For more than a few years now, I’ve emailed out a short message and song (usually unrelated to the story) on Friday mornings to a group of friends and coworkers. There really wasn’t anything behind it more than the thought it was a groovy way to kick off the last hectic workday of the week. Put simply…it just seemed like a nice way to start the weekend.
As you can probably tell if you’ve read any of these weekly ramblings, there was never much forethought put into the Friday drivel. Most of the time, I just wake up, stumble down to the gym, and hammer out a couple of paragraphs between bench-press sets (as I’m doing right now). Often times, the biggest struggle in this process is navigating Grooveshark and picking out a song worthy of sharing. Sometime, I am so rushed to get it out, I don’t take the time to proofread the drafts.
After several years of prodding by various folks to formalize the Friday missives, I went ahead and stopped polluting inboxes and put the stories online sometime late last spring. In deference to the many folks that never asked to receive the weekly message in the first place, the blog concept was intended to make the Friday stories more elective. My hope was that the writing works would stand on their own…and that people would want to read the weekly postings without prompting. Initially, I sent reminder emails to folks to let them know the messages and songs were still there…and when I did, the blog diagnostics revealed most people actually took the time to go to the page…or at least click the link.
Well, you’re probably not surprised to learn the effort has been a failure. The fact-of-the-matter is that once the reminder emails stopped…readership plummeted. It would be nice to lay out a bunch of possible explanations, but the sad truth is pretty simple…clearly…there is no real demand. Actually…that’s kind of sugarcoating it…the reality is the product is really not good enough to create interest.
The actual diagnostics are uglier than the 10 year chart my 401K fund managers send along each quarter. However while the amount of weekly readers have plunged since launch, there is something interesting going.
Aside from the fact that the blog has tanked…there are several people that appear to be following in other countries…particularly Russia. This is a trip to me…and here’s why. You see, my dad’s parents emigrated from Russia to the United States from a city on the Volga River called Saratov.
OK…so you’re thinking…No wonder nobody is reading this blog…it’s a snorefest. So your grandparents are from Russia…you think you’re the only person in the United States with such a lineage? Well…here’s the weird part. My wife’s mother is also from Russia…and she too hails from the city of Saratov. My brother-in-law’s grandparents were also from Russia…and yep…you guessed it, they too came over from that same Volga River city.
Now…I know what you’re also thinking…but you’re wrong. They didn’t all originally start in Tennessee before settling in Russia. Plus…they’re from totally separate families (I least I think they are), so it’s not the typical thing you see down south. BTW…if you’re from the south and you’re offended…please don’t be. Besides…why be mad? NASCAR kicks off soon and the Daytona 500 is just around the corner. BTW… you can watch and listen to the best NASCAR pre-race prayer ever (the link below). It really is pretty inspiring…and if you take a minute and listen to the prayer…at the very least…I bet you’ll smile.
What’s it all mean? I have no clue. I’m thinking maybe it says something about the world being smaller than we think. Or it could have something to do with cosmic forces out there that we really don’t understand. I mean really…what are the chances of three unrelated families all from the same Russian city playing such a role here? If indeed it turns out the Russian families are all related, I guess it also could mean Saratov is to Russia what Little Rock, Arkansas is to the United States. Again…if you’re mad…cool your jets...it's all in fun. If you're really upset, just listen to the pre-race prayer again.
It’s Friday…so go ahead and kick off the last day of the work week with a little music. If you do…you’ll have a better day…guaranteed. Now honestly…how many honest-to-goodness guarantees do you get these days? BTW...life is short...and it's fragile too. You need to be well-rested, so do something fun and relaxing this weekend.
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