I've been reading articles titled, WHY YOUR BLOG IS A FLOP, STINKS, SUCKS AND IS A FAILURE, and the new FROG BLOG meets almost every criteria listed. Some articles list as many as 12 obvious reasons and I can easily ✔️ off most of them. The first FROG BLOG was wildly popular and had a large, engaged audience. What was I doing then that I'm not doing now? Was I spending more time finding stuff to post? Did I actually post interesting stuff? Was I maybe hungrier then?
I just dodged a big bullet (the takedown of my 14 year-old-strip on GoComics), and you'd think I'd be full of creative spirit, ready for vindication. Instead, I'm almost resigned to accept FROG BLOG failure.
This is where I begin to free associate. This is where my thoughts run in different directions and I watch as each thought slams into a tree that is coincidentally being struck by lightning.
I had a very diverse group of readers in the early days. I have a diverse group now, but they are almost all fans, people who seem to like me and my comic strip. Back then, though, I had haters --plenty of them-- and they were very vocal. Instead of shriveling up in a fetal position and crying myself into a stupor, I took on those haters. I embraced them. I mocked them. I gave them so much rope that some of them ended up hanging themselves. Good times.
When my strip was in danger of being removed from GoComics, there was an intense drive to keep that from happening. FROG APPLAUSE was going to be evicted and I was going to be lamelessly homeless.
Readers rallied. We also watched in amazement as something happened that many of us thought would not happen... that GoComics would reverse its decision.
Adrenaline was high 23/6. A campaign was underway to Save the Whales. (FROG APPLAUSE = Whales). Everyone had a purpose. I had a goal, too. I needed to redeem myself. I needed to prove my worth to GoComics, and maybe to myself as well.
What do I have now? A sucky blog and no master plan that guides me toward fixing it.
Don't worry. I won't give up. I know it will take time to build an audience again. You can't always just pick up where you left off. Maybe some people can, but I'm some people.
#FB00013
