Well, at least according to Seth Godin.
Here was one of Seth’s posts this week:
As dumb as selling shoes, an item that comes in 100s of sizes, over the internet.
As dumb as expecting people to find a date or a spouse online.
As dumb as building an encyclopedia that anyone can edit.
You get the idea. Electric cars with 100-mile range, vegan hamburgers, milk made from oats, free college courses…
The next breakthrough is almost certainly going to be something really dumb. Or perhaps merely obvious and unoriginal.
And as I read that last line, a smile came to my face. There it was, confirmation at last.
I’ve been blogging about nothing for over 2,100 straight days. For probably at least 1,500 of those posts, there were 0 likes and 0 comments.
I think such pathetic numbers point to one thing – my blog is really dumb.
Which, if Seth is right, means it’s ready for its breakthrough.
I may even start to dumb my posts down a bit further as a way to speed up the process.
And I’m guessing many of you are thinking it’s not possible to dumb down what I write any further.
All I can say is, hold my beer…
*image from dictionary.com
LOL! I am intrigued to see how you “dumb down!”
Your posts are unique, and that is something to smile about! 🙂
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trust me, I can dumb this thing down… 🙂
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Maybe if you through enough dumb at a wall, some of it is bound to stick.
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That’s a lousy spelling of “throw,” by the way. See how much dumber I already am?
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I am good at bringing people down to my level…
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that’s my new goal; create as many dumb posts as I can…
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You can just reblog some of mine.
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I’ll keep that in mind 🙂
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I can’t imagine you ever having zero likes or comments except for your first week of blogging when nobody knows you exist. I’m glad you’re not going to “dumb down your posts” for your suspect followers.
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I’d say for my first four years of blogging I might have gotten a total of three comments and three likes, per week! My posts probably can’t get much dumber 🙂
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Ha ha! A breakthrough would mean checking stats more often, if that’s possible.
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it’s possible. I’ve never checked my stats in the middle of giving a lecture, but there’s always a first time… 🙂
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This from the guy who had over 5400 views in one day? I agree with Pete. If you are talking about your early years, then I can believe that the stats did not meet your expectations or did not feel commensurate to the work involved. But you have come too far now, my friend, to go back. And know matter how “dumb” you make it, I will show up every day and learn something anyway!
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Yes, those early years were a bit discouraging, and it is nice now to have met people like you and Pete and many others. Feeling like you are part of a community makes it much more enjoyable. And I’m not sure how much dumber my posts can get, they are pretty much there already 🙂 Thanks for your support, Brad!
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Life is dumb … Thanks for perpetuating this message clearly and consistently, Jim. 898 Followers can’t be wrong. Borden’s Blather is a gem.
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Reminds me of the classic commercial “Dumb Ways to Die”. I should write a post – “Dumb Ways to Spend Your Time”, one of which would be blogging every day to an audience of one, which I did for the first few years… Thanks for your kind words, Michael!
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i feel your pain, jim. when i first started, i remember a seasoned blogger telling me that no one would read it for a while, (except for maybe a family member who occasionally dipped a toe in under duress). it took a while, but i refused to go away, and slowly people found it and either joined in, or rejected it )
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thanks for your encouraging words, Beth! And at this point, you have found a lot of people to join in on your blog. You are one of my blogging role models!
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It truly took a while
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that’s good to know; I certainly have no plans to go anywhere… 🙂
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Thanks!
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Enjoyed this jim. I wrote the book on dumm. I mean doom…er..
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and I could have been the source of much of the material for your book… cheers!
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This goes hand in hand with the last post of creativity / weird. A genius move before the world is ready for it may seem dumb. Sometimes it stays dumb, sometimes it moves to the clever side. Hard to say which side your dumb posts will end up on so just keep it up!
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you’re right, every post I write is s roll of the dice in terms of whether anyone ever reads it!
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Haha, it’s not what I meant!
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🙂
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Don’t dumb it down too far or you may get fans of a certain orange invalid following you. Or maybe not: they can probably only just about cope with pictures, not words…
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I’ll keep a close eye on my followers… 🙂
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Thanks for the smile Quincy!
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thanks for reading, Val!
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Jim, your blog is enshrined with the “Seinfeld” award . . . For Outstanding Achievement About Nothing. Now, I feel right at home!
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that’s the only award i had a shot at, so I am honored… 🙂
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I always thought everything I did was dumb and now I will be wearing it as a badge of honour- maybe try and make some money off it…
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first it was nerds taking over the world; maybe now it’s time for the dummies… 🙂
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Finally it’s our time to succeed lol!
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finally!
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Dear friend,
Might I encourage you with this one small thing? Do not write what you think others want to read or hear. Write what YOU want to say, write YOU….and others will follow. Writing what you think others will want to read is a losing game as no two can seem to agree on anything…what one likes another will despise. Write you. This is what you share with the world and what we leave behind. Oddly, it’s the most attractive thing to others…that authentic, brave vulnerability, multifaceted wonder that is uniquely us.
Remember every rule has an exception. Dec 10th is my 14th wedding anniversary with my husband that I met online.
Be exceptional. 😊💕
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thank you again for the encouraging words. I rarely write with anyone in mind, it is usually stuff I find interesting, or something I have experienced. I think I read somewhere that over half of relationships today got started online… Congrats!
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Hmm… unbelievable how you get 0s before but now you’re booming so I’m convinced that even “dumb down” the post… you’ll reach that breakthrough without hassle 😁
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I guess I’m just a slow starter…
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😂😂😂
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