BitterSweetLife

A couple weeks ago I conducted an informal poll here to answer an existential, first order question that has been haunting the blog recently: Why? As in, Why do you read this blog? Then those of you who discovered the poll, buried in the sidebar, were confronted with the following options. I wanted to have a write-in option, but Blogger shot that one down.

Solve a mystery: Why do you read this blog?

• I like your cute little family
• I like the gloating ku references
• I like the cultural commentary (books, movies, music)
• I like the writing style
• I like the creative theology angle
• I like the weird eclecticism--it all works together to create a strange harmony
• Other (and i'll think about posting a comment to say why)
• For no good reason, thanks for clarifying that

The numerical results of the poll were very eye-opening, but once the poll closed, Blogger deleted it. So here's my attempt to approximate the outcome.

A couple of you read this blog for no good reason, baffling even yourselves.

A handful like the KU references How was I to know I had so many MU fans as readers? That must be rough on them.

A larger handful like our cute little family. I don't blame you.

Now, significant chunks of you like the weird eclecticism, the cultural commentary, and the creative theology angle. We're talking in the 70%-low 80% range, so this was very affirming for the blog.

Finally, the most common response was the writing style. If memory serves, this was close to 90%. Thank you very much; that's a shot in the authorial arm... In fact, it makes me feel so good that I'm trying not to make smug remarks about how I can now write about whatever I want to--bat poo, for example--knowing it will fly. But no, I won't give in. Again, thanks.

I visualize streamlining BitterSweetLife's content some in the year ahead. I was deliberating about doing this before I had the brilliant poll-buried-in-the-sidebar idea, but your input pushed me a little further down the road.

In 2008, this blog will have a greater focus on culture (books, music, movies), with creative theology mixed in when I have time to write it--those posts take the most effort to create. Also, I'll continue to post photos, hopefully including some non-baby photos for those of you who aren't relatives or haven't yet activated your child-idolizing genes. All of this will feature my writing style (note I am responding to your votes here) and I think the weird eclecticism will just rise naturally.

Thanks again to you voters. Anyone else thinking about streamlining their content this year?

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