Lemmings, Widgets and Why You Should Think Before You Get a Buzz Cut
When my husband was young — like young enough for his parents to still buy his clothes for him — he didn’t have a lot of interest in fashion. Most 12-year-old boys don’t.
His mother, because she was a nice mother who thought children should have input in these things, used to ask him what he wanted. My husband, like most boys his age, didn’t know. She asked what he liked. He didn’t know. She asked what other boys his age wore. He didn’t know.
She, quite sensibly, suggested that since he saw these boys at school FIVE DAYS OUT OF SEVEN, that maybe he should have at least a clue what other kids are wearing. My husband, never the most observant when it comes to things like this, confessed that he did not.
One day, though, he knew. There was a new fashion, and he wanted in on it. He wanted a buzz cut.
All the boys were getting buzz cuts. It was approaching summer, and he relished the ease of maintenance of virtually no hair.
His mother, delighted that he was taking an interest in his appearance, hooked him up with a buzz cut as requested, and all was well.
A few days went by — I’m going to take some poetic license here and assume this took place on a Saturday — and he trundled off to school with his shiny new buzz cut. He was stoked. (Was stoked a word when my husband was in grade six?)
He walked into school sporting his new do and his teacher looked at him with resignation.
“Do you have head lice, too?”
One of the questions I get most frequently when I’m consulting with bloggers is whether or not they should install this widget or that widget. I will not mention the widgets in question by name because I find most of them morally reprehensible. We’ll avoid the reprehensible ones for now and focus on something nice and safe like Amazon.
You’ll notice that I have Amazon links in my sidebar. (RSS readers can trust me on this.) They were there when I started this blog and for the most part, they’re still there now. I get a lot of questions about them. A lot of people assume they make me at least decent money because otherwise, I’d kick them out and replace them with real, paying ads.
The reality is, I put them there because I’d seen them on other blogs and I though I’d like a splash of color in the sidebar. I haven’t really had the time or the energy to replace them by hooking up an advertising page and changing the theme and God knows what else.
I make about two bucks a month from them.
Attention: Blogging Newbies
Just because someone with a bigger blog than yours does something, doesn’t mean you should do it, or that it’s even working. Please remember this when the next God forsaken widget comes out. Just because you can drive your car with your knee doesn’t mean you should.
Next Post: 5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Have A Cushion Before You Quit Your Job
I love the way you write! It is so much fun to read your blog. I stumbled upon it, after I found your post at workitmom.com
Love your pics,(your son’s is awesome ),and I will try to remember to come back.
Naomi,
Thank you, lady, for always telling it like it is. I worry for folks who hope blogging is a fairyland end, when it’s at best only a means to an end.
The last time my hair was buzzed was 1995. I spent a considerable amount of time on Queen Street that year, where nobody asks if you have head lice but they do ask a lot of interesting questions.
No. I’m pretty sure stoked was not a word. Doesn’t mean he couldn’t be stoked, but he wouldn’t know it. :)
Regards,
Kelly
Darn. Forgot to subscribe to comments,
and use a period on the end of my sentence. Ugh. Need caffeine.
I love this site. Your writing style is phenomenal, however I was still waiting for the Lemmings to arrive on scene, then it dawned on me…I am the lemming (looking downward in despair and kicking at my computer with my foot in one of those “darned if I do and darned if I don’t” type attitudes).
I was reading your title and it reminded me of every time my wife asks me to do something, I always respond with the same phrase…Ok, here is what I will need, a Spider Monkey, a roll of ductape and a pound of C-4, don’t ask what the Spider Monkey is for…” My wife then looks at me like I have lost my mind, again I look downwards and that whole bit, she goes on her way and I go do whatever it was that she asked me to do.
Ok, so I have no clue what that middle part has to do with your blog, but anyway, I think the site is great. I have my feed set to get my daily fix and will be back shortly. Thanks again for the smile!
