I had some short stories, poems and photographs to share ... and so here I am

A Postcard From The Jungle !

 

All together now: In the jungle, the blogosphere jungle, the lion's not sleeping tonight!!

I feel like a proud father who's just received a postcard from his first-born, to say that his adventures out in the jungle are going far better than expected.

It's been a month now since I launched A Roar For Powerful Words, an award that sets out to recognize good and powerful writing in the blogosphere. As you can imagine, I've been trying to assess the impact of these pink, blue and purple lions, to find out whether the objective is being achieved - the aim is to celebrate the high quality of the writing that can be found on the Internet, despite what many in the mainstream media would have us believe.

Is it true that this award has been featured or mentioned on more than 14,000 blogs after just four weeks? What? Don't you mean 140? 1,400? My computer friend Stuart has just got back to me after doing some research using fancy search methods that leave me confused. He has left me speechless with this figure, and I'm still wondering whether his machines are telling the truth (nothing personal, Stuart, but it's always good to be sceptical of science, just as you once told me). Does anyone else have a reliable, mathematical way of checking, to be doubly certain? I've been limited to simple search engines, which apparently are not very representative, whereas Stuart has used super-duper university machines that trace and match with long, skinny fingers! Yes, he assures me, he has found traces of the award on more than 14,000 sites, ranging from a simple mention by text to a full post with photo and link. I must say I am very surprised. I am also very humbled.

I do know that my own Google alerts went bananas from the start, and they definitely weren't sending me all of the links. I quickly realised that with such exponential growth in the number of awards being passed on (every recipient hands it on to five others) I had no chance of keeping up with where the award has gone. Someone in the writing circle suggested that we keep a list of all the recipients, so we could all check out the sites being honoured, but I'm so glad now that I didn't promise to do that. I wouldn't have time to sleep!

But statistics aside, it's absolutely wonderful that this award has been able to honour blogs that are providing people with enormous reading pleasure. It is still spreading as we speak, giving a big thumbs-up to people who produce blogs that others can't live without. There is absolutely no doubt that good and powerful writing is not the exception in the blogosphere. The biggest problem for me, and for many others, is finding the time to read all of the wonderful, exciting material that is out there.

It's been a real pleasure in these past few weeks to randomly visit blogs I've never been to/never heard mentioned before, only to see a big pink, purple or blue lion staring out at me! I've seen the award on many different sites: general blogs, writing blogs and news-related blogs. I even got an email out of the blue from a guy I used to work with years ago, who saw my name mentioned along with the award on someone's site. That is what makes blogging so amazing.

So, to everyone who's taken part in this, a big thank you! The roar has definitely been heard, loud and clear, and it's still spreading along wires and microchips right around the globe! (Gosh, that's a scary thought, when it's put like that!). Let's hope it will encourage people to keep on down this new, exciting communications highway. Now, Stuart, are you sure of those figures?

45 comments:

Jo said...

The "Roar" certainly has proven a source of divine inspiration, vast encouragment, and a gentle nudge for those blessed with the award to continue in their passion for writing with great zeal, courage, and powerful words! Thank you for creating the award, and for your own example of powerful writing.
Cheers my friend!
- Jo

S. Kearney said...

Jo - Hello and welcome. Thanks for your comment. I'm glad to have been able to get this buzz going, and it's been heartening to read people's delight at having their work honoured in this way. Onwards and upwards! :-)

Sarah Hina said...

Congratulations, Seamus! You've started quite a community, and inspired genuine friendships to develop. It's an amazing achievement, you should be proud.

My regret is yours: not enough time to visit all of them.

And can you imagine what the number will be in a year?!

Unknown said...

How exciting and just proves the power of the internet. Now do you think you could do the same for me book?

virtual nexus said...

Great post. This is a brilliant idea.

I hesitate to suggest a Shameless pigeon award, of course....

S. Kearney said...

Sarah - It's been great to see people taking part, with a real feeling that there are blogs worth shouting about from the hilltops! I will get Stuart to do another check in the coming months - if he's forgiven me for being a doubting Thomas. :-)

Minx - I think the power of the Internet is going to become more and more apparent. Imagine 10, 20 years down the track. Re your book ... the lions have been told to spread that message too! :-)

Julie - Hi and welcome! Good to have you stop by. Ah, the pigeons have had such bad press here, haven't they? To think that I would suggest that they are calculating like that! Come to think of it, yes, you're right, the shameless pigeon award could be for people who poo-poo the blogosphere, who dismiss it as mediocre crap! Excuse my French.
:-)

Chris Eldin said...

