Saturday, January 24, 2009

On Twilight Quotes, "Following," and Billy Joel

First, apologies to those of you expecting to read a Twilight quote in the last post and finding it missing. It appears even award-winning bloggers make mistakes. Last night, after my highly-informative post about blogging lessons, I neglected to include the quote so many of you have come to expect. As you can see, this problem has been rectified. So, thank God for that. In addition to God, let me thank those many readers who surely noted the omission, but refrained from pointing out my error. (Although had you pointed it out I would have denied your comment and then corrected the problem so as to appear infallible.)

As you can see, I've been a busy bee. Over there on the right----------------------------->
you will now see a place for tiny pictures of my most rabid devotees. (Presently numbering one, but what a fine looking fellow he is.) In spite of my fears, you can now "follow" Murphblog. If we could somehow get at least three more people over there, the management would really appreciate it. An internal memo from the research department states:

"Studies show that permitting readers to "follow" blogs has the effect of increasing readership and commenting levels. Blogs with many followers appear to attract new followers. It is the assumption of the researchers that this is due to humans' desire to be a part of successful ventures. However, the inverse is also true and bloggers should remember that a lack of followers sends the message that such a blog "sucks" and will result in levels of avoidance not otherwise seen in blogs with no "following" option at all. Proceed with caution."

Obviously, I'm following their advice. (Well, except for that little request about keeping internal memos internal. As previously stated, I believe in transparency.) Why else would I pay them the big bucks? Moral of the story: If I can get more squares, I'll keep the squares. If not, so long "following" option. (On my Post-It: See if I can find Jim J. Bullock and invite him to follow.)


Lastly, this morning I bought tickets to see Elton John and Billy Joel at the Palace of Auburn Hills in May. Floor seats, row twenty-two. Me and The Wife. Awesome.



Twilight Quote of the Day:

"What I meant to say was, don't do what you're doing."

--Billy Black, Twilight, p. 353

13 comments:

LindaBudz said...

I'm in! And yours is the first blog I've ever followed. Mainly because I didn't realize that option even existed before. So thanks for turning me onto it!

Ray Veen said...

I'm in. Now tell me, what is it you like about Twilight?

Paul Michael Murphy said...

Thank you to the three followers of the blog. That was much faster than I dared hope.

Paul Michael Murphy said...

Twilight? Oh, man, where to start? Should I start with Ms. Meyer's penchant for overusing words like "incredulously" and "smoldering?"

Should I praise the riveting scenes that take place in the kitchen?

Or how about the realistic dialogue?

It's all too much, isn't it?

Actually, the highlighted quotes are meant to poke some fun. I picture myself saying them to Ms. Meyer, as in "Steph, what I meant to say was, don't do what you're doing. Anymore. Please."

And having just read something about how agents read blogs, I now realize I have no chance of landing Ms. Meyer's agent. And also no chance of teenage girls becoming followers of my blog.

That's okay, neither are in the target audience.

Monica said...

ok..i'm a follower, but frankly, i have no idea what that means. do i get email updates of updates on your blog or something?

Paul Michael Murphy said...

Monica--I am 100% sure you're asking the wrong person.

Here's what I do know: When I got to my Profile, there is a list of blogs that I "follow" which makes it harder for me to forget the ones I want to read. Other than that, not sure.

But thanks.

Ray Veen said...

You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that you're not actually a fan of Twilight.

Follow this link to see my Twilight pie chart.

http://bigplainv.blogspot.com/2009/01/twi-lame.html

Monica said...

that makes sense... of course. lol

Paul Michael Murphy said...

I've already seen the pie chart, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. (I've been spying on my readers.)

Kelly Polark said...

At the suggestion of Big Plain V, I have also put the followers chart on my page after ignoring to do so in my five whole months of blogging. Anyway, you now have another follower! Woo hoo! You are past your three followers and I'm sure you'll get way more soon!
Have fun at Elton John and Billy Joel with your wife, I've seen them both in concert-both excellent entertainers! My fave Billy Joel song - Longest Time My fave Elton John song - Daniel

Jewel Allen said...

This is very funny. I had to check out your post and see how you tied all three topics together.

Good luck with your query!!

Found you through BPV

Paul Michael Murphy said...

Oh. I'm supposed to tie things together? That's gonna be a problem.

Jewel Allen said...

Well, you didn't tie them together, but it was still funny. :-)

PS I love Billy Joel's "NY State of Mind". That'd be a fun concert.