TOD 2.0 Goes Over 2M Unique Visits and 5M Page Views
Posted by Prof. Goose on July 6, 2006 - 12:51am
While it is probably not all that appropriate to gush about my colleagues and this community every time we celebrate a milestone, I still have to take a moment to thank everyone involved with TOD. You're all wonderful--everyone from the older fixtures to the newest contributors--your hard work makes this site worth it. Thanks to all of you for being good people and helping this community grow.
It still comes down to you though--our readers--this would be a whole bunch of pointless yammering into the ether without you and your participation. Your loyalty, your skepticism, your wisdom, and your willingness to participate in this realm of ideas, and your defense of requiring logical arguments with evidence to back them up and not polemic remains unparalleled in blogistan.
Thank you for making it work. Suggestions and ideas (for innovations or otherwise) are always welcome.
[EDITOR'S NOTE by HO] To which thanks, let me add also my own. The willingness of everyone to share information, and the interest and discussion has been really gratifying. It has also brought us some great new insights from the new editors and contributors that have been kind enough to join us in putting their thoughts and views before you. And to Prof G I raise another glass in toast - who'd a'thunkit. (One of these days we are really going to have to get together and do this for real). And to Super G also for making this site so much more useful and interactive than we could have ever anticipated. My thanks to you all.
Contact
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Also would like to add my thanks to EVERYBODY who contributes to TOD in every way.
see, I don't like digg as much...but as I say in a couple of other places, reddit seems to work better for us.
submitting things to buzzflash, fark, and boing boing do too.
Sucks.
We got a lot of traffic from digg once...that's why I keep pushing it too...we'll see if it's worth it.
best,
Matt
the more people submit an article, the more NEW hits, it's really that simple.
RR
Best,
Matt
Rules: No more than 350 words in any one post.
No more than 900 words in any one day, posted perhaps at six hour intervals to keep us on tenterhooks.
I'll start the ball rolling with page 1 of "The Adventures of C.C. Eggum" tomorrow morning shortly after thredbot does her thing.
Then I'll post a couple of pages later, and if I get positive response, I'll finish up chapter 1 on late Friday and early Sat. morning.
The hungrier you are, the more I'll feed you.
If you want to post comments, please show as much respect for my feelings as I do for those of others (which, admittedly, is not much;-) However, constructive criticism will be MUCH appreciated, and you'll get your name in the list of acknoledgements, which I hope will run to some hundreds of bright and witty folk such as we are here.
Tolstoy's "War and Peace" contains more insight and useful ideas on both love and war than any fifty nonfiction books I can think of.
No, I'm not as good as Tolstoy. Not as good as Heinlein.
But . . . I'm getting better;-)
After I show mine, please do the same with yours. Pretty please . . . with sugar on top!
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/noticias.html
AMLO's lead is diminishing slowly, looks like it could be a dead heat.
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/070506_offices_burglarized.shtml
Mike's got pictures up. They hit his home also.
Best,
Matt
Almost undoubtedly a politically motivated attack.
He's also indirectly responsible for the creation of this forum:
I learned from Mike and Prof Goose learned from me, which prompted him to start TOD. Him and Dale Allen Pfeifer were discussing these issues on FTW 5 years ago.
And, as FTW accurately claims, it does have more original reporting on Peak Oil than any other site.
If you want news aggregation go to Energy Bulletin
If you want discusion go to TOD
If you want original aritcles go to FTW
Point of this is even if you don't agree with Mike's thoeries regarding 9/11, he is not just another "conspiracy theorist" for you to not only dismiss but also disrespect the way you did.
Best,
Matt
What remains is that although Mike may have a small share in my trust network, the mainstream media has even less reason to listen to him. Since he has even offered the reasonable theory of a meth ring revenge, the press won't leap to the conclusion that his 9/11 theories are correct and that Cheney is out to get him, like his readers seem to do. So, it won't reach the MSM.
