Close to Pulling the Plug

Seriously folks, this place is even becoming a drag for me to hang out in these days.

Still hardly any comments on posts, and traffic has remained at pretty much the same level for over two years.

And let’s be honest – while this blog exists in pursuit of a higher goal, there are now many blogs doing the same thing.

I have put in quite a bit of effort and money in to this blog over the last 5 years, but I’m now thinking that I could perhaps spend this time on other worthwhile pursuits.

(And no, this is not a post designed to solicit complimentary comments. I’m really at a loss as to why I have not managed to take this blog to the next level).

48 thoughts on “Close to Pulling the Plug”

  1. Aussie Dave, you are the first blog I check each morning. Please don't bail. If people don't respond, it's because it would be just to say "right on!!" People usually respond to controversy, not quality stuff. Plez don't leave!!! L, Nana

  2. Right on! I enjoy reading you every day; sorry I don't comment. I just like to get your take on things and ponder. That said, this needs to be enjoyable for you. Hope you keep blogging in some form or fashion.

  3. Thanks for the kind words, but I don't agree that people don't respond to "quality stuff." I know of plenty of other blogs where there is a "community" of commenters who comment about all kinds of things, even if they are off-topic. We are missing that here. Or at least I am.

  4. I am talking about at least 5000 unique visitors a day, and an average of 20 comments a post. If I have to put numbers on it.

  5. Thanks, but again I don't buy it. Take my Free Gaza post in which I argued that Israel should allow them in. Surely not everyone agreed with that! I also like to hear the opinions of others. I find that when you guys do comment, I learn something.

  6. I have followed your blog for several years and this is the first comment I have done (on any blog). I look forward to your insight and description of the events in and around Israel. Living in the US (California to be exact), we rarely get the true story. The liberal press is hard to swallow. Your coverage of the wars was excellent. I realize that when there are slow news days, it may not be enjoyable to write. I will assume that after the elctions here next week and in Israel soon, there will be plenty more things and events to write about (especially if BO is elected). My family visited Israel last year for the first time and can't wait to get back. Probably in a year or two. Keep up the good work. I appeciate your time and effort from half way around the world.

  7. Dear Dave, you must have noticed that I backlink to your eloquent, witty and sharp posts ALL the time. I feel so simple and clumsy compared to you. I do comment when I have something to say but very often your style of writing leaves one with the feeling: this is complete, there is nothing left to add. Where I don't agree with you, I don't comment because I feel it's not necessary – I always feel your point is valid. I don't have to share your opinion 100% to respect it and to wish to know it. But I understand your frustration. My blog is much smaller than yours and shrinks by the day, I make long breaks and often think I quit. I didn't change the world, I didn't change anything, and there are people with stronger stomachs than mine carrying the beacon. And hey, I do have other things to do. Stagnatzia, stagnatzia… I don't even check my statistics anymore. If you are in the mood for some constructive criticism from a loyal fan, here it is. I feel your site is very distracting, it's TMI, too much information from too many sources. The graphics catch my eye, the comments, the reactions – I find it hard to take everything in. And while I'm glad you have adverts and earn a hopefully pretty penny for your efforts – they do disturb my visual flow. I love your writing so I pick out what I want to read. Maybe newbies feel a bit disoriented or overwhelmed. I don't know, this is only an idea. I think the interview series with your father was among the best blog posts ever written. Deeply relevant and moving material, presented in a personal and unique context. Dave, no matter how you decide – your contribution to the Jewish/Israeli blogosphere is immeasurable.

  8. Aussie – I hope you don't mind my being familiar (weak ha ha) – but I know how you must feel. I have no suggestions and these are not empty compliments. I visit a few sites nearly every day and yours is one that I look forward to visiting. You've got talent and you come up with interesting stories and even more interesting slants that are not blogged on in other places. I hope you can take it to the next level but if you decide that can't, and you hang up your spurs, you will be missed. P.S. – Save me a sliver for when I make Aliyah!

  9. Hey, I just stumbled upon your blog a few weeks ago and love it!! I'm a New Zealander and have passed it on to some friends so maybe you'll get some new hits from NZ soon.

  10. Have you ever tried a complete blog overhaul before? Maybe a redesign will spark your love of the blog and your readers interests. I'll also bet you have another 800 RSS readers lurking who never even click into your site.

