Where Have All The Readers Gone?

I Can't Afford To Have My Own Payola Scandal To Boost Numbers...

Well, my freefall into blog oblivion continues at a furious pace. Take a look:



At first I thought it was just that Google page-ranking glitch that was causing some of the dropoff. But, no, the hits for 'Lake Conroe Alligator' and 'Bitch stole my fish' continue at almost the same rate.

Then, I was sure that since it was August, all my European regulars were off on holiday. Alas, I have but one regular Eurofan, a nice Irish lass named Nelly, so that's not it.

So, I've got to figure out what the effin' hell is going on.

There does seem to be a slight case of late-summer ennui coursing through quite a few bloggers. For a lot of bloggers on my sidebar, the posting frequency has dropped significantly, and I can extrapolate that the reading has diminished at a concurrent rate.

I know I'm certainly affected by SSAD. That's Southern Seasonal Affective Disorder. It's kind of like the Seasonal Affective Disorder that the people up in the Arctic Circle get, but instead of the general moodiness and sloth caused by lack of sunlight, down here it's the oppressive heat that makes everyone pissy and non-productive.

I wonder sometimes how many people have just quit reading Baboon Pirates, and gone on to greener pastures. I'm certainly guilty of this. My blog reading list has changed significantly over the years. People that were daily reads now get a visit once a month or so, or not at all.

Then, there's always the piss-you-off factor. I know for certain there's two or three people that have given me the kiss off for saying something, either here or in their comments, that have rubbed 'em the wrong way. I'd like to think that if there's enough reason to be a regular, people might cut me some slack on one or two differences in politics or religion or whatever. Everybody's got a hot-button issue, though.

Hell, there's always the chance that, unbeknownst to me, I've completed the transmogrification from amusing curmudgeon to Complete Asshole.

I can't bring myself to try whoring through the Carnivals. Can't afford to advertise. Podcasting offers no enjoyment for me, mostly due to the PITA factor of making them sound professional and interesting, instead of the vocal meanderings of a middle-aged paleo-bachelor recording on a Mr. Microphone with two yowling cats and an oscillating fan in the background.

I dunno. S'pose I'll just keep drudging along. If you scribble it, they will come.

I'm still bummed, though. Think I'll give myself an award:



Sigh...