From Twitter today:
Taylor Swift @taylorswiftfnf 13h
You can’t turn around on Twitter without running into furries. And they’re so technical, too! I know I talk about them constantly, but damn.
Taylor Swift @taylorswiftfnf 5h
Maybe furry programmers are just the beginning. Machines are going to turn us all into furries. That’s how they end humanity. Oh god.
Watch for the dancers in fursuits.
I read my stats every day, and by far my most popular article was “My son is furry–got a problem with that?” I have a few theories as to why this is so.
1. It tells a story that promises to be a bit unusual and maybe controversial (a mom who actually approves of her son’s furriness).
2. Furry is controversial in and of itself — lots of people hate them or misunderstand what they’re about.
3. Furry is trendy and cool, especially among young people.
4. The title, I must admit, is great–it’s one of my best titles ever. It’s grabby and sassy and promises to be a little controversial and a little personal and maybe even a little juicy; and there’s also an implied challenge there too for those who dislike furries (got a problem with that?)
5. It includes a video and a cool original photo.
6. Furries are adorkable. (I love ’em).
7. The article is neither too short nor too long.
Now, all that being said, there’s another reason why that article got so many hits. I have a Twitter account which I use primarily to talk to my son, who spends a lot of time there. My son has close to 2000 followers, and most of them are furries, so when I posted the link to Twitter (I link all my articles to Twitter) a ton of his fur-riends wanted to see what I had to say about their friend and also what his mom thinks of him being a fur. It’s a built in audience. If you look at the Twitter button under the article you can see it was linked to Twitter again about 28 times by an army of furries clicking on the Twitter link so it has a huge presence there. It was also linked to various Facebook accounts a number of times too. My son is a little embarrassed by this endlessly circulating article but also seems tickled pink that he’s getting so much attention and has achieved a level of Twitter “fame,” at least among other furries. It gives him a presence in the fandom, and his dance comp video has received many more views now too.
Outside of that, my most popular articles are the ones about narcissists and psychopaths. That’s understandable, given that’s the focus of my blog, and most of my followers are people coming out of abusive relationships with narcs and psychopaths, or just people interested in the ugly and soulless side of human behavior.
But the only other article that received anywhere near the amount of attention my furry article did was my “I’m Frustrated” noobie manifesto which OM was kind enough to reblog and as a result I was so busy with likes, new followers, and comments that day I could barely find time to go to the bathroom! Things have died down a bit, but due to his kindness I never again have logged on in the morning after posting a new article only to find nothing but crickets and tumbleweeds.
Third in popularity was my rant, “Don’t judge me because I’m poor.” Now, I’ll be honest–I didn’t expect that to be a popular article. It’s a depressing topic and I used a sad picture. But I guess a lot of bloggers can relate and poverty, like narcissism and furries, is a hot topic these days I guess. And it has a sassy title that contains a challenge.
The biggest lesson from all this I’ve learned is that titles do matter. A title that is short, a little sassy, a little controversial, and promises a personal confession of some sort seem to get the most hits and likes.
It helps if the article lives up to its grabby title too.
I also have to admit I’m hoping the reference here to furries gives me another little Twitter boost.
Tonight, I’m mostly reading other blogs instead of adding to this one, but I made a promise to myself to post something original at least once a day. I’m sticking with that promise. I can always think of something to write about.
Okay, so tonight it’s Twitter. I mainly use Twitter to talk to my son, who can almost always be found there. Besides checking in on my kid, Twitter is also useful for quick announcements and promoting something you posted elsewhere. In general though, I think Twitter is rather silly and shallow (and doesn’t allow for creative writing), but it has its merits: being forced to edit your thoughts down to 140 characters or less does oblige you to get down to the essence of what you want to say. That can be a great exercise for writers like me who tend to be too verbose. Just get to the bones of it. Sometimes what you want to say can be more effective stated without all the fat.
I usually think #hashtag games are dumb, but someone started a new one this morning, #TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo. Besides being fun (and addictive) I’m surprised to find how it’s helping me gain clarity about my current situation and the choices I made. Rather than regretting those choices, I can extrapolate from that 10 years into the future and gain insight on what I need to do now, which means I may be much more careful about choices I haven’t yet made.
Mine:
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo That book you just read? Don’t donate it to Goodwill.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo put a parental lock on MySpace
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo Be very careful what you start posting on the Internet in around 2008-9.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo Don’t start that Facebook account in 2008. You will come to regret it.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo That walkie talkie you and ____ think is so cool? A cell phone would be better
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo your son will come out as furry in 4 years. Take more interest in his interest in cartoons
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo your boss is actually a horses ass who will fire you in 2009.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo those suspicions you have about your son being gay? They’re correct.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo just because you couldn’t get your book published and your mother hated it doesn’t mean your writing sucks
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo you have not lost your intelligence or talents. You have PTSD. Get help for that.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo Katrina is happening in a year. Actually send that money to the relief fund.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo start watching American Idol this year, but stop watching it after 4 years. It does not get better.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo your not too old to make something of yourself. In 10 years you might be.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo stop worrying about your son. He will turn out better adjusted than anyone else in the family
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo In 2005 you will say something stupid to your father. Don’t.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo Use some of that tax return you get in 2005 to learn web design and start a blog now. WordPress is not hard.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo start meditating now.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo you’ll still be poor but at least you’ll age well and still look pretty much the same
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo stop worrying about something happening to the kids. They’re still alive in 2014
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo A violent act is NOT necessary to obtain a restraining order. Do it now.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo you need to write something every day. No excuses.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo You need to get FULL custody of BOTH kids. Your dad paid for a lawyer–use it.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo don’t let your daughter convince you to let her live with her dad. She needs to live with you. So what if she hates you now.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo Don’t listen to his sweettalk and promises. They’re lies. You need to cut him off now.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo Start a blog now. Stop wasting time on forums.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo all that postgrunge playing on the radio right now is rock music’s death rattle.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo by 2010-11, Top 40 radio will be unrecognizable.
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo stop complaining about the price of gas. It will be 3 times higher by this time next year.
Not mine, but I love this one:
#TweetAtYourself10YearsAgo On 9/23/14, send a tweet to yourself 10 years ago using this hashtag to close the causality loop I just created.
I’m inviting readers to join in. This game really makes you think.
Lucky Otters Haven 