  11. Noooo, don't quit! I might not reply so often on your posts, but sure I read them often. I especially like the separated at birth posts, which always make me laugh 🙂

  12. I've posted comments a bit lately (after YEARS of lurking) but not as often as I'd like… What I love about this blog (which I, like many others, check MULTIPLE times each day) is your passion. If you're losing that, then as much as I want you to continue, I can't in good conscience ask you to keep doing something that is clearly not bringing you joy. Do you think a hiatus would make you feel better about coming back and tackling this anew? If so, maybe some of your readers would volunteer to keep updating for a while to keep the site fresh? (If I was one of a group I'd be happy to help.) I agree with you that debate would be a welcome addition to the site… other sites have done a good job of getting this going. Do you have any contacts with a totally different perspective who might guest blog? Elder of Zion and Brian of London are great — and I love reading their posts, too — but I"m wondering if a totally different worldview might spark debate? Will keep thinking of things that might help fire you and the site up.

  13. What is the point of this blog? Maybe it's lacking a focus, or maybe you just need to ask more questions of people so they'll comment.

  14. Whenever there is tough news from Israel I really like checking your site because you always manage to put a bright spin on things and it really does help. Here is where I go first thing in the morning: 1. Haaretz 2.Ynet 3.Jpost 4.Israellycool For me this is the best way since first I get the news , then I get your take on them, which often has me rolling on the floor.

  15. I sure hope you don't quit. Yours is one of the few blogs I read every day. But if it's not enjoyable any more, then you have to do what's right for you.

  16. As there was no comment window on this post, originally, I placed mine in the Signs in Lebanon post. I would only add, that your readers would appreciate you being here to cover the Israeli election. I might also add, tangentially, that the blog I mentioned there has been known to get 100s of comments, per post, sometimes 1,000s, but I rarely see comments get in the 20s, now. The end-of-evening posts get more, as people just chat. We are a polarized world, just now, and everybody appears to be drawing in. I just posted a somewhat funny comment, there, and I assure you that I will get lambasted (pun intended), even though it was kinda funny. How should those of us that know nothing of Israel or the Middle East comment on your posts? Should we hasten to comment, "First!"? That's silly. Your blog is different, and, speaking for myself, I don't quite know how to react. That's not neccesarily a bad thing. I actually think that is the point.

  17. Guess it depends why you want this. Most blogs that stand at a chance of being even this big (or as big even as myself) need to have been around a long time and built themselves up then, or found a specific niche that they're simply far and away the best at and/or can draw in "big names" from outside the blogworld to supplement. I'm rather content with the 500-700 unique hits a day I get when I'm actually writing decently – I know that to get more I'd have to change in ways I'm not particularly interested in. Yes, it means I won't grow tremendously, though it always continues to creep up, but that's okay, I think. Meanwhile, you're obviously impacting the many hundreds who come here. The natural tendency is to want to grow that, but don't discount it as worthless.

  18. hey dave how about you talk about whats going on in israel. i mean, update about big news and if there is one, talk about the attacks. im tired of an entires days worth of updates are about iran. its called the israellycool blog. you could even read the paper, report on it, then give your opinion. that would be great.

  19. The main point is revealed by the name. I don't think it is lacking focus at all; in fact, one could argue the topics are perhaps not diverse enough, since I am mostly focused on news related to Israel and the Middle East.

  20. I don't think I would ever be "desperate" enough for those obnoxious "First" comments! I hear what you are saying, but I have also been posting Open Threads and other types of posts not related to Israel or the Middle East.

  21. Because sometimes even I need a break from that. I post about what I feel like posting about. The day I start posting what I think everyone expects me to post about – even if that is not what inspires me – is the day I decide to definitely thrown in the towel.

  22. Dear Dave, I agree with all the above comments. I would miss you terribly if you left. Since you are seriously thinking about it, how about you have fun before you go and change your style somewhat. The blogs that get the most comments from me are the ones that make my blood boil such as The Gentile Warrior (and I agree with him 100%). Or treppenwitz who writes about daily life. I would love to read about your daily experiences, so mundane to you and so interesting to us. Why? Because we are all hungry for news from Israel, especially from one who loves her as you do. Your posts about your air travel were very interesting. The posts regarding your father’s travails were fascinating. I enjoy the news you present, but your comments are on the pithy side, short and sweet. It would be great for you to post a rant or two. You may encapsulate your feelings with a ‘heh’ that speaks volumes, but I would prefer a tirade, the longer the better. I read an article on Jpost some time ago that was about the company the makes towels and ships them all over the globe. They go in some of the most prestigious hotels in the world. Very enjoyable read because it was positive and because it showed Israeli ingenuity as its very best. I read, just to day, about how Austria voted their ambassador of Israel as the ‘Man of the Year’ for making a tram ride full of the culture of Israel. It was so fun to read. I have to admit I am tired of all the bad news I read about Israel. I am sick of being afraid of what Olmert and company will do next. I am terrified of the threat from Iran and her loudmouth spokesperson, Johnny Toe-jam. The ‘Pals’ continue to be true to form. Just as I think they have stooped as low as they can, they surprise me with another despicable act. Please! Write about the settlers, the water shortages, the Jewish Agency and all their wonderful accomplishments, anything and everything. Just a thought. And again, I will miss you if you go

