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attention whores get all the attention

Excuse my bitterness. I'm just wondering - how does a relatively unkown person suddenly become the hottest blogger in the political blogger circle when it seems that her column is just a Gawker for the DC crowd? Not that there's anything wrong with Gawker - it's a favorite of mine - but it doesn't try to pass itself off as something it's not. Many months ago I received an email from a male blogger who told me that if I want people to recognize my writing and if I wanted to make a name for myself, I should concentrate on my serious writing and stop writing about topics such as boobs and sex. So now this chick comes along and she writes a couple of half-witty paragraphs every day, most of them dealing with John Kerry's sexual organ and anal sex, and she's the hottest thing on the internet. Men love her, women worship her and people quote her like she's the queen of all that is popular. Including the person who originally wrote me chastising me for my sex talk. Oh yea, I heard she's hot. Quite a few of the upper echelon male bloggers seem quite smitten with her. In fact, they are fawning all over her. And now she is considered to be on the A list of A listers, if there were such a thing. I don't get it. I just don't get it. Oh wait, I do. Guys will give you all the props you want as long as you are hot and write about sex. But if you aren't hot, or if you don't have a cute little image on your site depciting how adorably cute you are, then just give it up. You think if I start writing about how big John Kerry's dick is and how I am obsessed with anal sex my opinion will mean something to someone? Oh how cute. She's talking about butt fucking again. Let's link her and marvel at how astute and wonderful she is! This is why guys have an easier time "making it" or being taken serisously than women do. They just have to write. We have to be whores. I give up. Why bother spending hours doing research and writing, re-writing and editing when tiny little items about Bush's daughter are what's making the grade around blogs these days? You want the big boys to link you, girls? Start undressing. Or get a makeover.

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Comments

you're on MY A-list... and she's not.

by the way... stop it, you sound like a mad 3 year-old. Who cares if she gets the attention???

This is like a wrestler's speech right before the new plot line is introduced.

Could our(your male audience) dreams of a jello tub and bikinis be far behind??

I haven't really seen the fascination with Wonkette or Gawker - too much inside baseball for me. I didn't even know there was so much anal sex and male organ talk.

Just goes to show how much the DeeCee and NeuYawk crowds are into the circle jerk.

Look, don't fret. What you said:
This is why guys have an easier time "making it" or being taken serisously easier than women. They just have to write. We have to be whores.

doesn't apply to Condi Rice, nor does it apply to you.

Women don't have to be Virtual Sluts. Only those who think that they have to do that to get a rise out of their readership do. You don't.

"All Assfucking, All the Time" does not a classic make.

Besides, women like that always end up receiving the business end of Ron Jeremy, whether they like it or not.

by the way.... your hyperlinks are gone for your individual entries... it would be a HELL of a lot easier to link you with them available....

Cutesy chick...ew! I would way rather be a touch chick. Thats why I like you so much! There aren't too many of us, ya know!!

Hey! Where's the link? ;-P

Seriously though, it's not a comment on the commenter but on the reader. I personally have zero anal Kerry worshipers on my blogroll.*

I do have you blogrolled though, along with Meryl Yourish and Ilyka Damen and Helen Adelaide and others. I read the lot of ya because you're great writers. If I want to go get titillated I'm certainly not going to read a blog for it. This is the freakin' Internet, yo?

  • Though I occasionally wonder about Harvey.

"when tiny little items about Bush's daughter are what's making the grade around blogs these days?"

True.....but the other stuff can be boring. Sometimes it's fun to unplug and become a 14 year old wondering what sex acts caused Jenna's kneescrapes.

"by the way... stop it, you sound like a mad 3 year-old. Who cares if she gets the attention???"

Umm..I care. You think I spend hours a day on this weblog and on Command Post because I have nothing better to do?

I was really hoping to use this as a stepping stone to a career - or at least a second career. The fact that I probably have to act like a flakey, flirty girl to do so really irritates me.

Ryan, I do write about other stuff besides war and politics. But I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't, it seems.

And the permalinks are working, don't know what you're talking about Jim.

I don't know what to say, except that there are a lot of us who like you both.

And in any event, can you imagine the challenges of trying to Gawkerize Washington? My boyfriend lives there, so I'm down there once or twice a month, and let's face it: "W" doesn't have a lot to work with.

I was joking that there was no link to the anal Kerry fest.

It sort of bombed.

Obviously.

but wasn't she a professional writer/editor before all this? and didn't she start this job because she'd already been fired from every magazine in washington?

sounds like she's going backwards, not like you're in neutral...

it's just all these SATC-era dipshits who love hearing women talk about penises and anal sex. is that REALLY what you want to buy into? i'd rather be anonymous than a sack of shit, personally.

I've never heard of these people and I visit ASV at least three times a day.
That's right, I come back to this blog more than any other.
You are the Hotness, MicheLe.

Who is this? I've never heard of her.
Seriously, no joke. I have no idea who you are talking about.
She can't be THAT famous.

Having bounced around in the "blogosphere" for several years, I can tell you there isn't just one A-list. I spent a weekend hanging out with the guy who coined the word "blog". If there is really an A-list, he's on it. Most people don't know who he is though.

Reminds me of that saying "Big fish in a small pond". You are a big fish in your pond. I don't even know where her pond is so she's nothing to me. Make sense?

I went and looked at the site you mention. I could find nothing of substance, much like my own site. If I didn’t know better I would say a monkey flinging s*** at the screen could produce the same quality posts. But that’s just my opinion of her site.

I like reading your site because it is a calliope of information. Keep up the good work.

You have 27 subscribers over at my site. She has 2.

Take that for what it's worth.

I already have too many
prOn sites on my faves list.
I want want you for your
humor
brain
insight
AND
bOObies

BTW they can keep their
anal stuff. As far as I'm
concerned the hershey trail
is a one way street.

Michele, I read her for about the first month when she started her blog, but I realized she wasn't telling me anything. And I dislike the arrogance of not providing readers the opportunity to comment.

While I'll admit I'm not the stereotypical polito-nut from the DC area, I still live in the DC 'burbs.

I read you. I don't read her. I blogrolled you. Not her.

Don't know about everyone else, but that's my take on it.

You're hotter than her. If for no other reason than you're brighter. And curvier. And brighter.

I will ditto several others in saying, I have no idea who you are talking about but then again, I don't know much about the blogosphere. You ARE my "A" list, well, you and Mig anyway.

Oooh -- Good topic. I'll post on this later tonight...

Tim, thanks. That is damn good company.

Mig

Uhh..who are you talking about? LOL

Don't make me get serious. I do not like getting serious. It pissed me off.

(too late)

Discard your principles, and I will make it my sworn goal in life to bring your poser ass down.

So what if Wonkette gets the hits for tits? She does not make one lick of difference in the grand scheme of things. She does not do one thing to make the world better, and you know absolutely nothing about her behind the thin CSS-veneer of a skin on her site.

Garbage and gossip, callow and shallow. It's like calling Barbara Walters a seasoned journalist despite her doing nothing but anchoring OTHER journalist's news stories while interviewing slow-pitch meaningless celebrity interviewees twice a year.

You, on the other band, have told tale after tale from your life, what you've succeeded at, what you've failed at, and brought together hundreds upon thousands of people to contribute their two cents worth on the situation with their own experiences (example; DJ and the bully incident).

