Can't you just show them your traffic logs and shut them up that way?

And just because my friends don't read .NET blogs, I share the information I gleem from the blog world to them!

What kind of an impact are they looking for? Traffic?

Damn, some people are stupid... (as in the aforementioned 'higher-ups').

Microsoft blogs have 'humanised' the company in a way that a gazillion dollars of marketing money couldn't. I now know, and appreciate, so much more about Microsoft and its products, and the reasoning behind those products.

Dont let them stop you! (i feel like adding a 'we shall fight them on the beaches...' bit, but i wont :D)

William -

"Can't you just show them your traffic logs and shut them up that way?"

They seem to want it done like this.

Their rationale is that:

Of all the people visiting this site, only some of them are actually paying attention, and only some among those are actually going to follow links.

In other words, that in spite of the high numbers of different users, only a few will actually be impacted (at least in terms of MS-related stuff).

Or something like that.

Scott -

"What kind of an impact are they looking for? Traffic?"

Sort of - they want *active* readers, and not just people who browse out, skim, and then take off.

Seriously? Not much of an impact? "Blog" is Merriam-Webster's word of the year for cryin' out loud! http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/04words.htm

Link clicked. Stuck it to 'em.

Matt -

"Damn, some people are stupid... (as in the aforementioned 'higher-ups')."

I think the real issue here is that they are skeptical about the impact - not the numbers.

MS is currently in the process of trying to figure out what in the hell to do about blogging, and this is the sort of information that could help figure things out.

"Microsoft blogs have 'humanised' the company in a way that a gazillion dollars of marketing money couldn't. I now know, and appreciate, so much more about Microsoft and its products, and the reasoning behind those products."

I totally agree - I grew up with Microsoft, but didn't seriously consider working here until I had a chance to take a look at how the people at the company work and think, and blogs made that very easy.

Jonah -

"Link clicked. Stuck it to 'em."

Thank you very much, sir :)

Rory I'm right behind ya ;-)

Did my part. The .NET development community as a whole could not exist today without blogs. The impact should be obvious.

Didn't anyone watch the the news around elections and see how the bloggers were helping candidates get thier messages out? No matter how good or bad the might be.

Done. I hope this helps you prove your point.

Rory,

Can you hook us up with prior MSDN event DVD's? Would the content be worth having from a learning - training perspective?

Ummm once I get there, can I laugh at your picture? Geez Rory why don't you just climb into the butterfly suit?

kip -

"Ummm once I get there, can I laugh at your picture? Geez Rory why don't you just climb into the butterfly suit?"

Going corporate is *not* about fashion sense.

Unfortunately.

I could put together a very kick ass uniform based entirely on MS clothing, but there's already this whole color scheme thing in place to which we must adhere.

But I get full medical coverage, damn it.

I helped out this brother last week and you can too.

http://blogs.msdn.com/joestagner/archive/2004/11/22/268254.aspx

Granma told me never to do anyone elses homework for them ... she said the same about drugs, sex and R&R ... so I clicked ... spreading the word ... seriously if MS higher ups don't get it what hope for the rest of our impotent people?

PS. still waiting for my translation

Does it count if I click more than once?

DJ -

"PS. still waiting for my translation"

Your translation is right here, my friend:

http://neopoleon.com/blog/posts/9922.aspx#10017

She very rarely (if ever) signs a post with her real name :)

James -

"Does it count if I click more than once?"

I don't know what the code looks like that's doing the counting.

Plus, I don't know if that'd be all ethical 'n stuff.

BUT, if you wanted to experiment, there's certainly nothing I could do about it.

Nope. Out of my hands...

Nothing I can do at all.

Nada.

Nothing I can do if you people all just want to CLICK THE LINK 50 TIMES if that's really what you want to do.

I'm totally powerless over here.

Not in my jurisdiction, you know?

But I understand that you'll do whatever you want, and that I can't stop you.

Hands are tied on this one.

Yup...

DJ -

"PS. still waiting for my translation"

In case it helps, if you goggle the japanese phrase you find this:

"Anata no ketsu wa kusa da oyobi ore wa shibakariki da"
Your ass is grass, and I'm the lawnmower.

Lucky he didn't say this...
"Anata no ikei wo miru to totemo koufun shimasu"
You are the dumbest person I have ever seen

I like this one:
"Omae o korosu"
I will kill you (to a person of lower status)

"A person of lower status"???? What, like a Java programmer?

Iku iku.

"goggle" is, of course, the... erm.. japanese word for "google".