This is a wonderful way to help promote the writing community.
Congratulations on a Roar of a success!
:-)

(I recently read a fantastic middle-grade book called 'Wringer.' If you're interested in pigeons, check out the blurb on this)

virtual nexus said...

poop coop....well, you never know, it just might take off... (cough!) (:

Mentioned your search to son well up in IT research. He had a quick look and said that there are currently 281 sites directly linked to S Lions, but that doesn't include individual references in posts etc.(Think exponential contact)?

He'll have a look at more advanced searches when he's got a minute to see if he can come up with a comparative figure to the 14k.

Cheers.

Unknown said...

That's one helluva roar! Wow! Brilliant stuff. Good think you never took me up on trying to keep track of the recipients! ;-)

S. Kearney said...

Church Lady - Thanks! And I will check out that link. Now that I'm a mad pigeon chaser! lol

Julie - Brilliant. Yes, please do ask your son to check this out. I also saw more than 300 direct links when using Google, but apparently there are many more that don't show up, and references without links, and not everyone has used the actual name of the award, making the matching up of threads difficult. Complicated. Another friend (computer nut at work, who tracks commercial traffic here) today reckoned it's a figure of more like 9,000, but also saying there would be threads impossible to follow. Mathematically though it's possible apparently, even if only half the people actually passed on the awards. How do people track threads without links in the blogosphere? Scary stuff when you think about the flow of viruses etc. I hope Stuart doesn't come here and read this. (Oops) How ungrateful that Seamus is! :-)

Absolute Vanilla - lol, yes, I almost did say that I would start that list ... and now with my days so full, I'm pleased I didn't. :-)

virtual nexus said...

...There are a number of web sites familiar to the cognoscente that are use to track specialized info.

You may know this, but links followed through google.com lead to a page with advanced search tips and then to an advanced search operators link which can be utilized in a number of helpful ways depending on what you need to track. Appreciate the complexity in this case.

But, the implication is that ultimately even private blogs are not immune from scanning by searchers. Interesting area.

I recently read
'Emergence' -
The Connective Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities and Software by
Steven Johnson. (Amazon).

Not new, but some fascinating insights into the swarm phenomenon
you've tapped into here....

Lane Mathias said...

You should indeed be very proud! I've often wondered how awards are created. Watching your own creation spread like that must be very gratifying.

There's so many good blogs out there. Infinite varities with insights to lives, information, opinions. Like you say though - too little time:-)

Well done Mr S. (and 14,00 sounds entirely feasible:-)

Richard Womack said...

Art that works, beings out the Frisky child-Like outdoors.
Very Happy to find great Art & fun.
The Total number is a Wow!

Marja said...

Hi seamus. Came along your lion many times. Didn't know at first that it came from here. Congratulations with your well deserved success.

Wanderlust Scarlett said...

YAY!
I'm very excited to hear such great news, it's growing so much and YOU started it...

What a wonderful endeavor.
Thank you for doing all of it.

World wide roaring ripples... makes me grin just thinking of it.
Good work, Seamus.

PS - I've tagged you with a Christmas meme, when you get a chance, please come play!

Scarlett & Viaggiatore

Vesper said...

Wow, Seamus! Congratulations!

S. Kearney said...

Julie - I like that .. "swarm" phenomenon. It's quite scary what they can do now re the Internet. I only have to read something on a certain subject and then I receive lots of spam linked to that subject. The other night our computer switched itself on at 4 in the morning (it woke up a visitor sleeping in the study). I fear there may be a trojan or some kind of nasty monitor lurking between the wires! :-)

Lane - Thanks. Yes, the list is so long, we could never get around to reading everything that's available. How do we decide where to spend out attention? :-)

Richard - Thanks. That's important: art and fun. :-)

Marja - Thanks. It's amazing how that lion is lurking and roaring in so many jungles now. :-)

Wanderlust - Yes, the positive vibes have spread fast and that can only be a good thing. :-)

Vesper - Thanks. But it really was the lions at work here. :-)

Anonymous said...