But you are not just ASV. You're more than that. On top of all that, you are the heart of Command Post. It utterly demolished mainstream media as aggregator, bringing together many voices to demonstrate trends, biases, and reports from multiple sources. It's scooped Drudge more times than decimal places of Pi, and more accurately, too.

C-P is the go-to place, yet it would have never existed without you.

Wonkette, the faceless coward constructed of pixels and worthless male fantasy-image, wilts in your shadow.

Now stop shutting the fuck up before I have to get serious again.

Okay I admit I read Wonkette. I usually go there once a day and then think to myself "grow up." I can get all of her good stuff from "the Hill" anyway.

Oh and since I teach high school, the acting like a 14 year old is right on.

Let's just put it this way in the world of two wheeled transportation, she is a moped and your a Chopper. (self made, stylized and lots of chrome)

this post is stirring up some bitterness of my own. I won't even start on the fact I bear my heart and soul on a daily basis and post the cutest damn pregnant belly pictures ever and no one gives a shit, but other people write about a shit they just took or what they had for dinner and the whole fucking world cares.

Wait... this is supposed to be about you, sorry.

Dammit, I don't have time to get a makeover.

She's just another girl-of-the-week. I doubt she's taking your traffic. Don't feel like you have to compromise your principles to keep up with someone who'll be forgotten in a month.

Wonkette was cute for a few days or weeks. Then her 15 minutes were up. Don't use her as a model.

Wonkette was cute for a few days or weeks. Then her 15 minutes were up. Don't use her as a model.

That's something to chew on. Well, she did "The Antic Muse" forever and it was never such a darling as Wonkette is. I think it's got more to do with her being a Nick Denton property, and all the free publicity which that entails. Nick Denton could start a blog about poop and it would get major media promotion for free, at this point.
Keep doing your thing, Michele. You'll find reward in it long after this flash in the pan has vanished.
Besides, "career"? It's not like Denton pays much.

Wonkette is absolute filth. I was amused by her blog at first, but I predict it won't last a year. It harkens back to the 1990s when people pretended to care about the political views of celebrities.

I think that for many who were initially thrilled by her, Wonkette is now an embarassment. You're right - she IS a whore, because that cute picture and her incessent sex-talk is the only way anyone would be fooled into linking to her.

Elizabeth Spiers used it as a stepping-stone to a "real job", but how big is the market for a gossip columnist about politicians? Does "George" magazine still exist?

Patience! Time does not favor whores.

Clarification: I said above
Elizabeth Spiers used it
for those that are unfamiliar, Elizabeth Spiers was the first voice of Gawker, which was the first of Nick Denton's stable of commercial blogs. She moved on to better pay at newyorkmetro.com. Choire Sicha edits Gawker now. Seriously, how big is the market for Wonkette's style and subject matter? I think it's vanishingly small. In fact, Wonkette may satiate the entire market.

ok, for a sec there, i thought you were talking about abercrombie chick, but you're obviously not.

so, who the hell is it? oh, wonkette. next question - who the hell is that?

yeah, i know. i live in my own little world. but hey, you're still the bee's knees in my little world, michele.

Remember Michele, the turtle wins the race against the Hare. Wonkette is the hare, riding the Denton wave of publicity that will die as soon as he either sells off the blog collection, or gives up trying to sell off the blog collection. There is no substance there.

I like the abercrombie chick. She can write, she's smart and she's entertaining. She may be hot, but she's got substance to go with her style and deserves whatever attention she gets.

I'm not quite sure why Wonkette is as hugely popular as she is, although I think she's good at what she does. I don't think it's sex appeal. She's an attractive, 31-year-old married woman but she's not any more attractive than the half dozen women at the DC blogorama I attended last week, none of whom have in the collective history of their blogs as much traffic as you'll get this week.

It's almost all connectivity, really. On her first day, she got linked by virtually ALL of the big name bloggers--Glenn, Sully, Jarvis, etc.--and the site just exploded.

Can't I like both you and Wonkette and think you're both hot in your own way?

Two different types of sites entirely, and I go to them with completely different expectations.

It's not an either or for me.

"Ryan, I do write about other stuff besides war and politics. But I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't, it seems"

Of course I know that. That's why I like this site. From its obvious East Coast tone to its irreverent take on 80's music. All that and politics is quite an enticing brew.

Keep doing what you do. That's why most of us are here and that is ultimately what will pay off.

Not to worry, Michele. Frankly, if you start fixating on Kerry's organ, I'll start reading you as often as I read her. That is to say, not at all.......

And don't forget that "Fear Factor" gets better ratings than "Masterpiece Theater." And Kid Rock outsells Bob Dylan.

A few different, possibly contradictory responses:

1) Denton's corporate support have a lot to do with W's success. She's not just someone sneaking time away from employer & family, like the rest of us. It's a corporate venture.

2) Men are pigs; attractive young women (or, on the internet, those who present themselves as such) will get more than an even break. This is old news.

3) But not entirely. See Hot Abercrombie Chick. Her blog languishes in relative obscurity, with 100 comments per post - 10 from each of her readers. (I exaggerate.)

4)Tell Hawkins to do no such thing. That's adding fuel to her bonfire.

5) W. does do a few things right. She answers emails. She's kinda funny, in an annoying, snarky way, but WTF. And, anal-sex sells.

6) Will Hung is popular too. A buzz makes a buzz makes more buzz makes even more buzz.

But, in conclusion, I'm going on a strict non-link, non-mention policy, because of a whole accumulation of annoyances, most recently the "Kerry-nator is NOT funny" post.

Also it should be noted that Ann Marie Cox (AKA Wonkette) along with another writer/blogger I read regularly, Heather Havrilesky, didn't just come along out of the blue. Back in the early days of the web, before there were "blogs" there was a site called Suck.com ...
http://www.suck.com/fish/contributors/cox/

She has streed cred with those of us who've been online awhile.. I'm just sayin'...

Wonkette gets press from old media because she was a journalist before she was a blogger. She's like Sully in that way.

Big bloggers link to her because they think they should because the old media is giving her attention.

And i'm sure going to U. of Chicago and Berkeley doesn't hurt any. Plenty of snobbery in blogdom.

I think it's only a matter of time before the blogess in question spews out some Kos-like venom or some Dowdy idiocy. She's a flash in the pan. I've noticed that most of the lefty bloggers who seem reasonable to all of you MOR types blow it in the end. She is so '90's as to be a little pathetic. Maybe there will be an opening at Vanity Fair or the NYT. I find you much more readable, honest, and real, and the Command Post is an achievment that she could never touch.

Damn, I'm so UNcool that I don't even know who it is we're talking about.
And I think I'll both get a makeover AND start undressing if it means I get linked by the big boys! eek! I can hardly wait!
Oh..waitaminute...I don't care enough to. lol

Thank God someone finally had the balls to say it: Wonkette isn't funny, clever, insightful, or witty. She's popular because the big male bloggers are huge, huge dorks whose skills with women leave something to be desired. ("My name is Glenn Reynolds, and I shall now talk about Nikon digital cameras, nanotechnology, and some low-end Mazda sports car. Heh.") When they see a pretty girl, they immediately comment on her attractiveness, as if that has anything to do with the quality of her blog. Invariably, they post or link to pictures.

The male blogger mind is generally very simple: "An attractive girl who looks good in a tight shirt is saying funny things about politics. If I link her and worship her, she'll talk to me. A real girl. Talking to me!"

