One Million Visitors and Two Years of Blogging
Today, the Politburo Diktat will entertain its one millionth visitor, after two years of Commissar blogging. On this occasion, notorious Enemy of the People, Fascist VRWC Beth caught up with the Commissar and interrogated him.
* The obligatory question: What got you started blogging?
You mean aside from the chance to be interrogated by Beth? … In the run-up to the Iraq War in early 2003, I began reading The Agonist and other blogs, impressed at their 24×7 immediacy. But i didn’t do much with my own blog in those months.
* Why the commie theme?
In August, ‘03, I found Allah and realized that he had an entertaining approach. I decided to copy his concept, briefly considering a “Mad Mullah” persona. But that would have been too derivative, even for a shameless copycat. After a little more thought, I came up with The Commissar, and started The Politburo Diktat in October ‘03. Shortly I also converted MovableType, with the Stakhanovite teknical aid of King of Fools.
* What (and/or who) do you think has brought you the most readers?
Allah, Dan Rather, John Kerry, and Sandra ‘Beth’ Geisel. Instapundit has linked 3-4 times, but neither he nor any other A list blogger has ever regularly driven large traffic my way.
* What’s the dumbest/biggest mistake you’ve made blogging, esp. when a new blogger?
Setting up an extra blog (UNSCAM) and also a new domain (Iraqelect.com). They are good blogs, but I’m a hopeless dilettante, and I let my interest in these lag, dissipating my own energy and that of my co-bloggers. (The static UNSCAM pages still draw some traffic.)
* Most annoying crap about the blogosphere/bloggers?
The way the blogosphere rewards extremism. If we write a thoughtful, reasoned article, not much happens, but when we flame and rant, the traffic, comments, and links materialize. I’m over-simplifying, but the tendency to reward extremism has polarized the blogosphere, far more so than ‘meat world.’
* What’s the best way to get on the Commissar’s shit list?
Ask Steel Turman or Paul at Wizbang. Another way is dishonest debate. This morning I left a comment at Pharyngula, suggesting that Joe Biden had rolled on the Alito nomination because the Dems might not have wanted huge, high profile fight which they would be sure to lose and would certainly focus on spousal notification (supported by 70% of the population). I made it clear that this was a tactical comment for the Dems. The next commenter immediately slagged me for “confusing popularity with constitutionality.” Stupid, annoying, and provocative. I let it go.
* What’s your suggestion to those blog spammers? - opt-in newsletters?
My suggestion is that he take up stamp collecting or fly-fishing and leave us the fuck alone!
* Who are the most overrated/annoying bloggers to you?
Wonkette. I mean the blog Wonkette, not Ana Marie Cox herself — who, whether you liked her or not, was witty and smart. Now Wonkette is run by a series of guest-editors; it is a mindless link dump with little writing, and the little content produced is not funny nor entertaining. Also, Powerline is hugely disapppointing. They follow at GOP Party Line too faithfully, more reliably than the White House itself according to Jon Henke. 
They hung themselves and looked silly on the infamous Mel Martinez memos, trying to claim that ‘the problem’ was reporters or which Dem Senator had seen it first. Sheesh. Someone on our side screwed the pooch.
Both Wonkette and Powerline demonstrate the Commissar’s Law of Blog Growth: Blog “quality” (however you might define it) drives growth. A “good” blog will grow. Then … once a blog has traffic of X (large or small), even mediocre stuff will maintain that traffic level for a long time.
* Favorite/most underrated blogs?
Lots of my RINO buddies. Rachel Sawyer, at Tinkerty Tonk, comes to mind. Wuzzadem is a hoot. Rick Moran, at Right Wing Nut House, adds more light than heat. And, of course, John Cole, at Balloon Juice. John is a well-known, high-traffic blog. But he’s the only blogger of that influence whose willing to call either party on its stupidity.
* Favorite or most rewarding posts/series of your own?
