SOC

I have been wanting to experiment with a stream of conscious style post here for awhile now, and this is it. Being confined to a topic sucks because I am always able to write, but I don't always have things to write about. SOC is more about asking questions.

The questions I ponder these days all deal with randomness and luck. If we define success in terms of mass appeal, how then do we make people like or want what we have to offer? Why did people become so enthusiastic about Harry Potter? Malcolm Gladwell can't explain that.

That is the real problem I have with Gladwell. His hindsight bias is overwhelming. I haven't read Outliers yet, and I don't think I need to. It will be the same as his last two books. He gives all these great insights that are utterly useless. This brings me to a mental project of mine.

I like my blog here, and I have a few fans. But for my mental project, I try to think up an idea that will lead to the creation of the number one blog/website on the internet. It's more of a mental parlor trick and intended for amusement than actual reality. This is because I think the task is impossible. If the people who think it all boils down to skill are correct, then it should be possible to come up with the idea and make it happen.

It really all boils down to one original killer idea. The internet is creative democracy. The only thing holding you back is your own brain. As it stands, Technorati lists The Huffington Post as the number one blog on the internet. I like to distinguish between this corporate blog as opposed to a blog put out by a single author like Seth Godin or Andrew Sullivan. The term "blog" has been stretched a bit.

If we agree with Napoleon Hill that all we need to do is think and grow rich then creating the number one blog on the internet is really a matter of thinking more than anything else. This is all I know so far about this project in my head I will call the M-Project. (The M stands for "mass appeal.")

1. It has to be non-political.

2. It can't be negative in anyway.

3. The public must find the info there indispensable and useful for their lives or simply very entertaining.

4. Must be devoted to a single topic or area.

That's it. Those four things help explain the success of Zen Habits that cracked the Technorati 100 in less than a year since its creation. The sad thing about Zen Habits is that it is an utterly useless piece of crap website. Basically, you have a guy who decides to quit smoking, get in shape, and quit blowing all his money. This is the sort of thing I mock in my how-to articles here. These are laudable things, but I find it ridiculous that anyone gives advice on any of this shit. I feel a digression coming on.

Personal development boils down to just a few simple things. Quit smoking, drinking, doing drugs, and eating Big Macs. Quit being idle. Quit spending more than you make. Exercise. That's it. You can read all the articles you want on these things, but there is no mystery to it. People have crappy habits. I know I do. I don't lack knowledge of what needs to be done. This is why I can laugh at Zen Habits. That site is nothing more than feeding back to people their own wish fulfillment and good intentions. But I digress. . .

Maybe the M-Project could be a spoof of Zen Habits called Bad Habits. We can have informative articles like How to Shotgun a Beer in Three EZ Steps or How to Cheat on Your Wife and Not Get Caught. But these are simply good jokes I can post here. The sad reality is that I can't shotgun a beer. Very hard to build a blog around shit you don't know.

If there is a website the world does need, it is a comprehensive website to live broadcast non-mainstream sporting events like Texas High School Football or Arena Football or stuff from overseas or what have you. Unfortunately, that project takes a ton of cash which is why it doesn't exist. I call it "microcasting" since we are talking about small audiences for these events. I doubt it would be a profitable venture.

Time to pinch off this turd. More turds to come.

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