You just know that they'd be doing the same thing to Maureen Dowd if there was a chance in hell she would write back.

I think someone else has already asked this, but who the fuck is Wonkette?

With that said, I'd also like to add that I will assist Lair in any efforts to bring your ass down if you even THINK about following the dark road of SlutBlogging. Look at some history on this one. When webcams got cheap and easy, there were tons of girls who were just the same popping up web pages by the dozen to cash in on the trend. How many of them are still around? I do believe that when the shine wears off, and this Wonkette twonk giggles about anal sex one too many times, people are going abandon en masse for some real content.

It is annoying - but your words will last and hers will be ... covered in semen, I guess.

Don't begrudge someone their 15 minutes of fame for being sensationalistic - it's very likely all they've got. And once the 15 minutes is over, there will be another sensation, and they will be forgotten.

Besides, remember who is lionizing her - do you really want to be "admired" by that crowd? Didn't think so!

"big name bloggers" - ha!
Not to troll, but, ha!

Michele,

you're the one I read every day.

I've tried reading Wonkette, but it's just so much of the "hipper-than-thou" bullshit that I can't stand. You're a real person, as opposed to a persona... and I like that.

Besides, you can always feel cool that you have more readers than a freakin' talk show host. What do I have to do to get more readers, dammit?

Oh yeah... anal sex. Nevermind.

WHOA! I feel 'in the know" because I'd heard 'bout Wonkette two days ago.
Hoop=dee. She's boring - and not in my bookmarks - but you're damnnearasbrightasme and have been on my bookmarks since I only read VodkaBoy (hi) and the Clueless Analysis (Steven, you master analyst, you). Point is, you've either taken a lot of emotional chances to write ASV in front of the 'sphere - or you're a Turing program to engage the (male AND female) brains and not specifically the male gonads.
Live with it, darlin'. We love ya for you. Don't do a Rachel on us, or you'll break a lot of of hearts.......

Larry

Or you could just say, "Fuck the big boys," which is what I eventually settled on. With a few exceptions, most of the big boys are busy stroking each other too much to write anything of substance anymore, either.

I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I get bored stiff reading bloggers who do nothing but parrot the news. I can read the news my own self, thank you. Anymore if the blogger doesn't throw in some personal touch of some sort, I get bored silly. Thank you for linking that Very Important Victor Davis Hanson Column, assmunch, but you've failed to tell me what you think about it or why I should care.

Don't worry about the silly little bitch. Her time will pass and her fame with it. As for her looks--mweh. Someone should have told me anemic, anorexic redheads were "in" this year just so I could thank God more often that I'm "out." Gratitude's important in life.

So, you're confused as to how a suburban Washington reject with no writing skills and the intelligence level of an untrained chimp was able to get full color banner ads and individual posts dedicated to her at a number of sites, such as one particular site with more than 100,000 readers per day?

Don't be. By my guesstimates, Nick Denton paid more than $1 for every reader Ann Marie Cox was handed. One wonders how long Denton will hang in there for Cox now that it's patently obvious she suckered him into financing another outsider liberal blog, just like the thousands of others that are already out there. Two things that are for sure are that (1) Cox has already burned any chance at anywhere near the "inside scoop" in this town (as predicted), and that (2) she won't be around for long after Denton cuts off the advertising gravy train.

Don't worry, Michelle, talent shines through in the end.

What the heck brought this on? You've got not one but TWO well-respected, well-read, well-linked sites. You have nothing to be jealous of. A few observations:

Wonkette isn't that hot. I saw her picture. I've never seen you, yet I visit ASV and TCP several times each day to get my fix. If all I care about is cuteness and boobies, why do I also read and link to James Joyner, Commissar, Kim DuToit, etc., etc.? Implying that I'm influenced by gender/looks is insulting. None of the female bloggers that I link to get there based on their looks.

Commissar mentioned HAC - she's cute and all, but God, she goes on and on about stuff that I have no interest in - it's like Paris Hilton speaking with a John Houseman voice, giving a boring lecture. Based on what I've read here, you and I have some things in common. That's what matters to me, not how you look.

I have more, but I'll leave it at that. I've said it before, but keep up the good work. And don't let the bastards grind you down.

I didn't bother reading through all of the comments - so if someone already said this I appologize.

Anyway....

Wonkette may be "hot" right now - but there is a big difference between popularity and staying power. Popularity is driven by things like fads and fashion. Staying power is solely driven by substance. You can even gain a certain amount of legitimacy through initial popularity, but if you don't have substance, you won't have staying power.

I recall when ASV was just emerging on the scene, your style has matured and your thoughts are clearer and your purpose more focused. Your readership has also broadened and become more dedicated and sophisticated as well.

You're listed as one of the most influential political blogs - above Wonkette on two recent rankings:
http://www.blogrunner.com/snapshot/top-authors-00.html
http://www.rightwingnews.com/archives/week_2004_04_04.PHP#001927

Remember - substance over style (although IMHO you have both) - Wonkette may have a little flash and get focused on right now because of her love of the crude and overused anaolgy, but in the end, unless she can get some other hook - she's just going to go away.

Although, Allah seems to be doing quite well with the "pants" thing. :)

Maybe I'm just full of crap.

Hey James, I think Skillzy is implying that you aren't cute.

OK so curiosity got the
better of me. I just had
a peep at the Wonk.
My impression?
nuttin
nada
zip
zilch
all puff no cream

MICHELE WHAT in HELL
are you Thinkin???!!!

She's a Pee Wee
You're A Major Leaguer

Now stop this nonsense
Get back to Bidness

Not to say if you wanna flash your
ta-tas that we'll complain

Wonkette clearly needs to be introduced to Jackhole. I'm just sayin'.

If it's any consolation, I have no idea who you are talking about.

Michele,

I had the same though in re: Skillzy. My animated self is to-die-for, if I do say so myself.

And I concur with TXVet--give the boobies a go!

64 comments and counting. I do believe you've hit a nerve.

Something I said, somewhere else:

"The thing she's forgetting is that, while the "whores" may get attention, no one pays them any attention. Kinda like car alarms, you know? "

Michelle,

Relax. Wonkette is an entertaining novelty act that's already beginning to wear thin. Insider smugness doesn't play well in the blogosphere -- these things are self-correcting. The "ass-fucking" gag was cute for 5 seconds, but has now lapsed into self-parody.

puuuullllleeeze...
I stumbled on gawker a while ago and dismissed her site as
a. fluff news
b. not interesting

I read your site quite often and I enjoy what you write and how you make me think about my own opinions...

"Also it should be noted that Ann Marie Cox (AKA Wonkette) along with another writer/blogger I read regularly, Heather Havrilesky, didn't just come along out of the blue. Back in the early days of the web, before there were "blogs" there was a site called Suck.com ..."

...which also closed down in failure.

Sorry Michele, I covet your brain.

I tried reading wonk a few times. It's boring, I don't like the condescension, and the ass-fucking thing is tiresome.

For the record, I haven't seen James either, so he may be cute as pie. Not that I'd notice. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm just sayin.

Alphonse nailed it:

The male blogger mind is generally very simple: "An attractive girl who looks good in a tight shirt is saying funny things about politics. If I link her and worship her, she'll talk to me. A real girl. Talking to me!"

Which is of course why prostituiton should be legal. Think how many bad decisions are made out of the sexual desperation of middle-aged men without options in positions of power. Instead of favoring merit, they're constantly trying to use that power to get some trim from some flirtatious chippy who'll never give it to them, but who enjoys leading them on anyway.

