OMFG- what have I let myself in for?

[matgb]

OK, last Tuesday, I was tired, decided to take an early night. Unusually, I took a shower (I'm a morning shower person, usually, although I shouldn't be, they help me sleep). Y'know how it is in the shower when sometimes you get a 'moment of clarity' and everything comes together? I had one of those. I could see the 'perfect blog post' in my head. It was the right time, the right reason and the news of the week wasn't cheering me up. I came out of the shower, turned the PC on, and typed the whole thing up, wrapped only in a towel. It, um, captured the mood.

When we started counting numbers for the site, 100+ was a bloody good day. Then we got a bit more established, 150 was good, 100 was avarage. Recently, 150 became avarage. Until last Wednesday...
Look at that spike. It's stayed up there, today, we've got even more before the normal busy time even starts. I got used to nosemonkey linking every so often. chickenyog had done so as an aside. This weekend, I've been their link of the day. Today, we're top link on bloggerheads. That's a whole lotta readers; including more than a few MPs.

What have I let myself in for? I appear to be in the centre of a blogswarm and the beginnings of two new political movements, one of which should have long-term legs. It's just l'il ol' me, I was just writing up an idea I had while dripping wet and naked.

Um, paulatpingu? We've got everyone's attention; my MP has emailed asking me to help him on his website and offered research and info assistance. Um; I have no idea what to do next, apart from go with the flow.

Anyway, I have a post to make, momentum to maintain, and a game to go to. Holy...

Comments

[paulatpingu.livejournal.com]

Heh, you're on your own on that one. I haven't posted since you've started your last drive - apologies for that, btw - so it's all really on your head :-)

I think go with the flow is a damn good idea, tbh. You seem to be saying/writing the right sort of thing, and people are listening. I'm continuing to (mostly) stay out of the party politics side of thing but if I think of anything intersting to say, I'll join in.

And anyway, you keep saying 'us', when most of the big/popular/interesting posts have been made by you. I just chip in occasionally, you do most of the work.

[jackthomas.livejournal.com]

You have unleashed your inner monkey. Congratulations. Bring the revolution!

[silentgreeneyes.livejournal.com]

Woo!
Looks like you should change job to a career in politics Mat :)


See you sunday?

[faeriecween.livejournal.com]

:o) Go you! You'll be fine, I'm sure.

[freddiefraggles.livejournal.com]

Nice lj-cut work, see what you did there, good job ;-)

Anyway, yeah, 'go with the flow' or rather 'take every opportunity you can because you never know what it might lead to'.

Good luck.

[itchyfidget.livejournal.com]

Make the most of it! mmaestro and I tried to get something like this rolling a while back, but we never quite got to the point of galvanising people with an electrifying post ... ;)

[matgb]

Yeah, but if you hadn't been chipping in, I wouldn't have kept it going. And you did get attention as well, picked up more than a few readers because of stuff you wrote; more google referrals for you (narnia excepted) almost all the way through.

As for interesting to say? How about a round up of liberal ish constitutional theorists? Nosemonky's done a bit here:
http://www.thesharpener.net/?p=237

But more can be done. Oh, have a looka t notes froma small bedroom; museum curator turned political theorist, rather fun, I like his quotes at the end of each post.
http://www.redbadge.co.uk/notes

Actually, your post Tuesday got eaten by Blogger, it published the same time as mine, got a little swamped; I think it would've got some notice if I hadn't done that big round up...

[matgb]

I is scared though, getting emails from eminent seasoned campaigners asking for my opinion is, just, weird...

Cool, but weird.

[matgb]

Looks like you should change job to a career in politics Mat :)

Tell me about it. If I get the chance, I may do so. Meeting with MP soon, see where that goes.

Probably; will be up Satruday for the Exeter show, need to get around to selling stuff...

[matgb]

Oh, always, but, well, weird...

[matgb]

Nice lj-cut work, see what you did there, good job ;-)

thought you'd like it; it helps I finally installed the LJ Fx plugin; look up livejournal hook on addons.mozilla, very very cool. Especially if you don't use the RTF editor.

[matgb]

galvanising people with an electrifying post

See, it's just me. I'm just a bored and angry bloke in a small town ranting online. But, yeah, it's got legs this one, I hope.

Is what you did still online? I just caught the moment, any previous attempts worth a read through, good stuf to pick up, etc.

[silentgreeneyes.livejournal.com]

Show?what? huh?
You mean like you sold stuff this weekend gone :P

Anyway, yeah, gimmie a shout when you come to Exeter.

[freddiefraggles.livejournal.com]

I love shiny firefox plugins! :-D

[doctorvee.livejournal.com]

I was just writing up an idea I had while dripping wet and naked.

If Labour lose the next election, I will remember this line.

[itchyfidget.livejournal.com]

Bored and angry often makes for marvellous blog posts :)

We didn't write much - mostly we were just collecting expressions of interest, then he got a job and I got busy with work and so forth. If you've got time and want to trawl mmaestro's LJ for "tea drinking monkey", you might find some of our vague ideas. There's probably a manifesto somewhere in there, if only I knew where to find it ...

[matgb]

It'd make a fitting epitaph, don't you think?

I doubt, somehow, that it'll be down to me. But maybe, just maybe, the wheels I've set in motion may help. I'd like to hope so, makes it all seem a little more worthwhile.