A little bit weird, a little bit political with a lot of humor.
A points whore that is.... a guide to not being one
Published on September 13, 2004 By historyishere In Blogging
Well, it seems that I've had 7 articles in a row that weren't huge attention grabbers since Friday.... and seeing as there have been a few articles that have recently been written about the techniques of the point whore, I think that given this run of bad responses... I think I can now adequately say the don'ts when it comes to getting a lot of points.

1) Art is not really a fast mover: Wow... at least I got 15 user points for posting those. Generally speaking, art-related articles seem to be very slow points-gatherers. And unless someone actually tells someone else about one of your articles... well, very little chance for referrals either.

2) Timing is everything: Posting an article Friday afternoon is a bad idea... as is Sunday Afternoon. I thought I learned that lesson before... but wow... it cut me again! Fool me once, shame on me... fool me twice... shame on me and my entire background. You would think that posting when no one else is posting articles would, you know, be a good idea... so that it is on the front page longer... not really the case, because generally, when people are posting articles... well, they are actually on to read your stuff either. But then again, you still get those 15 user points for posting it, and that is always good.

3) Comments beget comments: If you don't grab someone for a comment within an hour of posting it... getting a comment declines in an inverse relationship to time. Its true... either it hits or it misses.... with nary an article in between. And of course, it is bad form to comment first on your own article... and I learned that with my college football articles.... both of which just DIED here.

4) When your articles just sink like a stone: You just have to suck it up.... or you can write a silly article about how you aren't a point whore anymore, and tell people how not to be one. But that would be a bit of self-servicing, wouldn't it.

Well, I think with that, I will close my 4th(of at least 5) entry of the day.

BTW, This is my 50th article... I thought I'd just throw that in there. Congrats for me!

Comments
on Sep 13, 2004
I have no inclination to the point scoring I have be hearing a lot about.....'how to be a point whore'...'how not to be a point whore'....'I am a point whore'...'I want to be a point whore'....What points??

I thought everyone was here as a way to communicate their thoughts, ideas.....life stories......to reach out around the globe to people they may never had the chance to meet ..even in such a sense as this......
What do these points get you?...Do you win something?
I do not intend to sound condescending at all......I am just a little ignorant on the subject....so please explain....

on Sep 13, 2004
You'll always be a whore to me, history!
on Sep 13, 2004
Having articles that net a fair number of points are generally an indication of a wider readership and/or better interaction with others on the site, and with an increasing number of points, you slowly start to get a bit more visibility on JU as well, which also increases how many people you can reach with your work.

Texas: From you, I take that as a compliment.
on Sep 13, 2004
AAhh...thankyou for the explaination, historyishere.....so it's not about getting something....but gaining the chance to be in a better position to influence readership....?!
on Sep 13, 2004
Pretty much... attention and seeming popularity are heady drugs indeed.
on Sep 13, 2004
You really have to go onto other sites and promote yoru stuff. That's how come my articles get so many points.
on Sep 13, 2004
I thought everyone was here as a way to communicate their thoughts, ideas.....life stories......to reach out around the globe to people they may never had the chance to meet ..even in such a sense as this......


we do, crusaders. But being high ranked begets readership. And besides, the point whore jokes are a fun diversion
on Sep 13, 2004
Ok...I understand...now.
Thanks for the explaination!!
on Sep 14, 2004
You really have to go onto other sites and promote yoru stuff. That's how come my articles get so many points.


I was just going through a bad run there is all.