If these middle-aged men-without-options could visit the whorehouse on their lunch hour it would clear their mind.

Hey M--

She's married to Nick Lemann, who has been a staff writer at every serious/hip pub on the face of the earth, or DC, not that there is much difference in their view.

You are not married to Nick Lemann.

she has a backer with major media contacts and chits due him.

You have DJ and a new house.

You get where you are by brains and moxie and heart and soul.

she, as you well know, talks about Kerry's cock and ass-fucking, except when she's not alluding to teh Bush girls blowjob skills.

She is a dot-com stock. You are BRK, relatively speaking(look up the ticker to get my drift.)

Im a major media NYC guy who hits your sites a dozen times a day because I want to know whats up and because I am scared witless about Iraq and because i was there on 9-11.

Gawker is nanoseconds away from talking about her period for laughs.

thank you for all you have done, R.

Wonkette is one of those very typical DC social butterflies that loves self-aggrandizement, reveling in their own wit (whether it exists or not), and the sort of flirtatiousness best left to junior high students. Eventually such creatures return to their cocoon only to come back as prickly embittered catapillars (see Dowd, Maureen).

I've made a point of steering clear of such types, as I cannot abide the self-important. Wonkette is using the techniques of the gossip columnist, because at the end of the day, that's all she is.

Now, if Wonkette would start writing on topics of substance rather than the superficial, I might give her another chance, but I've better things to do than wade through piles of prattle in order to find one nugget of insight.

Hmmmm....sex sells. Interesting concept. It seems that one of your advertisers agrees.

Reading the web shock-jockette is like a guy getting a pass the ladies locker room: surprise and titillation followed by utter boredom and then absence.

A good look would be that Command Post was mentioned in Wired a few months back as one of the most important blogs going. Wonkette, not on the list. Now, I know this is not Command Post, but efforts of yours are noticed by those who matter.

Awww, horseradish. Wonkette is all inside baseball, as it's been said on this thread. Lets see if she's still hot a year, two years from now when you're still writing and posting intelligent obeservations and she's run out of Kerry dick jokes.

Frankly, what Jay said...pretty much hits the nail on the head. Wonkette is nothing more than a gossip columnist with good connections.

And one comment down..."Hmmmm....sex sells. Interesting concept. It seems that one of your advertisers agrees."

This silly, look-at-me nonsense is why I have NOT clicked that blog-ad to the right. (Show me your wit instead of your tits, sister, and maybe I'll read your blog. But not before then.)

Actually, the blog with that ad is written by a male WHO HAS YET TO RESPOND TO MY EMAIL ASKING HIM TO CHANGE THE DAMN PHOTO.

Ahem.

Who?

Wonkette isn't really a woman - baseball...dick sizes, sex, sex, sex. See what I mean????

All of us real women know instinctively, or learned early on how easy it is to do that...it's just that we also instinctively or early on how shallow and tawdry that drooly, gropey kind of attention really is.

Somewhere along the line we learned we could have a nice balance of both.

Wonkette's traffic is largely due to the influence of Nick Denton. Before signing on with Nick, Ana Marie Cox's blog, Antic Muse, IIRC, received very little traffic. Furthermore, I think that her traffic is temporary; she jumped the shark after a couple of weeks. The blogosphere has caught on to and is commenting on her Emperor's New Clothes act. Jeff Goldstein has posted a typically pithy and witty remark, to the effect of "I didn't know that Maureen Dowd has a blog" and Little Green Footballs has a thread in support of this very post! Furthermore, looking at any number of lists of blog statistics, I think you qualify as part of the blog A list by any reasonable standards. You also have the respect of your readers in a way that Wonkette does not. So cheer up ...

Yeah, can we do something about that ad...jesus hell, wtf is that anyway? This is not 1986, people.

ah said it before, ah'll say it again...you're a bona fide celebrity...so blinded by the paparazzi lights you can't see that your coalition dwarfs the sadr-militia of drive-bys momentarily sniffing those wannablogs.

Heh. I posted a "what is so special about Wonkette" thing weeks ago when Glenn seemed to be linking her at least once a day. I went there a few times, going back only to see if I was missing something or had hit it on an off day, but over and over I concluded that there was nothing there well written or of interest to read.

The attention and traffic made no sense and continue to make no sense. Do people flock there on the strength of a terribly cute header graphic (the only thing I see there of merit)? Anybody can have one of those; it requires no writing talent at all.

Not like I'm a political insider or anything, but I do live close enough to dubya to complain about the beer cans in the yard, and I just don't get wonkette.

Reynold's started linking to her and I was like, why so much?

A Small Victory, on the other hand, is a truly impressive blog.

Well, Wonkette is really, really funny. She has a personality, with a nice website to match. She doesn't write essay's in her blogs, which a lot of blogreaders like these days. They don't want analysis/opinion/comments etc. A small little tidbit of what's happening is what they want, and they want to analyze it and opine on it themselves.

You and Wonkette are different, you can't really succeed in the market where Wonkette is successful in, and vise-versa.

Just do what you do best, and you'll be fine.

Michele, this is how cool you are: I've always felt a distaste for Wonkette, and never really understood why. I can't tell you how much better it makes me feel that YOU are frustrated about this as well. And you expressed it much more emphatically than I ever could.

My blog is about standardized testing, so the "big boys" wouldn't permalink to it if I posted nude photos of myself on there. But I like that my visitors come there for substance, and not just because I'm supposed to be hot and cute and an attention whore.

YOU are the real deal, Michele, and don't ever think you aren't. Read what Lawrence Simon wrote, above, every morning when you wake up. He got it exactly right.

Well, Wonkette is really, really funny. She has a personality, with a nice website to match. She doesn't write essay's in her blogs, which a lot of blogreaders like these days. They don't want analysis/opinion/comments etc. A small little tidbit of what's happening is what they want, and they want to analyze it and opine on it themselves.

You and Wonkette are different, you can't really succeed in the market where Wonkette is successful in, and vise-versa.

Just do what you do best, and you'll be fine.

Sorry for Double Post ><

Know what the definition of optimism is? Adding your comments to the 83 above you on a Web log and expecting anyone to read them.

Seriously, you two do different things. Yours has substance. Hers has... peni and vagini (plurals?).

Sex titilates. Substance rules.

Michele,

It's like my mother always said. Boys will be attracted to girls who are easy...but they won't marry them.

You've got respect, girl. Nothing else matters.

It's obviously a bit late in the day to say this, and FTR I've read Wonkette twice ever, but....

Fishing for compliments much?

I don't read Gawker or Wonkette (although I did send Gawker an email once and to her credit she replied almost immediately), but I find that the people who do read the Dentoblogs are also the ones reading Salon and watching Charlie Rose and thinking that, accordingly, they are way ahead of the curve and total "insiders"
I humbly suggest that disabusing them of this notion would be a mistake. The widely-read, non-precious and - IMO - truly important part of the blogosphere (that is to say, Instapundit and spawn, Northern Alliance, LGF, you, etc. etc.) doesn't need to discuss anal sex, random parties or their precious cuteness. That is because - again IMHO - readers on this side of the sphere get plenty, do not need to preen, party with their good friends (as opposed to some ephemeral face of the moment), and have more important things to discuss than how cute they are.
You should continue doing exactly what you are doing. And The Command Post, btw, is indispensible, and worth more than 1000 Wonkettes or Gawkers.

