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Operating only since September 1, 2012, Thinking Right generated 176,134 hits during its first four months of existence. 34 different stories generated at least 1,000 hits and the number and quality of comments was generally pretty good. All in all I am very happy with the start.
First up is the top ten list of unique hits for a story. What this top ten list makes clear is that while the conservative news and commentary may be the bread and butter of Thinking Right, parodies and lighter fare bring in the readers:
1. 28,423 (18 comments) – Biologists Busily Herding Sharks Out Of Subways Off Of Streets of New York And New Jersey - Winning the year going away was the light-hearted photo shop piece about sharks swept into the streets and subways of New York. I kept getting emails from concerned friends showing me these shark pictures and just couldn’t resist compiling them into a light story. Just to comfort the folks at PETA, sharks head for deep water at the first sign of a storm making this kind of incident highly improbable. http://thinkingrightblog.com/biologists-busily-herding-sharks-out-of-subways-off-of-streets-of-new-york-new-jersey/
2. 19,163 (66 comments) – Tragic Damage To Space Shuttle Left Unguarded For Mere Minutes – This was really the story that permanently spiked Thinking Right’s readership, spoofing the Shuttle’s highly documented journey through the streets of Los Angeles. I honestly hope that no one changed vacation plans until the damage to the shuttle could be cleared. http://thinkingrightblog.com/tragic-damage-to-space-shuttle-left-unguarded-for-mere-minutes/
3. 7,252 (28 comments) – Obama To Be Added To Mt. Rushmore – Park Service Confirms – The third consecutive spoof piece to lead the way for the first four months, this was my way of venting after the election. Given the awarding of the Nobel Prize, I don’t even find this improbable. http://thinkingrightblog.com/obama-to-be-added-to-mt-rushmore-park-service-confirms/
4. 4,816 (58 comments) – When Will Obama’s Pre-Election Scandals Go “Jenga?” - The first hard news story to make the list highlighting six major scandals of Obama’s first term which are yet to be resolved. I am very interested to see just how long the main stream media can ignore these issues before at least one scandal is highlighted showing the corruption of this Administration. http://thinkingrightblog.com/when-will-obamas-pre-election-scandals-go-jenga/
5. 3,481 (15 comments) – A Simple Allegory About Taxes Using Beer – I never really understood why this one caught on so well – the best I could figure it was that any headline with the word beer is widely searched and read. I had seen variations of this story floating around the internet and thought it was a simple way to capture the insanity of our current taxing system. http://thinkingrightblog.com/a-simple-allegory-about-taxes-using-beer/
6. 3,216 (10 Comments) – ABC TV Accidentally Names Petraeus’ Biography “All Up In My Snatch” – Don’t really know why I ran this other than I thought it was funny when I saw the report. http://thinkingrightblog.com/abc-tv-denver-accidentally-names-patraeus-biography-all-up-in-my-snatch/
7. 2,541 (0 Comments) – The Presidential Candidates, Social Issues And The Constitution (Part 2) – Stan Morgan’s great essay on the basic underpinnings of American democracy. His piece has been picked up on a number of outlets and finishes this year as one of the most read stories of the blog. http://thinkingrightblog.com/the-presidential-candidates-social-issues-and-the-constitution-part-2/
8. 2,316 (9 Comments) – Howard Stern’s Funny But Tragic Interviews With Obama Supporters – I am sure that someone has done or could do a funny story about a modern conservative candidate, but what scared me was the fervor of support of the completely misinformed. http://thinkingrightblog.com/howard-sterns-funny-but-tragic-interviews-with-obama-supporters/
9. 2,298 (64 Comments) – At Least 27 Dead In Tragic School Shooting – Depersonalizing and Desensitizing America – My attempt to seek better human relations and better mental health care was hijacked in the comments by one line in the story that correctly predicted that anti-gun interests would use the tragedy to try to hijack the national dialogue. I still think the nation’s attention would have been better spent focusing on the person that pulled the trigger and the events that led him there than on the method of destruction he chose. http://thinkingrightblog.com/at-least-27-dead-in-tragic-school-shooting-depersonalizing-and-desynthesizing-america/
10. 2,212 (17 Comments) – Are We Living In Orwell’s 1984? – I believe that historians will look back at this era and call it “the time the media stopped working.” Legalistic justifications for unforgivable breaches of the public trust, words that are intentionally given a meaning opposite to their plain meaning and news that is more opinion than fact have contributed to create a democratic society eerily similar to the totalitarian regime described by George Orwell in “1984.” http://thinkingrightblog.com/are-we-living-orwells-1984/
Tomorrow we will run the list of the top ten stories drawing comments from readers.
HotAir
The numbers may tempt you to bulk up on parodies and satire but I sincerely hope you resist the temptation and stay focused on the serious business of promoting the conservative principles of less government and more freedom. There’s nothing funny about watching America increasingly cease to be guided by its Constitution even as the socialists and other statist pigs (many in sheep’s clothing) see their influence enhanced by every new atrocity, every new crisis, every new media blitz. Keep it real.
Christopher, thanks for your input. I have always written at least 95% serious news and commentary and have no plans to decrease that percentage. The only reason I do the satire is that I sincerely enjoy doing something different every now and then and it is a personal indulgence.
I’m quite sure you are doing very little harm with your satires and gags. But a review of the comments on any such article reveals that a certain and steady percentage of your readers are confused and otherwise misdirected by the information. I don’t mean to condescend and suggest people are too dumb to get a joke. But if people are turning to you and reading this blog for insight into political polemics and whatnot then gassing them is probably counterproductive to your original intent and core ambition for your work here. That’s all I’m saying. National politics is confusing enough for the ‘experts’ much less the rest of us.
Hi! I was curious to know if setting up a web site such your own: http:
//thinkingrightblog.com/top-10-thinking-right-stories-for-2012/ is
difficult to do for unskilled people? I have been wanting to set up
my own blog for a while now but have been turned off mainly because I’ve always assumed it required tons of work. What do you think? Thanks!
Hmm it seems like your blog ate my first comment (it was
extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I submitted and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I as well am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to the whole thing. Do you have any points for newbie blog writers? I’d
certainly appreciate it.
Doh! I was domain searching at namecheap.com
and went to type in the domain name: http://thinkingrightblog.
com/top-10-thinking-right-stories-for-2012/ and guess who already
purchased it? You did! haha j/k. I was about to
purchase this domain name but noticed it had been taken so I decided
I’d come check it out. Great blog!