The Trouble with Traffic

Yesterday, I posted an ill-tempered little piece directed at a blogger I usually enjoy. It was in response to what I perceived as a smugness-tinged piece he had written, but, really, I could and should have clicked past his piece and kept my mouth shut. I posted from annoyance more than anything else, and it was a stupid thing to do.

As a result, I got about 150 additional hits on that page than I would normally receive on a Monday morning post - and, since Monday was a holiday, the effect of my bad behavior was probably less pronounced than it would normally have been. I was rewarded for being a jerk.

That's why I'm glad I don't draw any money from this blog. On a typical Monday outside of election season I get between 400 and 500 unique visitors. If my ad revenue depended upon traffic, I'd be sorely tempted to be controversial for controversy's sake.

Interestingly, and not surprisingly, I also drew a lot more truly nasty comments and emails yesterday. Nastiness attracts nastiness. In its own way, my little blog contributed to the ugliness of the blogosphere yesterday. I'm just happy my wallet doesn't make me feel like it was worth it.