There are a lot of undeserved successes in the world, but the people who purvey crap in order to become rich and famous have to live with the knowledge that their gains are ill-gotten. In the end, having massive amounts of money - more than you need for a modest but comfortable existence - does not provide happiness. In point of fact, it frequently yields just the opposite.

It doesn't matter how many millions of dollars John Grisham is paid - he knows in his heart of hearts that he is not a great author. He may not even aspire to be a great author, but he still has to live with the fact that many of the greatest writers who ever lived had to subsist on what he would consider pocket change. Just as Salieri knew all too well that he was a hack compared to Mozart.

I think the key is to try to make sure you're doing something you love, and doing it as well as you possibly can. If such is the case, then any material success that stems from your efforts is just icing on the cake.

Hm. Michele, you know how much I value writing, and how rarely I'll hand out a compliment. I think you're a damned good writer. Almost as good as me. Almost. ;-)

As if it matters...

When I first started reading ASV I didn't know if Michele was a girl's name or a boy's. I was hooked before I read a post that confirmed that you are indeed a girl. I've visited Wonk a few times and a) she's not that hot, b) I found very little I wanted to read on her site. So she's getting a lot of press. Life isn't fair. For what it does matter, I like you and your site more than almost any other, male or female authored. All she's got is that she's a girl. You've got that and more.

whew , first visit here.

boys and girls ya'll need to get laid , dont waste anymore time all that juice is backing up and screwing up your brains .

either that or just spin the barrel and pull the trigger , you may get lucky .

I just don't care about Wonkette. Her blog's existence is utterly meaningless to me.

Heed Lair. He's got the right idea here. You've made your kids' world a better place. She can't say that, and probably never will be able to.

One of the blogs I read was wonkette this, and wonkette that. I finally asked the blogger what the heck a wonkette was, and why is this all I'm hearing about lately. He explained, I went and looked it over. Didn't get the hoopla, I'm afraid. Don't get it now. Just not my cuppa, I guess.

When I go on vacation, I have a short list of blogs I will try and catch up on when I come home. ASV is on that list. And when I was making out my RWN list of who I'd like to have dinner with, you were on it.

You touch people, you make them mad, you make them happy, you make them laugh, and you even make them shed a tear from time to time. That's not chopped liver, you know.

Some blogs are Spam, others are Filet. I think you know which of those two ASV is.

(no idea where the meat theme came from)

Does anyone else but me find the notion of a gossipy Washington "insider" column with a buttfucking theme to be bizarre, bizarre? I put a link up to Wonkette (that. name. is. so. irritating. by the way) out of curiosity, but I admit I haven't visited the site since -- because I find the idea of "scandalous" blogging over one of the least glamorous administrations in history to be really twisted. It's as if she really does think that after hours, far from going early to bed, Bush, Laura, and Karl Rove strip down to leather gear and have orgies to nineties techno. Creepy -- like lusting over photos of local PTA meetings.

Andrea, would that be KMFDM techno or the house shit? Because Karl Rove stripping down to KMFDM is sort of...interesting.

Hey Thlayli - you've been coming here how long and that's all you got out of this post?

I swear to Christ you become a bigger ass by the day.

That should be "half-witty half-paragraphs". Anyway, I think she's kinda funny and kinda witty (or half-witty I suppose), but I don't take her all that seriously. She's not really worth reading on a daily basis, for example. At least not for me, your mileage may vary.

OK so curiosity got the
better of me. I just had
a peep at the Wonk.
**************************************************
Me too. I followed a link from LGF over here.
I had really no idea what you were talking about and it took me a little bit to locate the website.

repetitive and boring? I had a difficult time keeping my mind on the articles. Text did not help much. Had I run accross the site by accident I might have paused for 10 secs or so and then gone on with out a thought.

hey, hey, hey - you're just fine, Michele. Don't let W get ya down. It's silly schitt, and everyone knows it. You've got substance.

You'll also note, you're the one on my blogroll.

P.S. to the poster who said DC ain't got it goin' on - oh, it does, baby - but W's ain't doing anything with it. After all, it's easier to talk about sex than to actually think of something.

no idea who she is. i read you almost daily. 'nuff said.

Andrea Harris:

"Does anyone else but me find the notion of a gossipy Washington "insider" column with a buttfucking theme to be bizarre, bizarre?"

Well, it is a sure-fire way to have Beltway pundits, and the Georgetown intelligensia, find your blog with a simple keyword search.

Michele: I really love your work, and if I had a blog I would blogroll you. Wonkette is tedious, truly. But as a scientist I decided to try a small experiment. At LGF earlier we were discussing the adaptabilty of Islam to the modern world, and it seemed no one was getting my point. So I dropped in a few random "ass-fuckings" as purely an attention getter. Sadly, it seemed to work. Sometimes I truly don't understand how these XY beings got to the top of the food chain at all. AND I would much rather have Charles Johnson's admiration (like you do) than Glenn Reynolds admiration (like Wonkette)! Keep up the good work.

Bill from INDC Journal:

"Reynold's started linking to her and I was like, why so much?"

Okay, I generally defend Glenn Reynolds, but what the hell was up with him linking to Wonkette's psychotic little fatwa against Michele, and calling it a blog catfight?

Two female bloggers are at odds, so that's a catfight. You know, with wet t-shirts and mud wrestling and stuff.

Then he says "I'm staying out of this one!" Which, IMO, he damned well should have.

I don't read Wonkette at all--after looking at it, I decided that it wasn't worth my time, even when Instapundit links to it. I do read yours from time to time. Okay, it's not much of an endorsement, but there you go.

Coupla thoughts from someone who enjoys the Wonkette blog, but not as much as I enjoy this one:

1. Alphonse's comment about Instapundit almost made my drink go up my nose. (Of course, I'm a much bigger dork than the Prof is, so I should know).

2. Wonkette's initial appeal came from the fact that she got huge incoming links, she's got a nicely produced website, she's good with one-liners, and - best of all - she updates regularly during the business day. Debuting a political gossip site during the primaries was good too, as was her shameless willingness to ride the Kerry-intern story when it still looked like it might have some substance to it.

3. She's also done a good job of summarizing what's in the various NY/DC political gossip columns, so I don't have to read them. In that basically fills a market niche created by the fact that Kaus only posts at 3 in the morning.

4. The anal sex and gay stuff is insanely tiresome, and the site would be better without it; like John Stewart (who's hysterical), her willingness to be an equal-opportunity offender goes out the window when it comes to her bizarre crusade to convince people (without having to prove it) that various Bush Administration figures are gay, a contention that's obviously intended to score political points.

I dunno, Glen (Wishard): if I were searching out sites with terms like "buggery" and "ass-fucking" I'd be real pissed if the first site that appeared on Google was Wonkette.com.

I looked up this "Gawker" person and I found her site a little boring. Love yours, though. :) Keep up the good work.

Excuse me for cross-posting something I just posted at LGF, this breaks a cardinal rule of mine, but I think there is a serious question to be answered here, with some wide implications (and I'm STILL steamed from watching that witless poltroon Bob Kerrey do his Bitchy-Head-Cheerleader act on TV):

Do female bloggers get anything like the respect that they deserve? (For that matter, do female national security advisors get anything like the respect they deserve?)