My first intro to peak oil was your site. After a while, I found out that while a lot of your points were important and correct, and also that some were inaccurate, "alarmist", or overly pessimistic. The Oil Drum gave more valuable numbers and critical examination of claims, both by doomers and cornucopians, than your site. Should your site get the credit for "waking me up", even though it was for high publicity and oratory skill rather than accuracy? Should I give credit to Mike, who did the same for you, with even more speculation and inaccuracy? I don't think that's reasonable. The attention gathered by you, and even more for Mike, would simply have been unsustainable hadn't other people followed up with critical examination and discussion.
Of course it would have been unsustainable w/o the efforts of others. Did I say otherwise? Don't put words in my mouth or attribute ideas to me that I have not said or put forth.
I'm not saying you need to give credit to anybody. But back off with the allegations just a bit for now? The guy's office got destroyed, $20,000 in damage, etc. and here you are accussing him of making it some publicity stunt? Come on buddy.
Imagine if Stuart's (or Dave or West Texas, et) office got vandalized by a meth cartel, $20,000 damage was done, and somebody came on here and said he thinks it's a publicity Stuart because he wants more traffic here at TOD? Well whether you agree with Stuart or not, I think it'd be a pretty f--ked up thing to say until there is evidence of that. And I'd call you out for behaving like a a--hole in THAT particualar context just like I am right now in this context.
Best,
Matt
When I said that your (and his) efforts were unsustainable, that's what I meant. If it wasn't for others examining your claims, you both would have done more harm than good. Most likely, Mike Ruppert does more harm than good even now, since he associates peak oil with a good old-fashioned conspiracy theory.
I don't think this is a publicity stunt. Ruppert does not make a lot of money running FTW. From what I see, he is sincere in his efforts to uncover the truth about the issues he pursues, but makes some leaps from that evidence that others might not.
Congrats TOD on another milestone. Onward and upward.
It's clear that theories such as these hurt the important message. Ironically, they were probably "profitable" as attention-grabbers for peak oil in the beginning, but as I've said, that attention wouldn't have been sustainable unless others had taken up the lead and done far better work.
I don't know if Ruppert makes a lot of money on FTW (what about his books, though?), and I do think he's basically sincere. I believe his involvement in uncovering drug operations is the reason for the raid. However, to most observers he's a conspiracy theorist, and distrust would be reasonable.
I don't personally share some of Mike's other ideas but he does a pretty good job of researching and presenting his arguments. I do think the true story behind 9/11 is probably significantly different from the 'official version', I find it hard to believe Cheney actually organised the attacks but I do not rule out that possibility entirely.
Perhaps you would be wise to re-evaluate your prejudices? Turning your thinking on its head: if Mike was right about PO years ago when many said he was nuts to think so, may he also be right about some other things that you think are off the wall?
If there's anything that continues to be reinforced by this site on a daily basis, it's that there's room in PO blogistan for a lot of perspectives and ideological viewpoints...
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/index.shtml#post
some of the best stuff in the po blogistan was originally published on FTW, including Dmitry Orlov's original 3 part piece and Dale Allen Pfeiffer's articles including the Eating Fossil Fuels one.
Now let's say you think Mike is a raving nut and you don't trust him cause he's a "conspiracy theorist" and is making a whopping (maybe) $1 per book royalty from his book. Okay fine, you're perfectly entitled to that opinion, but realize he did build a platform from which some of the best work on PO was launched. And in order to build a platform on issues like these when you're essentially in the wilderness w/o much company (1998-2004) you're going to need to have a certain brashness to your personality. That's the only way you're going to build a platform from which other endeavors can be launched.
Had Dale's article, for instance, just been posted to some anonymous blog it might have gotten lost in the noise. But because it was on FTW it got a lot of attention and now a few years later New Society has given Dale a book deal out of that article ("Eating Fossil Fuels".)
So even if you don't like Mike's style or think he is a nutty conspircy theorist or whatever, I think a bit of support even if it is just mental/emotional is due at a time like this. Vinterman making accusations it's all a publicity stunt is in my mind the height of assaninity and I'd say that even if I wasn't friends with Mike.
Best,
Matt
P.S.
congrats on the 2 M mark.
asininity, n.
