My college roommate and I used to have a sign on our door that said, “Please knock, first: We’re digressing.” Well, we thought it was funny. This week, over on the Frog Blog, aka TheNextGoal.com, the challenge is to generate “insane traffic” to our posts. The contestant with the most unique pageviews wins Immunity; all others are subject to elimination. Here are mine (please do read and share them, if you enjoy them):
Short Term Goals, Long Term Vision – more on setting SMART goals, with an illustration in practice. Dave thought that was just deadly dull, so I wrote this to make up for it:
Play to Your Strengths: A Healthy Imagination Needs Play Time – which is testing the limits of “team tolerance” and my willingness to “take one for the team” (give up the points and delete the silliness some feel is not “appropriate” or a good editorial fit). Now, I’d have been willing to make revisions – or at least to better clarify why it’s a good fit – had it not been for one of my teammates’ demanding, before I’d had my coffee, that I delete it (in retrospect, it does make more sense with a proper introduction – or to those who’ve met Prunebutt and followed the banter between Dave and me, over the years, wherein he chastises me for “metablogging” and “writing on autopilot” and practically abusing my loyal readers in pursuit of some silly blogging prize or another). And I really don’t like to feel “ganged up on,” especially before coffee, even if their editorial suggestions – under other circumstances – might have been welcomed. Perhaps, being on the other side of the world, they forgot the time difference and the “don’t get Holly’s dander up before coffee” rule.
I may make revisions; you see, I forget that people (some days, pretty much “everyone but Dave”) don’t actually read everything I write and don’t have the mental hypertext links to follow. That said, I think I’ve conclusively proved that no one clicks real hyperlinks, anymore, anyway, for fear of landing in spam hell. But give up the points the post has already earned by deleting it?? Helpful, ethical, and kind do not equal doormat or stupid. Must give Neeraj and Ntathu kudos for trying – you know, the flip side of the “don’t get Holly’s dander up before coffee” rule is the “Holly is apt to do stupid things before she’s fully awake” corollary. Yes, nice try.
I know that I should Embrace Change? But… I’m Not that Kind of Girl! At least not before I’m fully caffeinated!
Right – so I’ll add “revise post, clarify the point” to my 43Things: Beyond the “To-Do List”. What’s really cool about this site is that I’ve used it – with great success – over the last 5 years or so. And when the Robot Co-op (the good folks who run 43Things) saw my post, they came over and clarified something, too – the fact that a feature I’d thought (and kinda hoped) was gone, was actually still there. Go read and see what it is – you may find it useful. Or painful.
Now, the best of families and friends have disagreements – that Team2, or TheNextGoal, has made it through almost seven exhausting weeks without one is nothing short of miraculous. We’re still a team – I still like all my competitive blogging teammates. And I would never suggest, as my colleague (and rival) Larry did, that you not read the posts written by him or my other esteemed frienemies, Neeraj and Ntathu. For we are still a team, or hope to be, when this thing is finished. But if you could see your way clear to waiting on theirs – say, not reading them until Saturday or Sunday – to give you something meaty to read, along with the funny papers, that’d be great.
And now, the hour is late, and I need to review these 3 Secrets to a Good Night’s Sleep (it’s always so much easier to give good advice than to take it, don’t you think?)… Sweet dreams!
About the Author
Holly Jahangiri is a professional writer with over twenty years’ experience in technical writing, freelancing, fiction, poetry, and editing. Writer, wife, and mother, Holly is the creator of Trockle and the instigator of the Puppy-Guppy Rebellion.
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