The Furious Spinner

What's the buzz? Tell me what's a-happening. What's the buzz? Don't know why I'm singing songs from Jesus Christ Superstar. That came out when I was a teenager. I loved it. I still have the records from it.

Anyway, this is what's been happening whilst I was away. I've been tracking the stats on Furious Spinner. I've never done that before but I decided I wanted to see how many readers I had and from what countries, etc.

Before I continue, let me tell you that if you're doing anything online that's illegal or you'd be embarrassed by if you were caught: STOP IT. They can trace anything. Just on the free program I used I could tell whether someone was a regular reader or whether they came via another website or search, that the IP address is, the ISP, the browser, OS, time, how many pages were viewed, what city, what country, and the screen size: even if your cookies were turned off. Scary stuff.

I learned things I didn't want to know like the fact that a lot of people in England and Australia are looking for porn in all the wrong places. (Yes, it shows me what search terms were used for someone to find my site. Very disgusting, let me tell you.) I'm getting a lot of hits for these kinds of searches, but these aren't going to be people who come back. I do have regular readers but not as many as I would like.

Now I know this sounds strange. It's like being at a party and having the hostess say, "Gee, I wish so and so had shown up." And you want to say, "What, I'm not good enough?" But it's not like that really because I'm VERY glad you've all shown up. But the reality is that I can't keep up the work of doing FS unless I can make a living or make a difference. I wanted to get the word out about what's happening in our country. But other people are doing that now, people who have a wider audience than I do. I'm not making a difference in that sense.

I had also hoped Furious Spinner would garner me a wider audience. My book sales have not increased since I started Furious Spinner. I conclude from that that my book readership is not increasing because of FS. Writing books and having people buy them is how I make a living: it's how I buy groceries and pay my electricity bill.

So what does this mean? For me, it means I'm going to take a break from FS. I'm hanging up a "gone fishin'" sign for a few weeks. I've written 500,000 on this weblog so most of my regular readers won't be left in a lurch. That's a lot of words and probably most of you haven't read them all. If you have, you might want to reread some old favorites. I know I look back over some of them and don't even remember writing them!

Again, I appreciate your readership. I'm going to sit still for a time and try to figure out some things about my health and my work.

I'll catch you later, gators. As always, you know how to get in touch with me.

May You Vacate in Beauty! 7 comments

7 Comments:

Dear Kim,

I understand your need to prioritize. I wish you joy, happiness and prosperity in all your endeavors. I will miss FS if it ever goes away permanently. It is the ONLY blog that has ever caught my attention for very long. You make a difference and I appreciate that very much. Thank you for sharing so many of your thoughts, musings and witty posts. You represent the best of what the internet is all about.

Thank you.

Steve R

By  Steve R, at 3:20 PM  

Kim, I don't usually leave comments on blogs--actually I visit very few blogs at all--but I want you to know how I value what you offer here on Furious Spinner. Yours is the only blog (besides my own) that I regularly visit. The mix of the personal, political and creative that I find here resonates deeply with how I try to live my life.

So, what I'm trying to say is that you ARE making a difference here. Please take whatever time you need to restore yourself, but come back, dear sister, please come back.

From one who chooses not to find out how many hits my journal or blog gets, I say numbers aren't everything. I know paying the bills and buying groceries is important, but so is contributing the best of ourselves and helping our sleeping sisters and brothers to wake up. And that's what you are doing here. Believe me.

By  Patricia, at 9:10 PM  

Kim, I so appreciate this corner of the Web that you've created. Your nature writings, your righteous political scoldings, your sharing of your life with Mario, your beautiful photos... I've loved it all. I'm in a similar place as you in that I'm evaluating where best to spend my energy so I can get along on a planet that costs money, so I understand. Though I'll miss checking in here for something new, I just know your change in course will lead to something good for you.

Wishing you all the best,
Monica in Oxnard

By  Anonymous, at 12:09 PM  

What I'm hoping is that your novels and other publications will really take off and THOSE readers will become FS readers as well. That is, if you decide to come back and continue FS in some fashion. If you decide to call it quits you WILL be missed!