My cartography, the maps with the linked blogs embedded in them. I’m overdue for another one soon. My evolution/Creationism posts. And setting up the RINO community, which I hope does a little to counteract the extremism of the blogosphere.
* Definitely the blogosphere extremism needs to be counteracted, in the WORST way. What about Kool-Aid drinkers like me who hate extremists? (But also can’t bring themselves to using the RINO tag!)
I dont want to try to ‘recruit’ anyone for the RINOs. It’s a group of like-minded conservatives who see a need for less extremism, specifically some of the excesses committed by the so-called Religious Right. There is a little problem in defining ourselves that way. By elimination, one might infer that everyone ELSE is an extremist. Not intended, but some will take it that way.
* Heh. The perpetually offended, thin-skinned blogosphere.
I can only resort to a Rodney King-ish “Cant we all just get along — and be reasonable?”
* What cures writers’ block/burnout for you when you’ve got it?
First, I try not to push myself when I have nothing to say. But there’s nothing wrong with a simple excerpt and link to an interesting story, even if I have nothing to add. That can break through the block. Or, I comment on other blogs. When something prompts me to leave a full paragraph comment, that can provide the basis for a new post of my own. Also, you can’t be a prisoner of your readers (or your perceptions of what your readers want).
* The Question: What drives your anti-Creationist (anti-Lysenkoist) passion? IOW, what’s your goal?
It comes down to “why bother blogging?” Any conservative blogger can bash Howard Dean, John Kerry, Al Sharpton, and Markos Moulitsas all year long. But what does one more conservative voice add to that? When I saw what Paul at Wizbang was writing about Creationism and evolution, and I realized that Conservativism, a movement I am proud to be part of, was becoming associated with this Medieval nonsense, I decided that this was something where I could add some value and make a difference, if only a small one. I think that’s what motivates most bloggers, a desire to make a difference.
* What’s the “Five Year Plan” for your blog–meaning, where would you like it to lead you/what’s your goal in blogging?
Are you busy Saturday night? … My blog is a part, actually a small part, of my domain, acepilots.com. Most of my traffic and ad revenues come from the main site, dedicated to American Aces of World War Two. I make a few thousand dollars a year from my site, and I’d like to keep growing that so that it helps in retirement.
* I’ve seen your main site, with the profiles of WW2 pilots, real American heroes. Why don’t you ever talk about it on the blog? I’m sure there are some of your readers who haven’t been to it that would be interested.
Okay … Okay .. Okay … I’ll talk. It harkens back to a time when we celebrated our heroes and their sacrifices, in contrast to the NYTimes’ treatment of Jeffrey Starr. Such a thing would have been UNIMAGINABLE for a WW2 casualty.
* Finally, what would it take for the Democratic and Republican parties to get your vote, even if you don’t agree with everything in their party platforms?
As a registered Republican who has voted GOP since 1980, the Republican party has to do somethng stupid to lose my vote. If Bush were up for a third term, that might be an issue forme, but unless they nominate seom Religious Right wacko, they should be able to get my vote. Obviously the Dems have a harder job to get my vote. I guess if they would “lose the moonbattitude,” that would help.
This surprises me, actually. What kind of stupidity, and who’s a RR wacko that would make you stay home on election day, say out of the potential 2008 nominees?
Dobson, Robertson, maybe Santorum.
Really–Santorum? ‘Cause the other two are never gonna be there, but Santorum isn’t unimaginable
Santorum proposed some kind of “Creationism” amendment a couple years ago. We all have our hot buttons. He backed off, or made some different statement recently … but he troubles me.
I guess we will see if I’m still blogging in 2008. Thanks for the interrogation, Beth.
Update: LaShawn Barber celebrates a similar blogiversary this week.
Update: Here’s the detail on visitor number 1,000,000, referred by blogger extraordinaire Bill at INDC:
Blogosphere Keeps Booming
Light blogging notice
Mammals - the long-fuse model
Grand Old Mold
Who’s Your Daddy?