LOLcats seem to have all the answers. They can tell you if you are doing whatever it is you are doing, correctly, or as they like to say, “rite”.

Of course, they will also gladly inform you if you are doing it incorrectly, or also as they like to say, wrong… Amazingly enough, for being such atrocious spellers on the whole, they actually get that last one correct. Well, you know what they say about blind pigs and truffles… Maybe that applies to cats and “cheezburgers” too.

Anyway, since those little bastages apparently have the scoop on everything, I suppose that is why I am paying homage to them in the picture above. I mean, after all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery… Hold on a second while I go barf up a hairball in my wife’s new shoes. That should flatter the hell out of the little “cheezburger nom nom nommers“… I just have to decide which pair I should toss the yak into…

Stunning visual there, eh?

Of course, as usual, I’m not here to talk to you about LOLcats, “cheezburgers” and who can “haz” them, or even my wife’s shoes, although I have to admit, E K has some really great shoes… And what with me being a leg guy and all… I’m just sayin‘…

Okay, fine… Y’all are really putting a crimp in my fun, you know… So anyway, what I am really here to prattle on about is blogging.

You see, ever since moving my blog from Myspace and setting it up over here on this self-hosted WordPress platform, I have been tracking little things like page views, subscriptions, and the like. Why? Because I can, I guess… But mainly, I just do it for fun… Really. I’m certainly not out to set any Google page rank records or anything… (Yeah, that whole page rank thing is going to show up in another blog… Trust me… I already wrote it and queued it up, so be on the lookout.) However, moving on with the current ramble, throughout this process I have been doing some studying… Or, as we like to call it back home in Kentucky, studyin’. And, because of all that studyin’ I’ve been uh-doin’, I have now added some new material to my reading list…

Unfortunately, it’s not the “reading for pleasure” kind of material…

Being an author, besides my research and such, I tend to read articles about marketing. Yeah, that’s why I sometimes refer to myself as a marketing whore… It’s all just part of being an author type person… Especially a fiction author… The publisher does quite a bit, but there’s still a whole stack of marketing that falls in the lap of the person who slung the words in the first place. In fact, the old adage is that an author’s job “begins the moment he or she types The End.” (Actually, we don’t type, The End... We type -30- or # # #, but that’s another story).

Be that as it may, I won’t go there, because we’ve already traveled this particular dark and rut-filled road in the past. I will, however, point out that the new material I added to my reading list had to do with, yes, marketing… Specifically, effectively using your blog for marketing.

And, as you can see in the picture up top, based on what I learned from everything I’ve read, I’m “doin it wrong.”

Apparently, I am supposed to be blogging solely about things such as writing, current events as they pertain to my writing, and more importantly, I am supposed to be handing out all kinds of helpful advice and crap about… Yeah, you guessed it, writing. But, I am supposed to do all of this without writing about myself, in any way, shape, or form, or reveal the fact that I am a writer by trade, other than to casually mention that I am in fact the author of said blog. But not of books… Just the blog… And only casually… That’s it. Nothing more.

However, if I really, really want to be impressive to the masses, what would make me an even more effective and popular blogger would be if I was some kind of Perez Hilton/TMZ clone, and I blogged about stupid things that celebrities do. Unfortunately, I generally don’t give a flying rat’s ass about “celebrities”… Megan Gallagher, well, she’d be the exception, but we won’t go there…

So… According to the “experts” it’s either that, or posting naked pictures in my blogs. That’d work too…

Well… I don’t wanna do any of that… Maybe the nekkid pictures… Yeah, okay, different blog… At any rate, one of my old bosses used to say, “An expert is a spurt that couldn’t cut it and had to quit.” There are all kinds of places we could go with that, but again, we won’t go there… Suffice it to say, being an expert really doesn’t mean all that much in the grand scheme of things.

But, seriously… There are all manner of do’s and don’ts to this blogging stuff. I’m actually starting to wish someone had supplied me with a manual up front, then I would have known I was breaking the rules right from the outset.

On that note, I have to say, I’m fairly amused by some of the lists I’ve read. You know, the “50 Tips For Better Blogging” type of lists. My favorites go something like this:

1. Don’t post blogs on weekends.
2. Don’t write about yourself.
3. Put links in your blog.
4. Post on weekdays.
5. Post on weekends because no one else posts on weekends.
6. Put pictures in your blog.
7. Write about yourself.
8. Write about your dog.
9. Don’t post on weekdays, no one will have time to read the post.
10. Don’t put links in your blog.
11. Don’t clutter up your blog with pictures. Text only.
12. Write an interconnected series.
13. Never write a series. Only short, 2 or 3 paragraph standalone blogs.
14. …

… And on from there. Telling you to do this, don’t do that, and contradicting themselves at every turn… Almost always within the same list. I honestly believe that some of these “helpful hints” have to have been posted as tongue in cheek silliness just to see if anyone would follow the “rules”. Either that, or the creator of the list has a debilitating hippocampus injury and cannot remember what she/he wrote two seconds ago.

