TripAdvisor did a survey of 1100 U.S. travelers and found that 78% of those who responded thought that toplessness is OK in destinations where it’s culturally acceptable. Here is the link: Link
Do you think women should go topless at the beach?
Look carefully at this photo.
Is that a real baby or a doll?
It appears to me that some people blog with the reader in mind. In fact, I would go so far as to say that some people blog with only the reader in mind.
Some people blog as if they are unaware that anyone reads their site. In fact, I am subscribed to one site and the person has updated for 5-6 years and I am the only person who ever comes by and comments.
1. I do not think about the reader at all.
2. I do not usually think about the reader.
3. I think about the reader but I am not dominated by thoughts of the reader.
4. I think about the reader more than I think about myself when I blog.
5. I only think about the reader when I blog.
To what degree do you think about the reader when you blog?
I was just reading an article titled “The Rise and Inglorious Fall of Myspace.” The author of the article was mentioning that Myspace was on top of the Internet World a few years ago.
But now the company that owns Myspace and bought it for $580 million in 2005, is trying to sell it for $100 million now. In fact, the owning company is going to shut the site down if they can’t find a buyer because they are losing too much money. Here is the link: Link
After all the talk about xanga dying because everyone left for Myspace, it would be interesting if Xanga outlasted Myspace.
I have 4000-5000 friends on myspace but I can’t even get a response over there anymore. I remember back in 2006, I wrote in a bulletin on Myspace that it was dying and I received over 100 responses to that bulletin.
Do you use Myspace anymore?
These photos are from awkwardfamilypetphotos.com. Here is the link: Link
Have you ever taken your pet to a professional photo shoot?
Spencer Gifts is coming under fire for allowing underaged children to buy sex books and sex toys.
(Xanga photos is not allowing me to post a photo. Imagine a sexy photo here with a couple trying one of the positions).
A local news station sent a 13-year-old boy into Spencer Gifts with a hidden camera and he was able to look through the graphic book and then buy it.
Police say that you are not allowed to sell porn to someone underage but it is ok if the book is educational. So the book “365 Sex Positions: A New Way Every Day for Steamy Erotic Year” could be seen as educational. Here is the link: Link
Is the book “365 Sex Positions” appropriate for a 13 year old?
You ever read a story in the news and have a gut feeling it is a fake story?
The story is some guy named Doug Hutchison is from a show named “Lost.” He is 51 and she is said to be only 16 years old. So people are asking if it is appropriate for a 51 year old to marry a 16 year old. Here is the link: Link
Do you think this girl is really 16?
I have wanted to write this post for awhile but I wanted to do it when no one on Xanga was declaring himself/herself popular.
I have been on Xanga for 6 and a half years running my site like I run it today. I must admit I have watched as many people on xanga have come along and declared themselves “popular.” They will also write posts telling other people how to be popular just like them.
I must admit that most of these bloggers have confused popularity with getting attention.
According to dictionary.com “popularity” is “appealing to the general public; widely favored or admired.”
Yet, I will read as some of these “popular” bloggers talk about how so many people hate them because of their “popularity.” It appears to me that if that many people hate them that they are not “widely favored or admired.” So they are not popular.
I remember a lady on xanga (who is no longer on xanga) and she wrote about how she was popular and yet said she was the most hated person on xanga. She also talked about how the xanga team hated her and everyone ganged up against her. She was unpleasant to so many people.
In her case, she was not popular. She simply gained attention. In order for a person to get into the top section of Top Blogs, it usually only takes about 30-40 comments as long as they are individual comments. So a person can comment about 30-40 people every day and get 30-40 comments back. This does not mean the person is popular. This means the person has effectively marketed their site. They have commented others and those people comment back.
Now some people try to pretend they don’t comment much. But you can easily go and look at all the people that commented them before they were on top blogs (obviously you might gain some comments in the top section of top blogs). You can see as you go to their sites that most of these people have received comments from the “popular blogger.” In other words, most of the top bloggers have simply commented more people than the average person. This really doesn’t make them popular. It makes them sort of nerdy.
If a person continues to stir up drama, he/she is not always popular. The person has just brought attention to himself/herself.
What if you were in high school and there was an assembly in the gym. There were 2000 people in the gym. What if you walked into the gym and grabbed a microphone and told everyone that abortion was the taking of a human life. In that moment you would get feedback. Some would “boo” you. Some would agree with you. But you would not be popular. You simply gained the attention of everyone because you had the microphone and you said something that gained you attention.
The same would be the case if you ran into the gym totally naked. You would have gained attention. But unless you were super hot, it would probably not make you popular. In fact, it might make you the punchline of jokes.
I would think if you would want to be popular online, you might want to try a social network people have heard of.
On xanga, we appear to confuse popularity with the ability to gain attention.
Roger Ebert has stepped into some controversy after Jackass start Ryan Dunn was killed in an accident.
(He looks sort of odd after losing his chin).
Photos were posted of Dunn drinking right before he was killed in the accident.
So Roger Ebert posted on twitter ““Friends don’t let jackasses drink and drive.” This caused friends of Dunn to get upset.
Roger Ebert responded, “I also regret that my tweet about the event was considered cruel. It was not intended as cruel. It was intended as true.” Here is the link: Link
Was the tweet insensitive?
I woke up this morning and saw a debate on a few blogs and a few pulses about a young lady who posted photos of herself “half-naked.” The photos actually were of the young lady in her bikini.
The girl was 17-years-old. An older guy left a comment on her blog mentioning that he wanted to copy her photos. This led to an outburst. I don’t really want to talk about the guy involved. What was interesting was some of the comments about the 17-year-old girl. It was said that she was seeking attention and a few people went even farther in trashing her.
I am off work this week because I am on vacation. I took my family to the beach in Galveston. We saw all kinds of people on the beach in bikinis. I didn’t feel any of them were being slutty about it. I understand you don’t go to school in a bikini. But I am not sure it is a big deal to post photos of yourself on a social network in your bikini.
Is Xanga the appropriate place to post photos of yourself in a bikini?