14,000!!! That's some going. Congratulations to you, Seamus for starting something so generous, so pleasurable and so community-building. It's clearly a case of virtue being its own reward!

Litlove x

S. Kearney said...

Litlove - Thank you. My Google alert inbox is still receiving oodles and oodles of alerts every day, with people linking to the circle ... so it's a real pleasure that it's still spreading. I don't have a hope now of checking out all the sites being honoured with an award ... I would never sleep! :-)

virtual nexus said...

In passing - Tim Hallinan (Blog Cabin)is suggesting a Dickens Challenge for anyone who fancies writing a novel on line in installments...

....I reckon you could base a novel on your comment to me about your sentient computer....!

Eric Valentine said...

Congratulations Seamus for starting the Roar award, if it wasn't for that I doubt I would be here reading today. Now I am totally consumed my friend. :)

S. Kearney said...

Julie - Funny, because I've often thought about doing something like that ... but what a commitment, and no chance of going back to change things. One day! :-)

Eric - Thank you. I'm also very pleased you are part of the award celebration, and that you are here reading. I must get you onto my blog roll! :-)

virtual nexus said...

Seamus - you're welcome to have the Blenheim lion - its one of mine; low res so easy to upload. Funnily enough, there's a poem in my widgets which alludes to the Trafalgar column lions - London BC - though I always wondered if I'd remembered a line or two from school days.(?!)

Photo attachment to your blog - or can you do a straight copy?

I've just knocked out 4k on Tims challenge - last novel I scrapped in a creative phase was 80k in 4 weeks; this ones definitely a new art form....

Steve H said...

14,000 - holy cow! congrats to you for a great idea!!

virtual nexus said...

ps Seamus - you may already have done this, but have you thought of putting the SL's 'aims' into an easily accessible form that could be taken and loaded into a side bar as a reminder? (Carry it with the Lion?)

One of the guys over at Clarity of Night said he was going to do this, and it had occurred to me.

S. Kearney said...

Julie - Oh that's great about the Blenheim lion! I will put him up as a guardian straight away. Thank you. What a wonderful photo, and a lion in action! :-) It should be OK just copying from your site, but I'll let you know if there's a problem. Thanks so much for agreeing to let us have him for the list of guardians. I will put up a credit for you, of course. Your other idea about the lion aims is interesting as well. People were encouraged to put up their poems with their lions and link to the site ... that was probably enough to start with, but yes it would be nice to have a reminder that the lion is there to roar for their writing. I will mull this over. :-) I've linked to your site by the way.

Hotwire - Hello and welcome. Thanks for stopping by. Yes, the figure of 14k has been quite hard to take in ... and that was calculated about five days ago now! :-)

virtual nexus said...

Appreciate the link,

Cheers.

WH said...

Seamus, this is fantastic. 14,000? Viral can be be good :) Thank you for an idea that promotes what is slipping away in so many people today: a love of language. Kudos to "The Roar!"

S. Kearney said...

Julie - A real pleasure! :-)

Billy - Thanks. Yes, no wonder we need to worry about computer bugs. If my award can spread that fast, imagine how fast a virus goes! :-)

L.M.Noonan said...

Dear ringleader,
please present yourself at my blog and pick up yet another trophy. Now I know you have a few, but do actors say no to another Oscar?
You know you want this. Well done mi amigo

colleen said...

I'm sorry I got one but it slipped through the cracks of my days and did not land on my sidebar because I don't know how to get it there without help.

My Dream for President Bush poem has started to get around. It's been fun to google and watch it go.

S. Kearney said...

LMN - Wow! It's come back to me! What a nice surprise. You are a darling! :-)

Colleen - Oh that poor lost lion, sulking between the cracks. lol. I truly understand. I have lots of things lost down my many cracks! And yes, I read that poem and loved it, and I'm not surprised it's captured imaginations! Well done. :-)

Debi said...

Cor Shamey, those lions pack a mighty fine roar. This is really validating. Good on you, friend.

I'd be even more effusive but I've been distracted. I can't get this image out of my head:
'I have lots of things lost down my many cracks!'

S. Kearney said...

Debi - Hahahahaha. lol. Gosh, did I really say that?! Um, I'd had a few glasses of nice French red? Um. It was late? Um. Oh dear. :-)

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