  23. Boker Tov v'Chodesh Tov. Here to saya again "I told you so". I comment here but not always. But, like NR, this is one of the blogs I check daily several times. You continue to measure success by comments. I measure it by quality posts and a reasonable readership count. You claim 5000 unique visotors a day. That's 1,825,000 a year. Wake up and smell the popularity!

  24. Dave:

    It doesn't matter what else you post, only some stuff. I know how far
    I can push, usually. And I push.

    That's the best that I can do, in the inernet world. There is no
    purpose for me to post comments to a site I largely agree with. For
    me to battle it out, week after week, sometimes against professional
    humor writers, well that's just about the best I can do. I'm not a
    humor writer; I'm a biologist, though sometimes a funny one. I get
    immediately bored with people that can't add, or can't spell. But I
    fight.

    I usually play a little dumb on that Dave Barry site, but I have a
    reputation and I get jumped.

    Best,

    Chris Johnson

  25. I wouldn't significantly change my style just to get more comments. I simply don't have the time or patience for long-winded posts, too many rants, or too many "life in Israel" posts. I like to mix things up, some short and pithy and some longer, some political and the occasional personal. True, there have been less rants of late, but I am at a point where I get too frustrated. Especially knowing if I post a long rant, I may hardly get any feedback. So it is a vicious circle! Regarding the Austrian ambassador story, I had already posted about it.

  26. Umm, I never claimed to be getting 5000 uniques a day! I defined that as getting to the next level. I only wish I got that many readers daily. Again, it is not about being perceived as "successful." It is simply that I miss the community feel of other sites, and sometimes it feels like I am talking to myself, although intellectually I know I have many readers.

  27. I quantified "next level" because you asked for a better definition, but in truth, the traffic figures are less of my concern currently than the relative lack of comments.

  28. It is interesting (to me, at least) that you define your success by comments and a sense of community. I think of it in terms of number of incoming links to the blog and number of people who read not only the posting but any posting anywhere generated by mine. I have a small cadre of frequent commenters but I only rarely wade into comment threads, preferring only to keep that area civil. In my mind, my time is better spent finding novel items to post rather than talking in comment threads, where the readership is always much smaller. It always seemed to me that personal blogs get far more comments than news-oriented blogs, because readers feel closer to the poster and more likely to contribute, as opposed to the very small number of people who write letters to the editor of newspapers. Or you can always do what Yaakov Kirschen of Dry Bones often does, and ask "What do you think?" at the end of every posting! Either way, this is clearly an incredibly important blog.

  29. In this day and age when everyone feels entitled to put anything on the internet, blogs also serve as archives. I mean supporters of the Palestinian kos invent and publish so much rubbish and there's no way of denouncing their lies. That's why I believe that if we (pro-Israel bloggers) post authentic pictures and documents we can somehow counteract the propaganda and the campaign of lies and falsehoods directed against us. I think that if every now and then a neutral or not so savvy person stumbles on a blog such as yours and explores it for say half an hour or an hour and "walks" away with a different opinion, that's a great gain for Israel. What's the point of us Israelis, say 50-100 bloggers, reading and commenting on each other's sites, while the Arabs are out there besmirching us in front of the whole world and working for our demise?

  30. (continued) I have a little insignificant blog that NOBODY reads. But once in a blue moon someone stumbles on it and spends 20-25 minutes reading something. If I can make that one person see through the lies of the Arabs, I feel that I have done the little that I can (besides living here, working and paying my taxes and contributing my Galician genes to the Israeli gene pool) for the country where I chose to live and learned to love and for the Jewish people that I have finally learned to love as is. That one occasional reader keeps me going. Take, e.g., bennauro – a great Italian blog where no comments are allowed. He just posts what he wants, and that's it. Your blog is not only a source of news or an archive, it is a also a place where readers can have a bit of fun. It would be a great loss if you decided to turn the switch off.