1. Utterly stupid or silly: asinine behavior.
2. Of, relating to, or resembling an ass.
[Latin asinnus, of an ass, from asinus, ass.]
asi·ninely adv.
asi·nini·ty (-nn-t) n.
Now you may think, perhaps from being in academia, that when one screws up it is their own fault and they should take responsibility for said screw up(s). Me, having been trained in the law, realize there is always somebody else responsible for one's screw ups.
In the case of my misspelling, I put the responsibility squarely on YOUR shoulders. Oh yes, it is your fault I can't spell. After all, there is no spell check on this here bad boy and thus the TOD administration are the ones responsible for my "gramamtical negligence."
Best,
Matt
Best,
Matt
i know the united states has a stake in this because one of the canidates there wants to further nationalize their oil company.
So maybe you shouldn't sell yourself short.
best,
Matt
Best,
Matt
I can't think of a more important one on the Internet. Every day's an ongoing drama as this thing unwinds, and it's great to have professionals around who can interpret the great story of energy depletion without a bunch of spin.
Bravo, y'all ... Now it's time to get ready for the Hurricane Watch.
Probably already posted here , but my newspaper http://www,nrc.nl had its'complete monthly bulletin dedicated to energy and specifically mentioned PO. Unfortunately PO was regarded as a "theory" of which the debat was still going on. I thought the question of "if" has been answerred and what remains is the "when". On top of that, the leading article in the magazine featured Mr. D. Yergin assuring the reader that all problems with oil nowadays are above-the-ground phenomena and that geological limitations will not occur for the next 100 years or so. Further on there was an article referring to Twilight in the Desert but this was burried behind other, less interesting, stories.
Behind the front page was a 2-page Volkswagen ad, and nowhere I could find even a small note on the relation between fossil fuels and food production.
It was disappointing; they could at least have provided TOD's url :-)
TOD has become essential, and I suspect it is feeding into our collective and individual thinking in very beneficial ways. I've noticed a gradual change in the meme at TOD over the past few months. It seems to me that the general feeling is that the peak is looming very near--nearer than many of us really expected. But we are somehow less manic about it.
If that's true, it's healthy. The world will need a few clear-thinking, unsurprised heads.
BTW I know Mike Ruppert has some way out theories however he also has some questions about 9/11 that do not have satisfactory answers. If all of these questions had reasonable answers then I would be the first to dismiss him as a crazy conspiracy theorist. However these questions do not have a easy answers and I for one am still wondering when they will be answered.
I read the Dale Alan Pfieffer articles and this is where I first learnt of Peak Oil. FTW is a good site and it is sad to see it run foul of people without conscience.
TOD is clearly the best site out there and has set a new standard in collective thinking!
Love your moniker!
How I came across TOD was from a mention on Kevin Drum's blog--I think it was ca. 4/05. Have been an almost daily reader (and a very infrequent commenter). Thanks to all for the time and effort put in. I appreciate the high level of expertise and general level of courtesy shown to each other by all participants here.
My own contribution to the field has been an article explaining the peak oil situation to insurance executives. A link to it can be found at
http://www.towersperrin.com/tp/getwebcachedoc?webc=TILL/USA/2006/200605/OilShortagesQ2523.pdf
In writing this article, my approach was the following:
- Keep it short - 4 pages, including 3 graphs
- Keep it simple - The graphs are simpler than most, and have headers that explain what is happening.
- Make it relevant to the reader - This article includes several paragraphs about changes that may affect the insurance industry.
- Back off a little on the conclusions - New readers aren't quite ready for die-off or TEOTWAWKI.
- Use references that the readers will be comforatable with. Here, I assume that most readers voted for Bush in the last election, and choose my references accordingly.
I think that there is a need for others to get the word out to the groups they have contact with, using whatever approach works for them. If using copies of my article is helpful as a starting point, it can easily by printed off, preferably on a color printer.best, Dave
how do you count unique views ?
all those with dynamic ips .. and theres a lot of us are going to show up as unique hits each time ?
Great work too,Gail. I had seen reference to your piece in something Shepherd Bliss was writing, so it was good to read it in full. I hope it succeeded in getting attention beyond the PO converted.