'Oh, so that's who Richard Morris is..." Lord Hattersley on The Daily Politics

'An influential activist' - The Guardian

'Iain Dale, without the self loathing' - Matthew Fox in The New Statesman

'
You are a tinker...' - Tim Farron

Monday 6 June 2011

Ryan Giggs, Nick Clegg and me

I was pondering my blog while I was away and found myself on the horns of a dilemma.

When I started this blog I did it to create a vehicle to express the views I hold about Lib Dem issues as and when they struck me as important. And of course as a place to blow off steam and engage in some shameless showing off.

But like a tabloid editor chasing readers I have quickly become enslaved to the tyranny of page views, a disciple to wikio scores and a constant crusader in pursuit of that Holy Grail of a mention in the Lib Dem Voice 'Golden Dozen'.

Now, I'm not writing posts that I wouldn't have written anyway. What's the point in having a blog if you can't spout off about what's on your own agenda?

But I have been fretting that I may been pulling in readers under false pretences. Posts with titles featuring the words 'constitutional amendments' or 'tertiary education reforms' may tell people what to expect in the piece, but they don't pull in the big numbers. Whereas the mention of Nick's name or that of a celeb (or both) pulls people in like nobody's business. I'll bet the spurious title of this post results in a fair few hits...

And of course, while a great title may mean the post does well in raw numbers, it may not do so well against a more targeted audience - good titles don't necessarily help with appropriate SEO scores.

I know I'm not the only person struggling with this. Neil Monnery wrote this terrific piece a few days back with a scorcher of a title - but one that clearly gave him some personal concerns and more than a tinge of regret. It's the debate I guess we all have with ourselves.

So where am I ending up? Well I know I am now meant to declare my intention to do the right thing and ensure every blog post I compose does a Ronseal and does exactly what is says in the title.

Ha!

I'll be going for the big numbers. Next week, exclusive to this blog: me, several members of The House of Lords, and an all night sitting - The Truth!

See you all in the red tops.

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