  31. I think success can be defined in more than one way, including incoming links. I guess I just want this blog to have a sense of community. It is a personal thing, and probably comes partly from doing this thing for over 5 years.

  32. Don't have much to add to the rest of the comments. I would really miss your blog if you were to decide to stop it. I think I understand what you mean by trying to create a sense of community, but I believe this is not the easiest thing to create: people may have a common reason to come to your blog time and time again (Israel, your great humour, the seperated @ birth…) but they remain passive… Involving them to become active (in posting comments) is probably a lot harder. I'll try to comment more (at least as long as you are here) and carrt on promoting your great work !

  33. "Israellycool" and "Inside the mind of an Ozraeli" doesn't tell someone much about what they'll find inside except something about Israel. My point about focus is to see if you're finding a niche that needs filling, or if the posts are just commentary on the news someone else reports. Are you pushing for a certain action or idea?

    And again, explicitly ask for participation from your readers; don't assume they'll give you input just because you wrote something.

  34. Sense of community? I have a weird idea. Any way you can host a virtual kiddish? Sounds interesting but I'm not sure what it would be. In any case, we'd expect you to bring along several tasty 18 year olds. Whiskies.

  35. I hear you. My blogging has slowed down quite a bit. I don't post as frequently and I spend less time commenting. Part of that is because I am pulled in so many different directions it is hard to muster the energy. And I too have moments where I get frustrated by lack of comments. Some of my best posts appear to go unread. What really gets my goat is when I see other blogs where they talk about nothing and still get 100 comments. But ultimately you have to do this because you want to. I haven't hung up the keyboard because there is still a lot to say and do. In the end if you are not blogging for yourself than you probably will drop it, unless someone decides to start paying you. You do good work.

  36. What War Zone???

    Well, I've told you before, I think you post funny stuff. And there's not a lot of it out there (at least not in this country about these topics.) I think it's normal what you're feeling. This blogging world is still so new, it's hard to know where it's going or where it's supposed to go. I wonder how the hell I'm going to keep it up after X years and I've only been at it for two. If you're not enjoying it or having fun, it's probably time to re-evaluate. It's kind of like an addiction though, yeah? We all wish we were getting your kind of traffic though! Good luck, Benji

  37. Well, Dave, for the record I check your blog frequently, but somehow don't get to posting comments much anywhere. Obviously, I have a lot to say about this subject, but let's keep this short. I think you're having some of the thoughts that an awful lot of bloggers have, myself certainly included. After all this time you certainly know some of the things you'd need to do or change to attract a bigger audience, and thus more comments, but as you've mentioned, it would just add to the burnout you're already experiencing with no promise of return (certainly not an immediate return), so you don't want to do it and I don't blame you. Hey, I bet if I told you that I had the formula to turn the blog into the "success" you define, and that you could "earn $150K from your blog while working at home", and all you had to do was change your habits in some minor way you'd do it. But I don't have that formula. No one does. Political blogging is incredibly time consuming. Either it's a labor of love done for its own sake or disappointment is sure to follow. I think the rolling political blog format doesn't lend itself to the growing of a community very well. I tossed a BBS onto my site in the hope that it would catch on, but other than getting some traffic for the organizing of an Israpundit blogburst a couple of years back, it's laid fallow. Yeah, I could do some things to encourage people to make use of it but…more time, more effort, questionable payoff — fuhgetaboutit. So…where was I…oh, keeping this short. One thing to try might be to find existing online communities — perhaps not related to politics or Israel at all — where you can become a part and try to encourage people there to come visit you over here. But then…that's more time.

  38. Aw man. Now I feel bad for not having left enough comments. You wrote "this is not a post designed to solicit complimentary comments" so I won't say anything complimentary. Your blog sucks and the only reason I visit is because I think you personally are a nice guy. OK, that was a lie. I don't even think you're a nice guy. Doh! Noooo! Israellycool is a great blog written by an awesome guy and I don't want you to go! Man, call me up and we can try to figure it out. I'm serious. 054 673 5873. Or lets just get drunk. Whatever works for you.

  39. You sure you want to be leaving your phone number in the comments. Your "admirer" might see it and start crank calling you.

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