I started this blog back on June 19th last year. I’ve been very surprised at how quickly the traffic has grown, and was absolutely astounded when it was listed as one of the brainz top 100 blogs in 2010.
Understandably the blog took a big traffic hit in January and February as I struggled with an extended period of blogger’s block.
But the biggest surprise of all has been the quality of the regular commenters and the discussions we have had as a result over the last year. When I created the blog my conscious objective was to influence the conversation. I’m skeptical how much anyone can change the mind of any other person on the kinds of issues we discuss here. However I think individual bloggers and commenters can influence the larger conversation, and in this way ultimately the larger conversation will influence some people to change their minds over time. By larger conversation I mean not only what is discussed on this blog or in the manosphere, but in far off places as well. From watching where links come in this has clearly been the case. Our conversations here are referenced in far off corners of the internet. I assume this is true for conversations outside of the internet as well.
I know it is a bit corny for bloggers to thank those who have invested their own time reading the blog, but I really do appreciate it. I have by far learned more than I have taught over the last year, and I am very much in your debt for this. Even those who have read silently have contributed, as their hits show up in the statistics which motivate me to continue on days where I briefly wonder if it is worth the effort. These same hits help increase the site’s ranking in search engines. Ultimately this means countless people have found our conversations over the last year when searching for answers on google, etc. No doubt many have fled in horror at what they found here, but surely others have found clarity.
My debt of gratitude also includes all of the other bloggers who have influenced my own thinking as well as those who have graciously sent traffic my way either by referencing my posts within their own, or by including me on their blog-roll.
You really are a good blogger. That is why your numbers have been good. I remember the first time i saw you, you were commenting on the spearhead. And I knew then you were good because you were being honest and not trying to push an idiology.
[D: Thanks Greyghost.]
I think you have an important blog, mixing critical thinking with a coherent voice. You should think about a book.
Congrats, Dalrock. You’ve built quite a sizable community in just a year – amazing! Keep up the great writing.
I agree, this has become a great blog.
There are a number of blogs now about the excesses of feminism. Most of them express interesting ideas but all have weaknesses of some form or another: they’re poorly written/organized, not frequently updated, come across as too angry, make arguments full of fallacies or simply have too many hamsters running loose.
Your blog is one of the few that I wouldn’t say any of this about.
I agree with Athol that you should write a book.
Agree with everyone here. Great blog, good job D, happy anniversary.
Write the book on Divorce. You’ve made yourself a nice little niche in the manosphere on that topic.
The quality of regular commenters and their number has very, very much to do with the quality of the blogger. Also how interesting his topics are to an intelligent subset of the population, but that’s really saying the same thing.
There are exceptions though. For example I think that Welmer, now WF Price as the originating and directing force, and by far most frequent poster at The Spearhead, is far better than his commenters, who tend to be very whiney, bitter, and all women hatting. Well a large majority do. There is that side to him somewhat. He’s certainly bitter about how his ex wife treated him in his own divorce, and about her. But he doesn’t really extend that to all women, but rather to the cultural pressures of very feminist America, which is totally legit. As well he doesn’t prune the bitters in any way, by humiliating them with sharp invective as is Roissy’s way (against feminists), by blocking the most egregious, etc. Well once in a blue moon he says tone it down, but that’s it, from what I’ve seen, though I do read there that much, esp. the comments.
Congrats Dalrock, keep it up.
Doug, Bill Price deliberately avoids heavily moderating the Spearhead comments for legal reasons:
http://www.antifeministtech.info/2011/02/attempting-to-silence-men/comment-page-1/#comment-1835
I used to rag on the Spearhead because of the comments like you, but after learning this, I’ve backed off.
I ran across the manosphere about 4 months ago. This has become one of my regular stops. This is a great blog and you’re doing great work here. Thanks for providing a clear voice. And congratulations on your anniversary.
As a “nonblogger”….someone who merely wanders the web searching for
rational intelligent thought processes your blog is a pleasure. congrats on
your work and hopefully you will be able to blog as long as you enjoy doing
so and enjoy it for as long as you blog.
