Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The Natural State Hawg is now one month old!

That's right, folks. The Natural State Hawg is officially one-month-old today.



Well, actually, it was one-month-old on Aug. 17 but I really didn't notice that I'd passed that milestone until earlier today. However, I should point out that I almost forgot my wife's birthday today, so it's pretty well established that my memory is horrible.

Ah, and what a month it's been. So far, I've written about the heartache that comes with being a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, established the All Arkie Army, griped about those misguided souls who picked the Razorbacks dead last in the SEC West, praised the formerly dull state of Oklahoma, waxed poetic about both Elvis' greatest film and rat terriers, shared the best cat names to be found anywhere, declared Jeff Foxworthy my nemesis, won an award, mentioned the ultimate microbrew and ridiculed carpetbagging demonstrators.

And it will only get better.

Some people might argue that it couldn't get any worse, of course.

At any rate, I do hope that all those people happy about the anniversary of the beloved The Natural State Hawg blog don't get so carried away by the celebratory spirit that they do something stupid. No, I don't want to hear about rioting, couch burning, drunken looting or anything of the kind. Have fun, kids, but behave yourselves, yeah?

Of course, I've learned a thing or two during the past month and I'll go ahead and bore everyone with that stuff right now.

1. Anyone who thinks running a blog is the way to fame or fortune either knows something the rest of us don't or is living in a fool's paradise. I'm still not convinced ads work terribly well. Who goes around clicking on ads, anyway? I do from time to time, but that's only if I see something that's terribly interesting (rarely) or read a blog I particularly like (fairly often). This is all fun for me and, to that end, ad clicks are nice but Diggs and comments are much better.

2. The phrase "living in a fool's paradise" is wonderful. I picked that phrase up when I was a kid from reading something by James Thurber. I've read a lot over the years and tend to steal from time to time. Hopefully, that leads to some vaguely interesting content -- the thing that I'm convinced creates traffic.

3. Entrecard is great. Thanks to Entrecard, I've gone from almost no traffic to enough traffic to make all of this worthwhile. I've met some great bloggers, to boot, and I'm sickly jealous of the talents of a lot of them. Oh well.

4. Showing appreciation is good. To that end, I put a policy in place just the other day as a way of thanking the people who are blessed with good taste and spend their hard-earned Entrecard credits buying ads on my blog. All of you Entrecarders who choose to buy an ad on my widget will get a review from me at the Entrecard site. Yes, and what could be more valuable than the coveted The Hawg Seal of Approval? A lot, but it's the thought that counts.

5. BlogCatalog is great, too
. I've met a lot of great bloggers over there and have realized some traffic.

That's about it. I promise I won't whoop it up every month, but will probably jump up and down if I keep at this for an entire year. As always, thanks for visiting.

20 comments:

The Mad Dog said...

Outstanding, The Hawg!

Anonymous said...

Nice review, Hawg. Thanks! You've gone far with your blog in just a month, so I bet you hit the Big Time. Don't forget us little guys once you get there.

Unknown said...

Well, being the wild man that I naturally am, I disregarded your appeal for no revelry in celebration of your milestone, and I dug an old package of bottle rockets out from under the couch. I then proceeded to set them off in the backyard, which is strictly prohibited in this jurisdiction, only to find that at least one of our puppies had rendered them useless with a liquid substance of some kind. Therefore, you will have to settle for JUST a hearty WUFF! WUFF!! WUFF!!!

Anonymous said...

congrats! more months, years and decades of blogging to come!

Mark said...

Well done and thanks for the review.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! A whole month, huh? Just kidding, you're doing great! More to come...

Sara said...

Our little Hawg is becoming a big pig... They grow so fast. Way to go!

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's great! You've done really well for just a month. I thought you had been here longer.

Big Congrats there Hawg!

;-)

Laura said...

You've got a great blog, Hawg! Congratulations!

HawgWyld said...

The Mad Celt -- Thanks!

Theresa -- Awww, shucks. You're one of those ones who inspired me to be patient and just keep cranking out copy.

FishHawk -- I'm just glad to hear you weren't firing a pistol in the air. That's been happening in some part of the nation, you know, seeing how people are so wrapped up in celebrations and all.

Maggie -- Thanks, and I sure hope I can do this for awhile!

Mark -- You're welcome and I enjoy the heck out of your blog. Hitler surrounded by babes -- now that's comedy!

bsawards -- Thanks! Now, if I see an article called "The Natural State Hawg is Bullshit," I may cry.

Sara -- Yes, I'll be rutting under the fence and running through the neighborhood before long.

Lala -- Hah! I fooled you! It usually takes months for a blogger to get this sloppy, but I've managed it.

Laura -- Thanks!

Da Old Man said...

Congrats on hitting the 30 day milestone. At least that explains why I didn't hear of you before.

I look forward to your posts every day, and appreciate your terrific style.

Looking forward to many more anniversaries.

Margie and Edna said...

We would like to congratulate you first then we'd like to say how we noticed that little slight you gave Mrs. The Hawg. Your memory seems to be working fine now so we suggest you make the needed adjustments so Mrs. The Hawg will let you stay here another month!

Elle said...

Happy Monthiversary, Hawg... and mannnnny mooooooore!

HawgWyld said...

da old man: Thanks for the kind words. They mean a lot as I have been nothing but impressed by your site since I happened across it all those, uh, weeks ago.

margie & edna: Heh. Nothing will rile my honey like calling her "Mrs. The Hawg." Still, I do need to make it up to her. I'll just add that to the list of things I have to make up to her, actually. Her party is on Saturday, so I'll have to make her present extra dandy this year.

elle: Thanks for that. I'm whooping it up after only a month, true, but I've been very happy about how things have gone thus far. I just hope I don't run out of things to carp about...

Unknown said...

You have done well in only a month. You should get those important dates programmed into outlook so they pop up on your screen. You can't be forgetting the wifes birthday or anniversary either. :)

HawgWyld said...

Bruce:

You are very correct about my wife -- her's is a birthday I need to remember. My memory eventually caught up with what day it was, so everything was cool-o.

Outlook, huh? I'll have to keep that in mind -- that's one part of the Office suite I've not bothered with much.

Jessica said...

Congrats on one month! :)

Jay W. said...

Keep 'em coming Arkie!

As a celebration, may share this link:

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/eatarkansas/2008/08/whats_your_bbq_pleasure.aspx

lot 2 learn said...

Happy one month there Hawg!

HawgWyld said...

Jessica -- Thanks! I hope I keep this up for awhile. It's been so far and things seem to be growing nicely.

Jay W. -- Great stuff! I've learned to keep away from barbecue in Alabama at the very least. Mayonnaise? Sacrilege.

lot 2 learn -- Thanks! I'm surprised I've kept with it this long. This stuff's a lot of fun, you know?