There are a lot of strong female voices in the blogs - a lot more than are allowed in the allegedly "mainstream" media. But those who dissent from DNC dogma get sneered at, because in the world of Big Punditry women get one of three jobs:

1. The Soft-core Liberal Infobabe. Doesn't say or do much. Her entire function is to perpetuate the idea that if you're a liberal, you can have sex with women like this.

2. The Breast-Feeder from Hell. Begins every argument with "As a mother, I ..." Uses nurture six times in a single paragraph. Her function is to serve up chocolate-covered liberalism to guilty insecure housewives.

3. The Uppity Old Lady in Tennis Shoes. See Molly Ivins. This is where Infobabes go when they get put out to pasture. They're supposed to be sort of funny - Driving Miss Daisy kind of funny.

Maybe Wonkette is inventing a fourth kind - some pornographic Debbie Does Blogistan kind of thing - but who profits from perpetuating the notions that A) Sexuality dictates politics and B)a woman's place in intellectual debate is on the gyno-table with her feet up in the stirrups?

I apologize for the distasteful analogy, but I hope my meaning is clear.

John Kerry has a sex organ? I thought he was one of those puppets.

Thanks for the downloads... I mean that's what I come here for. You write, too?

You don't have to act like anything. Wonkette is the flavour of the month, and lord knows that a month is a long, long time in cyberspace.

I don't get it either...but I suspect it's the "halo" effect...the Biggest Blogger of Them All has taken a shining to her and many others just get into line. And it's dreadfully easy to read...nothing to disagree with over there, nor much to agree with either. And I couldn't tell you a thing I've read there (all two times I've visited), but I can damn sure remember many of your posts here. What Wonkette does is blogging with all its limitations...internet eye candy. And you, my dear, are a writer.

Talk to me in a year, michele. We'll see who has what, and I'll bet it won't be Wonkette.

I enjoy womkette, she's funny. But The Command Post changed the world.

Jesus Michele, you're just now realizing that people are shallow?

In order to bring you into harmony with the universe, I'll now reveal to you that many people are stupid as well.

By the way, if you hadn't noticed, porn is the most profitable form of entertainment.

Who was it who said, "I try to be cynical but I just can't keep up?"

You're way behind in your cynicism training if you even NOTICE the things you're complaining about here. Human nature, babe.

The next stage is to start accepting human nature the way you do the nature of your dogs... Look he's humping my legs again...

I'm sorry, was there something deeply profound about

So now this chick comes along and she writes a couple of half-witty paragraphs every day, most of them dealing with John Kerry's sexual organ and anal sex, and she's the hottest thing on the internet.

and

Why bother spending hours doing research and writing, re-writing and editing when tiny little items about Bush's daughter are what's making the grade around blogs these days?

that I missed?

"I work so hard on these blogs, and that bimbo gets more attention than me!"

Boo-fucking-hoo.

She dreams of peace in a world of flame
She writes a betterblog

She posts, we read, then return again
She writes a betterblog

She makes us think of so many things
She writes a betterblog

When I feel down she can make me sing
She writes a betterblog

______________________________________
to bad I can't leave Wonkey her's
(to the tune of Dirty Laundry)

I don't think there's ever been a relationship between how much or how well someone writes and their popularity.

I'll say this for Wonkette: so far she's had a shortage of posts using words like "traitors" to refer to anyone who ever expressed a doubt about the wisdom of Bush's splendid little war. That's always welcome in these times.

I'm really late to the game and I'm sure everything I'm going to say has already been said. But, here goes:

I've heard of her, I've read her a few times. The ONLY times I have read her is when someone linked her stating something negative about her.

I read you all the time because I LIKE coming here. I like what you have to say, I like that you talk about a wide variety of things, I like how you write, I like your site. I learn from your site. I grow from your site.

I don't learn a damn thing from her site.

The thing is Michele, you are a lot "bigger" than you realize. You have a lot of new bloggers who look to you. You have a lot of respect in the blogoshpere BECAUSE of the things you write, the work you put into it and the other thing to remember, you have been around for awhile.

How long do you think she's gonna be around if all she talks about is Kerry's disgusting wang or anal reaming?

To those who like that, it's funny for awhile but even those types get tired of the same old jokes.

Serious, well researched, well thought out,well planned writing is going to win you in the end.

Patience. Yes, you've been around longer than most of us bloggers but patience, Michele. You do have to put in your dues and it doesn't happen overnight.

If you really want to use this as a stepping stone to another or second career, keep it up. Continue with the hard work and be patient.

Above all...don't let someone else's success eat at you, it will only destroy you.

You are better than this. You do not have to act like a tramp whore to get attention, it just takes longer if you keep yourself respectable. It will be worth it in the end and in the end, you will be able to live with yourself.

No worries....it will all work out.

I never heard of Wonkette before a few days ago. She was obviously eliding a critical part of the utterance she kept repeating like some sort of fratboy ("If I say 'stroke it and make it come' every time I see something that's longer than it is wide, eventually someone will laugh...")

So anyway. I reframed it as

LAME-Ass fucking. Which I'll warrant is about all she deserves or gets from any of her fascinated coterie.

The best revenge is living well. I'd say you've got a major head start, and I only found you through LGF in the last five minutes.

Haven't heard of this chick before, so I went and read a couple posts, and she didn't do anything for me. You on the other hand had me hooked from the first post I read.

There's heart, and soul, and a person here. A person I can relate to and understand. And like a bunch of people already said, You're on my A-list.

"I'm just wondering - how does a relatively unkown person suddenly become the hottest blogger in the political blogger circle when it seems that her column is just a Gawker for the DC crowd?" -Michelle

Is this a serious question? Ko...

Wonkette is the newest flash in the pan because she's sponsored and paid by an internet media conglomerate. And as the Commissar said, sex and cutsie sells, and a lot of readers are fucking shallow. Wah.
She got a huge boost in the Ecosystem and blogosphere because InstaPundit and a number of other high profile bloggers thought she was nifty and hyped her. She got a huge bosst in the regular media because of her Gawker media backing: look at how long it took Oliver Willis to get the same kind of deserved [in his case] media attention. Tabloid net journalism, only intentionally rather than the wink and nod tabloid radio parody style I've adopted. And She's married to Nick Lemann, who has been a staff writer at every damned publication in DC. [I know someone said that already ;)]

Count me in with Lair, Kim, and the Commissar: I don't think she's interesting, and I have a "no link, just ignore" policy unless she shoots her foot off in a snickerworthy way as in the Kerry Core or the Kos matters. There's no substance there, no trackbacks, no interactivity, and no meat beyond the jokes and the sthick. No real "there" there. grin

Keep in mind: I like humour, but I also like to do and read substance and analysis. Someone who only does popcorn commentary isn't going to grab my attention the way that others will.

"Thank God someone finally had the balls to say it: Wonkette isn't funny, clever, insightful, or witty." - Alphonse

Heh. Kim du Toit said that almost a year ago when she first came out. And my response was "Who?"/"Wonkette - the new hot blogbuzz."/"Ko... ehrmm.... forgive me for being repetitive, but WHO?"

I still haven't gotten a decent answer to that, but I think that Kim still isn't impressed. ;]

"She has streed cred with those of us who've been online awhile.. I'm just sayin'..." - EdW

She doesn't have street cred with all of us old net wolves, Ed. ;) She didn't claw her way up the food chain the hard way like Michele or a few others I can think of did.