But, no matter what, they all agree with the LOLcats. I am doing it wrong… I’m not suppose to be entertaining, I am supposed to be disseminating useful information devoid of any entertainment whatsoever. My blogs have to have a higher purpose… Higher purpose, not special purpose… Just how many times have you seen The Jerk, anyway? Yeah… Figures.

Well, as I’ve said in the past about my novels, sometimes the purpose is just to entertain, and in my estimation, that’s one damn fine purpose, and it ranks right up there with all the rest.

You know… I think I’ll just stop reading those articles and have myself a “cheezburger” instead…

More to come…

Murv

So, I ran across something today. I’m not sure if I was supposed to see it or not, but since it was just laying there in plain view… Well… It caught my attention and I pretty much couldn’t help but read it.

You see, during the morning running about today I had myself an extra chore, as assigned by the Evil Redhead herself, that being the task of going to the bank and making a deposit. I know, I know, why in the world would E K allow me to:

1. Go anywhere near a bank.
2. Have money.
3. Be anywhere near money.
4. Especially be anywhere near money that belongs to her.
5. Know of the existence of money.
6. Ad infinitum…

Yeah, yeah, give me a break… We all know I’m less than frugal and not all that good at money management, I’ve already admitted as much. And,  because of that, E K handles all of the finances and doesn’t let me near the money. Nothing new there… However, after 22+ years of marriage she does have me fairly well trained, (or more accurately, beaten into submission).

Therefore, she will occasionally entrust me with the task of making a bank deposit. Of course, whenever she does this I am escorted by armed guards, and then there are also the other security measures, such as dye packs, double signature requirements, fingerprint and retinal scan ID requirements, a shock collar locked around my neck, etc… So, the chances of me actually being able to do anything other than hand the deposit over to a bonded courier at the bank are practically nil… Well, not practically I don’t guess… When you get right down to it they are about as nil as they can get…

But, yeah, I’m now following a semi-related chicken, so let’s get back on track…

Upon my return home, as is my prescribed duty I placed the documentation, which proves I have completed the task, upon the Evil One’s desk. It was at this point I came across the “something.” It was just tossed out there in plain sight… You know… In a file folder, which was sealed in a manila envelope,  which was stamped “eyes only” and “Do Not Open – This Means You, Murv”, which was stuffed under some other files in her briefcase, which was double locked and tucked back into a secret, hidden cubbyhole beneath her desk…

See what I mean? Right there in plain sight…

So, anyway, a picture of said “something” is inserted below, and since it might be a bit hard to read from an image, I have also copied the text  and placed it beneath the picture for your convenience…

February 20, 2009
RE: Evil League of Evil

CERTIFIED MAIL

Bad Horse
Evil League of Evil
ELE Secret Headquarters
It’s a secret you moron

Dear Bad Horse:

This letter is to inform you that I am officially declining your invitation to join the Evil League of Evil. While the offer of full membership is certainly attractive, especially considering the convertible toaster oven/death-ray signing incentive you threw in, it still did not escape my attention that said offer also included a rider, which in effect would ban me from seeking the position of CEO for the League.

To that end, I have now initiated a hostile takeover of the Evil League of Evil. On that note, as you are well aware, my anger management classes did not go so well. Therefore, even if you were to agree to a buyout, this takeover would still be hostile, because to put it simply, everything I do is hostile. Extremely hostile and just plain mean. Besides, I’m evil, enough said.

As of today, I have obtained the necessary shares to gain controlling interest in the League. My latest purchase, which put me over the top, was thanks to Doctor Horrible who was in dire need of quick cash to pay off his student loans. (Apparently a PhD in horribleness is rather expensive.)

In conclusion, I am calling for you, BH, to vacate the post of CEO PDQ. I am giving you 24 hours to clean out your stall. As is called for in the by-laws, I will also require you to submit a formal letter of resignation.  I would appreciate knowing the ETA on that ASAP.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a shoe sale to attend.

Disrespectfully Yours,

Evil Kat

Queen Bitch of the Whole F***ing Universe

E K:lackey #1

… You know, something tells me we should all be very worried. Especially Bad Horse…

More to come…

Murv

(… If you are unfamiliar with the Evil League of Evil, Bad Horse, and/or Doctor Horrible, I highly recommend you check out the following links: drhorrible.com and  evilleagueofevil.com. You owe it to yourself to stay informed… Especially since E K is taking over…)