I am almost ready to both buzz my head (I look good in short hair tho) and clean my sidebars from extra widgets.
One other bit of buzz cut advice … don’t make the mistake of (during a heat wave) stepping into a barber shop and saying, “Man, it’s SO HOT out there … give me a good trim.”
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Aw Dave, I bet you’re very cute with a buzz.
This post made me laugh. Very nice. I personally find the “find the hyper successful people and copy exactly what they do” advice really irritating. The odds that you’re going to be able to copy the part that actually made it work are not so high, IMO.
Awesome post! It’s so true - in the end, what matters is what works for US - not for some “bigger” blogger or expert out there. It’s great to try things on, it’s great to get advice from others who are more experienced … but in the end, what works for us is going to be unique to us. Let’s all be our own authority, shall we?
Thanks for sharing!
Blessings,
Andrea
[...] children are getting bored so I’ll see if they want to come out and play. And I want to send Naomi’s inner child the lavenders I picked from my neighbor’s garden. That kind of thing. . . [...]
Dude, I was with you right up until the last line. I can drive my car with my knee. And I TOTALLY SHOULD.
And do.
That’s hilarious!
While it’s not a great idea to just put such and such widget on your sidebar cause a huge blog and Naomi has one, it is a good idea to use your own noggin. Who visits your blog? Where do they come from and what are they looking for?
My personal blog is visited ONLY by two groups: 1) Writerly friends and 2) Newbie writers from my About.com page. They wander over from my Bio link.
So I target newbie writers with books aimed at newbie writers and make a whopping 10$ a month, even tho I got a subscribership of…like…7!
Not great, but pretty decent for an itty bitty blog eh?
PS_ I interviewed the author of the 9-5 book in your sidebar and I read the book and I highly highly recommend it. people should go buy it. now.
I love it! I was just talking to a client today about not getting overwhelmed with making sure she has every “latest and greatest” little thing on her blog, just emailed her this post!
The only reason to have something on your blog is because it serves the purpose of your blog.
I must say, “just because you can ‘insert latest wacky idea here’ doesn’t mean you should,” three or four times a moth. And no, you shouldn’t drive with your knee.
It happened to me once in downtown Toronto. An AE from the agency I was visiting was taking me to the client’s office. She was driving with her knee, talking on the cell, and looking for her makeup bag simultaneously. Really scary.
I keep my hair buzzed for four reasons: it’s free to cut it (wife cuts it), it’s easy to maintain, and it’s required by one of my side-professions. The fourth reason, folks, is because when my hair gets long, it’s like wearing a wool hat. Except for you where it everywhere you go. Next time you see someone with a ‘fro in the summertime, take a second to look for that bead of sweat on their forehead. It’s there, trust me.
Nice to have you back, Naomi!
My mother had a chalkboard in the kitchen and it was the first a person would see when they entered the house. It was our “to do” list.
Many years ago, during Lent, she had written “Confession” on the chalkboard. She also wrote “Haircuts” underneath that.
My six-year-old brother walked in, read the board, and burst into tears. When asked what was wrong, he sobbed, “I don’t want a Confession Haircut!” (He thought that meant buzz-cut.)
Unrelated to your widget advice, but thanks for the trip down Memory Lane. I love your blog.
Okay, I skipped over commenting on this because I thought it was kind of obvious. However, since Allena’s comment was the only one that remotely referred to what popped into my head as “obvious” I decided maybe it wasn’t.
Generally on blogs I read that have Amazon affiliates, particularly links to books, I have only clicked through when the blog author has written about the book or the book’s author in a post. Maybe I’m weird like that. And, maybe you have written about some of these in the past but I haven’t run across the posts in your archives yet. But the book covers do add a touch of class to your sidebar.
I tried a blog traffic building widget in my first month. I got thousands of exposures all over other people blogs in my niche. I got one referral in the month I had it up. The only thing that has ever gotten me any attention is good content. Only about 5% of what I do is considered “good” by anyone but me :).