By  kevin, at 4:50 PM  

Kim, can I buy some of your books directly from you? If so, please let me know how. If not, tell me what book seller would best benefit you and Mario.

As Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Well, I'd like to see real people who care about this planet supporting other real people who care too. So I'm going to BE that.

I'm looking forward to your reply. And feel free to post this on Furious Spinner if you like.

Whether you continue with FS or not is up to you. Your books are just plain good and I want some in my library!

Steve R

By  Steve R, at 6:16 PM  

Kim.

I totally respect your decision to align your energies with whatever is most effective. I've enjoyed reading FS tremedously and will still be checking back to see if there are any updates.

I'm also thinking of letting my blog go due to a buildup of commitments and, frankly, a lack of readers.

All the best!
Jason.

By  Jason, at 12:43 AM  

Dear Kim,

You have made a difference for me! You showed me how it could be done. I found FS in January of 04 and have been a frequent lurker on it ever since. I wish I had let you know long ago how much you, Mario and FS meant to me. I patterned my blog Joystory after yours with that eclectic blend of courageous personal revelation, political rant and info sharing, nature reverence, wonder & awe, the exegencies of the writer's life and selections of creative works in progress.

You made a difference for me because there were so many things we have in common--love of writing, reading, books, libraries, freedom, beauty, imagination, myth...
--As Washingtonian raised (near the Columbia River at that!) but now living in the Rogue Valley Oregon, your descriptions & photos of local landmarks,landscapes, flora and fauna made me feel less far from my childhood home.
--your courageous sharing about a chonic illness with aspects of social stigma made me feel so much less alone!
--you were sharing about your mother's serious illness just as I learned that my dad had cancer
--you introduced via FS Dennis Kuchinich and reading his book A Prayer for America gave me hope for our country again when I was nearly in despair that the tipping point towards facism had already been reached with the PATRIOT ACT & the acquiesence of Congress to the Iraq war
--in large part because of your stories of your involvement in the election, I got registered to vote in spite of serious obsticales in my way
--I began Joystory on the night of November 2nd as I listened to the election results, fully expecting to be participating in the celebration of the Progressives over the next weeks. Instead, welll we all know that story. but...
--because Joystory was up and running, I had a forum to vent and to share (even tho I had no audience yet & still don't really) it served as a lifeline for me and the surfing for links kept me connected to the Progressive community, keeping me grounded in the reality of their existence, their large numbers, their dedication and because of that I took courage and did not curl up into whimpering despair
--and not only courage. Something else came over me. Something I am not sure how to name yet. But it has to do with a conviction that I must stop being a lurker, an observer only and get involved somehow. But because of health & income issues my options seemed limited & I was hoping, no more than hoping, convinced, that Joystory would be my forum for that because after all: Look what Kim was doing with Furious Spinner!
--so I overcame shyness & a childhood instilled dictum against self-promotion, and began just six weeks ago to actively seek an audience for Joystory.

And then you began to express your doubts. I should have chimed in much sooner with a word of encouragement. That lurker habit is so hard to break! But I was so in awe of all you have done. I did not feel worthy. I see now that is a sentiment as vile, as selfish as self-weening pride.

Please know that you have made a very significant difference for me and I will miss you dearly here at FS if you quit entirely. Take your much needed time for re-Creation & don't stint on your story and essay writing but please don't abandon FS forever.

These five things I pledge to you in hopes they make a difference, even if small:
1. request the Jackson County Library System acquire all of your books (they have Gaia Websters and Jigsaw Woman only)
2. Promote FS and your books on my three sites. (While FS is on hiatus I will encourage heavey use of your archives as I believe there is much in it of continuing use to writer's and also Progressive activists.)
3. The moment my own income strictures are lifted (& I believe they will be) I will buy copies of all of your books.
4. Pray for you, that a re-Generation of Spirit will be complete.
5. Share with you what I learn about effective ways of generating loyal (ie frequent returees) visitors to Web Sites. (At least we know re FS that the problem is not with the quality of the content!!!)

love joy peace

By  Joy Renee, at 3:46 AM  

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