Stealing ideas

Danielle received a comment on her entry “ICH BIN EIN GOOGLE RESULTAT”, plugging RollingDoughnut.com because I get better Google searches. Specifically, Gump left the following comment for Danielle: “I am jealous that Tony is just out there without a host. How many readers does he get?”

In just a statement and a question, Gump summed up my webmaster duties for my blog. I chose to set up this site on my own, to code it and to maintain it for one simple reason: I love the challenge of figuring out new tasks. If the new task is related to technology, it’s even better. I love that I’m only constrained by my imagination. If I want to add a database to my blog, I can do that. If I want to add a guestbook, I can code that. It takes me longer than just snapping together assembled parts like Legos, but it’s more fun for me. Since no one is paying me to do this, I’m going to have fun.

There’s nothing wrong with sites like Diaryland and LiveJournal. They can even make life easier for writers. With the built-in community, they enable writers to get readers quicker. But they don’t suit my mentality.

I’ve chosen to bypass that and build everything myself. Initially, I was doing it because I like the “empire building” involved in starting from scratch. Rather than torture, becoming a hermit, learning to code a website is my idea of a glorious adventure.

Yet, as much fun as I have in my empire building, I’ve learned that the true value is in giving my writing time to evolve and improve. Looking back over some of my earliest posts, I’m stunned by the progression. As I near my 100th post, I now have an archive that allows new readers to jump in. I can begin marketing with a foundation to support my “sales pitch”.

The result of my labor is that I now get between 7 and 10 unique hits every day. Even though that doesn’t seem huge, I’ve seen my hits creep upward over the last few months.

I write for the joy of writing, not the readership. Whether the number is 7, 70, or 700 people who read my site, I write for myself and everyone else is a bonus. But I enjoy that people are reading my words. I know everyone won’t agree with me, but people are thinking about my ideas. What more could I ask for, besides $100,000?

In conclusion, I like independence. It’s good.