Long-time lurker. Not a single post / comment to my name before this one. Nonetheless, I read this site several times a week. Before I came here, I felt like the only one who thought something was wrong.
Now I know that’s not the case. Seeing your articles and the comments from greenlander, Badger, Brendan / Novaseeker, and many others gave me…shall we say “horrified clarity.”
As others mentioned above, you highlight problems in a logical, rational manner. No underlying hatred of all women or bitterness, just an expectation that people–male and female–realize that the choices they make do indeed have consequences.
A refreshing voice in a sea of confusion–thanks for your work!
Keep up the good work.
i’ve only known about the “manosphere” since april this year. and as i trolled through it, i quickly gravitated towards a few sites. your’s is one of them. i stop here regularly for a reason. you offer great insight, and concise input. you are one of 5-6 links i have on my blog. and you’re there for a reason…..you offer GREAT advice and wisdom.
please keep posting so i can keep reading.
stay up.
What ABYDOS said. I lurk, I read, I rarely post a comment. I’ll become more engaged in the future. I like your blog. Congrats on your anniversary. Nuff said.
Happy Anniversary!
Abydos: “As others mentioned above, you highlight problems in a logical, rational manner. No underlying hatred of all women or bitterness, just an expectation that people–male and female–realize that the choices they make do indeed have consequences.”
Yeah, it is great that some people who have not had to learn the hard way are writing about these questions as well.
At the same time I do not think it is rational/fair to listen less to men who have had to learn the hard way and who are of course marked by it in their tone of writing.
Thanks everyone for the positive feedback. I’m giving a book serious consideration.
It’s been a great first year, Dalrock. I forget how I stumbled across your blog (isn’t it funny how lost we get clicking around the Internet) but it quickly became a daily read. Your clear thinking and bold but not strident tone – not to mention the forum for commenting – was a big influence on my plans for my own blog.
It seems that after the first-generation orgy of rage that had to be worked through, several flights of very reasoned, focused bloggers have come on the scene, making the Manosphere a legitimate intellectual pasture and not just a Brokenheartsville. (Not that I fault the victims of the system – I’m grateful my life path has just happened to play out such that I didn’t become another statistic). Many of us are not really interested in a revolution – we just want to live good lives and give other men, and women who come along, the chance to do the same.
It’s also interesting how quickly the discussion spreads. We can’t talk about gender relations without getting into educational policy, economic empowerment, the family law system, monetary policy, nutrition/exercise/medicine, media, geopolitics, the list goes on.
There’s a brisket sandwich and Shiner bock with your name on it if I’m ever in town.
Congratulations!
My previous blog’s growth pattern is similar to your own (over 64K in June, starting last Nov), so I can appreciate how astonishing it is to experience that sort of rapid growth. Thanks for giving our new blog a kick-start. As soon as you linked to it, our hit-count doubled.
FB,
I didn’t know that about The Spearhead. I’m afraid I have to moderate with a heavier hand, for political reasons, but it’s understandable if that’s Welmer’s reasoning.
Dalrock you’re a valuable part of the manosphere and one of my regular visits. Thanks for an interesting blog. You are thoughtful and even-tempered, but with just enough edge so as not to descend into softsville.
I remember when I first came upon the manosphere about two years ago…. I don’t remember exactly how I came upon it… But I do remember coming upon The Spearhead, then IMF, and via linkage, to your site. Your site has been one of my favorites and I’ve found it very insightful. There is one line that you have said that sticks to me: “It is a man’s duty to his future children to pick out the right mother for them”.
Oh and btw, congratulations.
Great blog, Dalrock, started up on my son’s birthday. Keep up the good work as I look forward to following for years to come.
Congrats!!
I hate what you write. You are poisoning the well of our society and our very civilization with bad ideas.
Wait… this isn’t Amanda Marcotte’s blog?
Nevermind.
Carry on with your bad self.
Love and kisses,
The Private Man
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