially for those of us uneasy about subscribing to "Mel's Folly," knowing full well that he may up and cancel Sirius Left on a whim as he chops away at the two satellite monoliths in his fold to justify that Howard Stern money. Let's hope this doesn't happen. At the very least, I'd sure love to hear audio of the on-air plugs you've been giving me this past week. Email the mp3's to ltradiomail@yahoo.com.
(NOTE: Bennett says that Samuels has nothing to do with this, though some readers have said otherwise. Will someone come to a consensus here, fer cryin' out loud?)
As I mentioned earlier, I do have a plan in place for dealing with this mayhem (though it does seem to be constantly evolving), while at the same time acknowledging all of the choices of the thousands of people who have voted. But you'll have to wait until January 1 to find out. In the meantime, have fun, play nice. Just be sure to vote only once. That's all I ask.
As I mentioned earlier, I do have a plan in place for dealing with this mayhem (though it does seem to be constantly evolving), while at the same time acknowledging all of the choices of the thousands of people who have voted. But you'll have to wait until January 1 to find out. In the meantime, have fun, play nice. Just be sure to vote only once. That's all I ask.
After all, what good is a shallow victory?
Eureka, CA 
