I got to thinking a couple of days ago…
You see, the top blogger in Kansas City took a couple of potshots at the second highest-ranking blogger in town, saying No. 2’s site was sinking fast.
No. 1 used to write for No. 2, so a little “friendly” competition could lie behind the jibing.
Nobody got too bent out of shape over it, though, and I think No. 1 and No. 2 will remain on speaking terms. (I’ve always said blogging is like hand-to-hand combat every day, and you just hope the guy who’s coming at you is armed with only a keyboard.)
Anyways, like I say, that got me thinking.
Specifically, I got to wondering what the top-ranked websites in the U.S. were and where our No. 1 and No. 2 ranked nationwide.
So, I went to Alexa (alexa.com), which bills itself as “The Web Information Company” and “the leading provider of free, global web metrics.”
Here are the Top Ten most popular websites in the country, according to Alexa.
1. Google
2. Facebook
3. YouTube
4. Yahoo!
5. Amazon
6. Wikipedia
7. eBay
8. Twitter
9. Blogspot
10. Craigslist
I think those ratings are a bit outdated, however, because I read on several websites that Facebook, which started up in 2004, surpassed Google late last year.
The Kansas City Star’s home page, kansascity.com, ranks 1,602 nationwide. Not too shabby.
Then we get down to the slugfest for the top local blogging spot. The area’s No. 1 blogger holds the rank of 53,874, and No. 2 comes in at 67,670. No. 2’s got a ways to go to get to the top, as you can see, but never underestimate a guy who talks really fast and used to be the top-rated columnist at the biggest dead-tree publisher in town.
I know you’re dying to know the identities of No. 1 and No. 2. Well, I’m sorry, but professional jealousy just won’t allow me to do that.
You see, I thought yours truly might be right on those guys’ heels, but when I checked my ranking, I fell off my mother’s couch. (She’s dead but I’ve still got the couch.)
Those bastards at Alexa say they have “no regional data” on me, so I have no idea where I rank nationally.
They do have a worldwide ranking for me, however, and that’s kinda where the shock came in.
My worldwide ranking? 7,764,573.
So, you see, why would I want to tout Nos. 1 and 2 when I’m little ways behind them?
I remain optimistic, however…I heard that not only No. 2 but also No. 1 is sinking fast!
Pretty soon, I suspect, you’ll be seeing me, the fantastic JimmyC, climbing up, up, up to dizzying heights on the local blogging ladder!
Popular blogger plotting and scheming how to move up the KC blogging ranks
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Don’t let that 7 million-something rating get you down.
Just think, Tiger jumped from #52 to #21 in just one week. How? Winning a second-rate tourney.
You just need a few winners. Egonovich (or whatever) was a good start. Now, “a little Kim K. here and a little Tim T. there” and who knows you might burst into the “top 5,000,000!” With followers like me…it’s only a matter of time.
JAB
hey jimmy c all those other blogs are nothing compare to yours. one is being sued by the fire dept and is irrating to read but you come across with the best writings
Thanks, John and Jack (old buddies from the past). I hope you guys are doing well.
Good one, Jim! Now – can you get your Saturday and Monday blogs turned in by 4 p.m.? And how about some graphics to go with them? Make sure you focus in on trends.
How did you know I still have dreams about the pressures of daily newspaper work, Julius? Oh, I guess you have them, too.
Fitz, it’s about QUALITY, not QUANTITY. You’re like a fine cigar. Numero Uno is a used crack-pipe and Le Deux is one of those smokeless cigarettes that emits water vapor.
Numero Uno’s site is so bad THAT I WON’T POST THERE! Given my lack of standards, that says a lot. That’s like Larry Flynt refusing to go into a strip club.
Outside the TOP 1000 this blogging thing appears to be a labor of love and not a viable business model sans porn, gambling, male enhancement and ED products.
I had far greater hopes for Le Deux who seems to have fallen in with bad journalist companions that make fecal matter Pulitzer worthy.
So Fitz, as Casey Kasem says, “Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”
Merry Christmas and may God Bless You and yours with good health, happiness and prosperity in the New Year!
PS: I’m giving consideration to legally changing my name to Humbertos van Driehl II.
Thanks, Smartman. I’m flattered…and I know my good friend Hubartos will feel likewise. He used to have a column in an alternative paper in Pensacola, FL, but it was so over the top that the publisher, Joe Scarborough (aka Morning Joe), fired him.
Merry Christmas to you, too, Smartman. Keep the comments coming!
Jeeze Louise Fitz, your as old as I am I think. I’m 61.
My mother’s couch was a goner in 1985. I still had hair and loved disco.
Any guy frugal enough to hang onto his mother’s couch for that long has got my vote as blogger of the year.
Does it look like the one in Mary’s Apt where Lou always sits and talks to her?
Totally fictitious about that couch, Chuck. It was just a spoof of the No. 1 guy writing his blog out of his mother’s basement. Didn’t mean to take anyone down a side road.
And about that age…I’m 65. And that’s not fiction!