"Do female bloggers get anything like the respect that they deserve? (For that matter, do female national security advisors get anything like the respect they deserve?)" - Glen Wishard

They do from some of us, Glen.

*********************

This is where you get the rough edge of my tongue, Michele. Why in the HELL are you worried about Wonkette and her sudden ascent?

When I think of "Big Name Bloggers", you, Mike Hendrix, Den Beste, and a handful of others come to mind - and Wonkette's not on the long list even. You and Mike and Steven clawed your way up the hard way: by dint of talent and output, not by climbing on a pro media outlets shoulders. That earns the respect of someone like me, who isn't easily impressed [for what that matters].

I'll tell you this: 5 years from now - which is a hell of a long time in 'Net years - ASV, Command Post, ColdFury, PolitiburoDiktat, and some others will still be the top shelf... while all the cutsie flash in the pan sites will get a "Who???" from 'Net wolves that are growing out this era. Don't begrudge her her 15 minutes - it is beneath you. Especially if you're not going to go for the 15 the same way, via corporate sponsors and selling out.

Fads sell and fade. Quality endures. Respect has shelf life.

Quit worring about what the other guys are doing, kiddo. You need to stay at the top of your game, because you have the slot on the Ecosystem I'm gunning for - not Wonkette. ;)

Ironbear:

I agree with most all you said, just above. One minor quibble, regarding Edw.'s comment; a clarification with which Edw. might not agree, about his statement, "She has streed cred with those of us who've been online awhile."

For me, too, her "cred" came from suck.com, (r.i.p.), and as a result, I used to visit her site regularly. After not-too-long, it became clear that "cred" at suck.com didn't translate into what is no more than an insider's crappy gossip column.

And thus, the "cred" evaporated. Cred gets you in the door, substance keeps you from being thrown out. Which, by the way, might have been your point after all.

Thlayli, what the hell is your specific malfunction?

Why don't you e-mail Wonkette and beg her to sodomize you with a clue-dildo? Let me guess ... she hasn't got one, has she?

Okay, so I'm Really Late to the party, but...

I spend a couple hours a day reading blogs. (I know, I know...) ASV is one I never miss. The 'ette is one I never read.

Why? Well, I think comments on this post speak for you... Ironbear, Laurence, The Commissar- just for a few. As for Wonkette, I read her a couple times, and came away with the impression she was a semi-witty, vapid, sixteen year old girl. With a strange ass fixation.

Since I'm not Beavis or Butthead, and I don't need the validation of checking out the popular chick to be like everyone else- she's not worth my time. You are.

What you do here and at the CP has meaning. What she does is topical, at best. She has her place... but I'd want to be in your's, if I had to choose.

interesting.....huh?

i web surf blogs with my images turned off and privox turned on (privoxy.org) so i see nothing but content. in mozilla, so no pop ups

if i want to see a photo i open another browser

is a site interesting without the photos?

wonky is not and you are hot.

i confess that i am lazy to turn on images to see what she looks like.

"And thus, the "cred" evaporated. Cred gets you in the door, substance keeps you from being thrown out. Which, by the way, might have been your point after all." - Patton

It was, Patton. Exactly - got it in one. ;}

I've been around a while... ran with people from James Parry to Legume and Mortius way back. I could still be trading on those days, but I made a clean break - I don't run under the nicks I did then today. Those nicks are dead to me now, and I left no tracks between them and this one.

Why? Pure and simple: they've got nothing to do with who I am now, and where I'm going. I'll make it or break it on who I am, not past reputations. The Spider John philosophy: I'm into doing the next thing.

Michele has cred with people like me because of what she does, not because of the legs up she's gotten or sponsors or suchlike: she's got it because of things like Voices, Command Post, her MD rallies, and all of the effort that she's put into building something bigger than herself. She's probably got respect and credit in places she's not even aware of. I wouldn't pour out my heart and guts into writing like I did for the Voices project for just anyone.

Wonkette's building a readership.

People like Michele and Mike are building a community and something bigger than any of us are seperately. Either of them ever need anything, they can ask, and if I'm capable, it's theirs - that doesn't come cheaply from me.

And, like Lair before me, that's enough serious shit out of me for one day. I'll go back to snickering and making sarcastic jokes now. ;}

wonkette is a very smart writer. and it's not like she came out of nowhere. she had written/edited the very funny Suck.com back in the day. And she was at TAP for a few weeks before being shitcanned. truth be told, the image of her on the website is a LOT hotter than her in person. she's so-so.

Thyali, it was more about women bloggers in general than just me.

What the hell has crawled up your ass, T? Even when we disagree you usually end up on the nicer side of slamming me. It would be pretty weird if, after all the arguing we have done about Bush and the war and still managed to stay civil on other subjects, that this is the post that ends whatever fragile cordialness we had.

Honestly Michele, look at her: Wonkette's way below you on either Truth Laid Bear's ecosystem or Blogstreet. She gets mentioned a lot, mostly because she talks dirty and has a cute graphic. To be honest, you got a lot of attention early on because of that too. You can call it sexism if you want but flip it around: no man can get attention that easily.

Long-term you keep your audience by your content. Wonkette has a few things going in: big ties to old media, corporate backing, and she's flavor of the month. Soon the charm wears off and within a few months unless she starts getting better content and doing things to make herself populer, her growth will sputter and level off.

Don't sell yourself short kiddo. You're donig great.

More importantly: you're real. She's not.

Michele:

As Stephen King might say, Wonkette is SSDD.

You're in different [and better] league than her self-referential, "hip" meanderings.

Wankette is cute? I don't think so.

There is technically "nothing wrong" with her appearance, but there is absolutely nothing that would grab a guy's attention if she was walking down the street...or working herself into a lather blathering about liberal politics in a Georgetown Starbucks.

It's the "she might be get-able" schtick that garners her attention from the guys and the Beltway SexinTheCity talk that wannabe yentas find appealing.

I'm not buying either.

1) I suspect Wonkette won't last, for the same reason Suck didn't. Suck had much better content than she did, but it's hard to make money off content. (Anna Marie Cox, however, will probably be able to leverage the exposure into anthother job).

2) The title of your post is funnier than anything Wonkette has written in weeks.

3) Wonkette's hurting for material. She's all but declared herself part of the vast left wing material, has about a billion posts trying to steal some of Drudge's exposure, and about half a billion just republishing someone else's jokes. She's Kausfiles without the policy thoughts, TMQ without the football or babes.

As others have noted, she didn't just "arrive" overnight, she was a part of Suck, and says she's benn fired by every major mag in the DC area. She just arrived within our collective vision "overnight."

For the first few weeks, I thought it would be a good fun site to get inside scoop on DC, and at first, it sort of fit that bill. But I agree, it's evolved into something else entirely. Perhaps anal sex, the size of Kerry's schlong and other such dirt are the important matters inside the Beltway. I don't know, I've never lived in DC. But here in Atlanta, I don't give a damn about that kind of stuff.

But you are not totally without guilt: "I was really hoping to use this as a stepping stone to a career - or at least a second career."

You should "use this" to satisfy yourself. Period. That's the only expectation you'll ever meet by creating a web site. If your motive has become something else, disappointment is likely to follow, because you've let someone else determine what you get out of this site. You let that "something else" determine what you put into the site.

Be yourself. Period. Then, whatever follows from it will be natural ... and gravy on top of the satisfaction you've already gained.

