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WestPundit
Thursday, July 20, 2006
 
Ve Are In Der Vild Und Volly Days Oft Der Blogosphere:

Ann Althouse casts aspersions on the Puffington Roast's offer for $5m in venture capital:

And 1.3 million visitors a month? That's not too good for them! It's half of Instapundit's traffic. And Kos... Kos has more than 10 times that. So I guess he could raise $50 million

Well, I know a little about this, as I was on the ebb of the Pajamas Media maelstrom. And all I can say is, "if Arianna can get $5m for that Internet tank, more power to her."

Much like the "dot com" boom of the late '90s, this blogosphere thing is running on pure hype. It's only by hype that I get A-list pundits, and staffers for nationally known pols, to return my phone calls. But I'm currently writing on a personal blog that gets readers in the tens.

Of course, my personal fortunes will change, as will those of the Puffington Roast. And, should I say, the blogosphere in general.

Continued 7/22/06: Anyway, I don't have Site Meter, or anything similar. But, judging from the personal feedback I've gotten, my SWAG is that I've got something between a few score to a couple of hundred readers, who individually check back here between every few days, to every few weeks. Thus - daily readership is likely in the two digit range.

Obviously, I can't continue on this tact for long before people stop returning my phone calls.

And how does this tie into the big scheme? If you recall, late last year, Pajamas Media secured $3.5 million in venture capital funding. And, relative to the total traffic of the Pajamas Media network, this is a fraction of the dollars per eyeball-minute that Arianna is looking for. But, just like the dot-com boom of the late '90s, this is all hype. And she's got a lot of big-name contributors - great for the hype-factor.

Too bad so few people are reading them.

When it comes down to brass tacks. And, ultimately, survival in the real world, it's all a matter of how many eyeballs one attracts, and for how long. (And, of course, the demographics of those eyeballs. For instance, the Sunday talking head shows don't get nearly the audience of, say, Wheel of Fortune, but the discretionary income of their viewers is so much higher...)

The winners in the eventual blogosphere shake-out will be those which work now to attract the most eyeballs (of, of course, the right demographics).
 
Comments:
Kevin;

I think you're getting a little too pessimistic on the medium. I didn't know it existed until a few days ago and, for one, I find it fascinating. I worry about the time I spend typing on this stupid computer.

Anyways, good luck with your venture.

/s/Another libertarian, engineer, and businessmen
 
Egad - a comment! And here I thought I had left this post as a draft. :)

I guess I better finish it.
 
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A blog dedicated to the personal musings of Kevin L. Connors - a pragmatic libertarian, engineer, businessman, and journalist.

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