Yeah ok, I stuffed up.

It's pretty easy to write an app that'll call that URL repeatedly, eg:

for(int rorysPopularityCount = 0;rorysPopularityCount < 10000;rorysPopularityCount ++){
//Insert logic here :-)
}

Or even some javascript that will repeatedly do a window.navigate/open/link.click(), or a window.history.back sort of thing from an iframe if you always want the http referrer to be you...

Ok... done! By the same time I also went to Joe Stagner Blog and did the same thing!

What do MS think of Channel9, it's a blog and seems to have the bedndiction from Microsoft ? Why do they ask if Blog matters and at the same time say ok to something as big as Channel9 ?

Cya!

StretchMan

I don't read your blog for the .NET stuff but I'm an Exchange admin and on my RSS feed I have all the MS exchange guys' blogs.

It's by reading those blogs that I've come across really useful stuff for making my systems better. That's why I've clicked on the link (and the other MSDN guy's one) because I've gained quite a lot of help from those blogs - I hope that this helps keep them going.

http://chrenkoff.blogspot.com/2004/12/year-of-blog.html

Interesting article on 2004 being "the year of the blog".

http://www.msdnevents.com/Speakers/default.aspx?ID=38

In case anyone else was wondering what Kip was laughing at.

No probs, Rory. I'll just re-write the code I used last month to download .NET Rocks 196,765 times, and make it hit your link instead.

:D

Actually that link was useful - I think you and Michael Benkovich should switch regions for one of your upcoming presentations. It'd be swell if you came to Minnesota.

Hey Rory,

Here's the viral nature of blogs in action. I'll try to drive readers to you to drive readers to MSDN Events. So there. Hmph!

http://geekswithblogs.net/pstathakos/archive/2004/12/01/16606.aspx

http://www.msdnevents.com/Speakers/default.aspx?ID=5

<ARRRRGGGG it's the blue Shirt!!!!!>>>>

Nightmares begin again!

;-)

I don't get it. Will they somehow prevent you from posting if the numbers don't pan out? Blogging has always worked for you, so who gives a flying f*ck about the higher-ups? (Except when they're signing the paychecks) Blogging is such an organic, grass-roots phenomenon, it makes me a little queasy to think of suits dictating when, how and what Thou Shalt Blog.

Oh well, I clicked the link anyhow.

Joe, my friend -

"I don't get it. Will they somehow prevent you from posting if the numbers don't pan out?"

Not exactly...

But, when people inside MS are trying to figure out "how" to think about blogging, it'd be nice to know that we have some insurance to show that the benefits outweigh the risks.

In other words, I like working at Microsoft, and I like blogging - I don't want to have to choose between them.

Rory,

"I like working at Microsoft, and I like blogging - I don't want to have to choose between them."

I sincerely hope it doesn't come down to that. I like your blog. It makes me chuckle. Heeheehee.

Rory, I've been reading your site for a minute. (That's street talk for a really long while.) You're off the hook man! I'm wondering if there's any chance you could use your god-like powers to send more than the three people I normally get to my sorry excuse for a blog. I guess it's the content that counts huh?

"I like working at Microsoft, and I like blogging - I don't want to have to choose between them."

- if you have to please choose your blog- pleeeeeeaaaaaassssssseeeeeee

its not mutually exclusive (keep a job or blog). when the company gets as large as it is, you cant make decisions based on "gut", you need some data. its a real pain in the butt trying to get data, and sometimes you need to be creative. truth is, said "higher ups" totally feel blogs are great, just dont have much to measure the impact (and not looking for revenue btw). without data, you've got nothing - and unique visitors doesn't mean a whole lot (it means something, just not much), especially when you add aggregators to the mix that pull feeds regardless of a user's interest in reading.

second truth, this is part of a larger project. next will be totally beneficial to readers and completely optional for bloggers without taking anything away, but of course we'd hade to spoil the news..

Okay, I clicked the link and visited, though I didn't stay there long--not my particular interest. But I do hope it helped! (By the way, the link on "Bruce's" blog sent me here.)

Logs, shmogs.

When you think about it, nothing would demonstrate the Power Of Blogs better than Rory converting to an enthusiast of musicals. Isn't that the sort of Power Microsoft is trying to measure in the first place? E.g. Converting someone from a M$ hater to a Microsoft user/lover?

BTW, I clicked the link nearly a bazillion times. ;)

rory has done so much for us

Does Blogging Make A Difference?

Show Microsoft that Blogs Work

Aw hell, why the hell not

Thanks

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