September 24, 2002
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NEW SPOTLIGHTS!
We just put up a new batch of Premium Spotlights:
Thanks to all of our old Spotlighters… and congrats to all the new ones!
We’ll try and switch it up every few weeks. Part of it is to keep things fresh, but there’s another reason. It’s sorta like that famous law in physics: the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. Heisenberg discovered something interesting: whenever he tried to measure the position of a quantum particle, he impacted its momentum.
Well, I’ve noticed sort of the same things with weblogs. As a writer gets more attention, sometimes it changes their writing – distracting them from why they started blogging. That can trigger a mid-blog crisis of sorts.
I first noticed this power when I started blogging myself. You can almost see the VH1 Behind the Music special. “Yeah, John was a nice guy. And then people started linking to his blog, and he was never the same. He started drinking and doing drugs. The last time I saw him, he was hooking up with Cher downtown at a bar. I heard he’s going to star in his own informercial… such a sad story.”
Hopefully the Spotlight doesn’t contribute to that! It’s all in good fun, and to show Xangans what a good blog is capable of. Also, it’s our way of saying thanks to some of our Premium members… for supporting the community with both their dollars and their blog posts!
Comments (11)
John,
As they say in Spain, Grassy Ass!
And please, have no fear of my writing style changing. Although, XA will be back in October…..I make no such promises for him.
I’m off to Ryoushi’s now….
… and I’m far better at supporting financially. I think reading and commenting are awfully important as well, I mean, otherwise we’d all be like trees falling in empty woods, right?
I’m off to check out the spotlights now!
Well, HOT DAMN!
I want to thank the Force for being with me… and My Mysterious Benefactor, and my Patroness and my publicist, hairstylist, my agent, lawyers, my masseuse, my Posse at Potheads United Works…and my family for being so supportive… It’s an honor just to have been nomin– WAIT! Whaddaya mean this thing isn’t televised? …Okay, then. NEVER MIND!!!
Seriously, THANK YOU!!! (Now I’m glad I’d gone ahead and had that mid-blog crisis already!)
Wonderful choices. I’m secretly very pleased that most of the people you’ve spotlighted so far are already on my SIR. This is evidence that my SIR is the best of the best of Xanga.
hmmm.. Xanga presents, Behind the Blog.. a look at what happenes behind the monitor. Wheeeeeee! Now that would be interesting! Probably a lot of people in undies and a beer.. well in my case, a Diet Dr. Pepper. hehe Way to go to the five featured Xangans!
Yeah, I noticed that… I ahd a rash of subs in the past few months and realized they didn’t know all the story I had written before. The question, for me, was how to keep the “old people” happy and entertained while not losing and confusing the “new people”.
Speaking of premium spotlight, is there anything that discusses the technicalities of it all? I’ve had a couple of friends grumble and groan that they are not on it, even though they have submitted applications. Maybe just an e-mail to all who apply explaining that you feature x amount of people for x amount of weeks?
Since I haven’t applied, I don’t know if this is already happening.
Well, I went through a bit of a writing change on Fuego_de_Noche that was coincidental with my being featured…but I think I’ve got it under control now.
John, I wanted to thank you for shutting down WordofGod; a year and three weblogs into my Xanga time I got my first Comments troll, but when I went to see what form of low being it was that had tarnished my site, I found the troll had already been vanquished! So, thanks!
ummm, todd – i’m not sure exactly what the “technicalities” of premium spotlight are. it’s kind of an evolving there, so we’re still kind of experimenting with it.
so far, we tend to like people who:
1. have sites that are well written
2. write funny entries in the spotlight submission (i think 95% of entries say “please select me, please please please!)
3. do something interesting/different with their site (tell funny stories, have a funky angle on things, just do something different… anything!)
our “technicalities” are still sort of a work in progress… as we sorta solidify them, i’ll be sure to post about it!
You mean there are folk out there who hadn’t discovered TheGoddess, Ryoushi and MyKi already? Ahhh, you’ll be enriching lives left right and centre by advertising those sites
Off to check out the other two now 
ah…I was wondering why I hadn’t been selected for the Spotlight and now I know! So, I just have to learn to write well, do something funny/interesting with my site and submit a funnier entry? OK…I can do that.
Maybe next time, eh? And in the meantime, hearty congrats to all those currently in the spotlight….
Hey john, you guys gonna change up the spotlight again soon?