Poll Results. Thank You, all 12 of you.
Thank You for voting in the recent poll. I appreciate your input.
the Question: What Feature Would You Most Like to See Added to RocketBomber? In no particular order, let me address each of the points that actually garnered voters:
- More Drunken Ranting 23% 3 votes
- Opinion Columns and Analysis 15% 2 votes
I’ve resurrected the 5by8 column, and plan to write longer essays once a month, maybe a bit more frequently — one posting every three weeks. A lot depends on what is going on in the industry, what odd thoughts occur to me with Beer Five (it’s usually the fifth beer that does it; I have to start writing right away or I tend to lose it) and also what the on-going conversation of the internet chooses to focus on. I don’t always respond in a timely manner (I usually show up two weeks late) but seeing topics on other blogs will often set my own gears spinning.
The Opinion Columns and Drunken Rants are the same thing, actually. I included drunken ranting as a joke (and voted for it myself) so I’m not sure if it’s gratifying or disturbing that two other people agreed that beer is the muse for my best[sic] work. David? Simon?
The 5by8’s will be joined by a weekly column on book publishing and retail (when I get around to starting those) and the occasional analysis of the online sales rankings. I’ve this HUGE pile of data now (growing incrementally bigger every week) and I’m starting to get some odd ideas about how to use it.
Speaking of Charts:
- Online Anime DVD Sales Estimates (to match the manga charts) 8% 1 vote
I will continue to post a DVD chart but I’m only going to run it every other week
- Podcast 15% 2 votes
A Podcast… is problematic. It’s only worth doing if I can do one each and every week, like clockwork, uploading it at the same time each week for the delectation of subscribers. I can talk about manga and anime for hours, but there is a difference between gushing and journalism — even half-assed internet-grade podcast style journalism.
I have the hardware and software, and it works — I’ve actually put together a 5 minute sample podcast (it’s rough, but I’m sure I’ll improve with practice). (No, you don’t get to listen to it.)
I tell you what: I’ll try it. First one in March, maybe?
- Regular and Timely Updates 15% 2 votes
How about more-or-less-daily posts?
You know, I could put the manga charts on a regular schedule but it would mean shoving it all the way to the end of the week. As it is, if the charts are ready on Monday, I’ll post ‘em on Monday. I think it works better that way.
To address the ‘regular’ part, I’ve already added one new feature that should significantly contribute to the raw output of the blog.
I’ll never be able to manage regular-and-timely though. Shouldn’t have included it in the poll…
Finally:
- Manga Reviews 23% 3 votes
Here’s the thing:
I’ve done reviews before (…I’m working on getting all of the reviews written for Comicsnob.com ported over but it’s not a high priority) and the thing is, they take a lot of time: Four hours to read and re-read a couple volumes of manga, a couple of hours of beer-and-thinking-about-the-manga time (at least two hours; I’d often give it a week to settle in) and then a couple of hours to write it up.
The other thing is that there are a lot of other people already writing reviews. I can add “Oh, I like that one too” to the general noise on the internet or I can keep my own counsel and spend some time thinking about manga, maybe writing columns, or researching retailers, or finishing up the weekly charts. Others are writing reviews, but no one else has anything like my manga chart.
I do have an idea, though. I’d like to surprise you with it.
But I’ll have that podcast up first, I think.
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I Open the Floor To Your Comments. No need to be constrained by the radio buttons of a pre-formatted half assed poll — with what you know about me and about the blog and my strengths and limitations, how should I be spending my time? Tell me.
