A Small Victory

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.

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.

Elizabeth Spiers used it

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 co