I'm sorry, but that's the lamest thing I've read all week. Stop sniffling, keep your attention deficit disorder to yourself, and start learning to write properly, and perhaps people will like you, too.

You could take all this stuff, change "Wonkette" for "Belle Du Jour" and "politics" for "prostitution" and you'd have voiced the same opinion the UK scene has for that trumped up tart and her fictional blog. She shows up two months before the Guardian Best UK Blog competition, snatches first prize and a six figure book (and possible movie) deal and then we find out she's not even for real.

And you thought you had problems.

I didn't bother to read all the comments, so just slap me if this has already been mentioned:

Isn't she a Nick Denton Creation? She gets whatever attention she gets because all the other cool kids want Nick to pick them for his kickball team next. Not that there's anything wrong with that, if you want to cram yourself into Denton's mold.

Let's face another fact, too -- her stuff is pretty crappy. Your stuff ain't. PT Barnum's dictum applies, the one about every minute.

Michele,
I read your blog every day. Wonkette's maybe once a week (just to be Fair and Balanced). Aren't your numbers big enough? Who cares about her?! Even if she gets more. I'll bet the Penthouse website gets more too, but you don't consider yourself in competition with them do you?

Compare yourself to other Right of Center bloggers, male and female. I think you'll find you've got nothing to feel down about.

And does it matter that much anyway?

I'd never even heard of Wonkette until Instapundit started linking to her. Three visits and two references to Kerry's schlong later, I'm already bored with her site. She has nothing on you, Michele. If you took a poll of bloggers/readers as to which one of you people trusted and respected more, you'd win hands down. Just ignore her silly ass.

Michele,

Without reading any of the other comments but yours, this one in particular, "I was really hoping to use this as a stepping stone to a career - or at least a second career. The fact that I probably have to act like a flakey, flirty girl to do so really irritates me.", I would like to offer my thoughts.

Worry not. The reason you are respected and (envied) by so many is because you DON'T act flaky and flirty.

Those kinds of blogs are a dime a dozen. You have longevity, charisma and most importantly, you work HARD.

Forget her and those of her ilk. Do what you do and your time will come - no one else like you exists.

Man, all the people here claiming to find nothing of substance in dick jokes are making me really nervous. 'Cause that's all I got.

No, really.

BASIC MARKETING: I'm guessing she has readers from both sides of the aisle. That makes her potential market twice as large as yours.

You're the Clear Chawed Rosin!
She's only a spike. If I won the Lottery I'd hire you to write about anything you wanted. Keep your fingers crossed.

Kids these days. --You might think she came outta nowhere, but Ana-Marie Cox was one of the chief pranksters over at Suck. Suck's long since dead, and the web is the poorer for it, and Wonkette's just too damn short and snappy to do much but make you giggle; still: this "realtively unknown person" had a built-in audience ready to follow her wherever, because we already knew she's just that good.

Also, ass-fucking. And did we mention the money?

(I'd close with something snarky about people getting their panties in a wad over something when they haven't done the research, but that would be rude. Not to mention hubristic. Kisses.)

Kip, honey - the SUCK thing has been mentioned about a trillion times. It pays to read the comments before you post. Takes a bit of hubris to assume that no one has posted your illuminating information yet, eh?

I used to read Suck daily. It was amusing at the time, but it aged extremely poorly, and post-9/11 it's just complete garbage.

Michele,

You said: "You want the big boys to link you, girls?"

I want to try to sheer you up and inform you that we are "neighbors"! I am placed in a very good company, between you and Rachel Lucas (btw: where is she nowadays?) on Cox & Forkum's blogroll! John Cox & Allen Forkum are two of the most talented editiorial cartoonists in the world and I definitively think you could include them as "big boys" of the blogosphere!

I think you should continue to write "about such things as boobs and sex." I recently posted an interview with the founder and editor of Body in Mind ("Ideas of Female Beauty").

Keep up the good work!

All the Best,
Martin Lindeskog - American in spirit.
Gothenburg, Sweden (a.k.a the socialist "paradise").

You know, instapundit's linked to her a few times and I followed... but I never could figure out what he saw in her. Gah. Please don't do that to yourself.

From Down Under - Australia that is - Gawker is just boring, pretentious crap. Simple as that. All tip and no iceberg. Relax.

Also -- you could be more competitive. Beat her at her own game.

Wonkette--heard of her while surfing the 'sphere one day. Peeked on her website--dreadfully boring, no offence to her or anything, but there is no cream and little substance. I found you either in the comments section on Misha's site (nicedoggie.net) or on his blogroll. I admit I rely on your, Allah's, Misha's, and my mother's sense of taste in blogs because thats how I found most of the links for my blog roll. But I'm making more links soon.
You have one of the greatest blogs--de la creme. She's a mere insect you're being threatened of. Improve your writing if you're insecure, go read a book for reflection. Sometimes, bloggers need a break before they're overly consumed.

Although its irrelevant, but Heather Havrilesky was a great writer. Although she seldom updated, I admired her wit. She is ten times better than Wonkette, who is a mere ripoff. Heather was on my mother's blog panel last year, and my mother picked the bloggers out herself.
Just saying.

Gosh, my bad. Went hunting for her by, you know, name, and didn't see that anyone had mentioned her at all. (I never said I didn't have any hubris.)

You did say "excuse the bitterness," didn't you? Good. At least you got that off your chest, because you wouldn't want anyone to think you were jealous of anyone's success or anything, now would you?


Looks like you've got a choice to make. Do you want to be a "recognized" writer or are you looking to entertain? You do, of course, realize that the two never really mix and those in either camp cast only disdainful looks upon those entrenched in the other one, no?


BTW, Wonkette, I'm sorry to inform you, is entertaining. I don't think everything she posts is funny, witty, informative, intriguing, or even "interesting," just far more consistently so of each than your average, run-of-the-mill blog. She's been on my list since day one, courtesy of the mighty dong and I didn't even know she was "hot" until I read your scathing complaints.

She gotta de connections, not the content.

TO ALL, get a life of your own and enjoy it. the time you waist telling others how to live their life, you could be improving your own!

And all this before she became REALLY big.

**shakes head***

Stories, blogs, and bloggers that touch people in the heart, in the funny bone, and (in Allah's words), in the pants will always draw.

There are plenty of 'strait sex' things on the internet, that languish in relative obscurity. Why the W twins? A mix of politics, sex, money, gossip, intrigue, luck?, Denton's backing, etc..

Blogging is as unfair as the rest of life, I guess,

You really do sound like a bitter and petty three-year-old in this post. Is it ludicrous that the blog got so much attention when it's light and content and heavy on T&A? Sure. Is that somehow surprising? Nope.

Write quality material and you'll build a following. Write vindictive, petty, snarky complaints about fluff blogs, and well, you've managed to discover the one thing more uselss then the fluff blogs themselves: petty attacks on them.

For woman is it all about sex and bloggers. Only when the woman has a sense of humor or are cheap. Men depict as such,but only pervs. come to and totally read your grade Ass work

For woman is it all about sex and bloggers. Only when the woman has a sense of humor or are cheap. Men depict as such,but only pervs. come to and totally read your grade A ss work

For woman is it all about sex and bloggers. Only when the woman has a sense of humor or are cheap. Men depict as such,but only pervs. come to and totally read your grade A ss work

For woman is it all about sex and bloggers. Only when the woman has a sense of humor or are cheap. Men depict as such,but only pervs. come to and totally read your grade A ss work