- Wow, I’ve got a lot of great numbers to share with you about Missoula’s budget!
- But wait a minute - I also have a lot of stuff on Montana’s economy and tourism and tax income!
- Whoa feller, let’s not stop there - I even have some good stuff on Montana’s history, her personalities, and the stories that were once important!
I have all of that and more...but I just don’t think you’re interested.
In fact, I know you’re not.
The Montana Blog’s traffic is down 27% this month. The site’s most visited articles were written 5 to 6 years ago.
The most visited article I wrote this month was called “A Week to Go” and it got 124 clicks. I doubt even half of those people read the thing all the way through.
When I see the response to my efforts on this site, I have to ask myself, “Is this the best use of my time?”
“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst,” William Penn once said.
We see this on (anti)social media. Twitter is the worst. Lots of has-beens and never-runs sniping at elected officials and candidates, like this has some kind of impact. The paid political class is especially good at delivering one-liners and put-downs.
I fail to see how this wins over undecided voters, or even convinces members of your own party to turnout. But what do I know?
I scrolled through the first page of the Montana blog today, which takes us all the way back to the post on May 15.
Not a single Facebook like on any of ‘em, not a single Twitter share.
I did have two different people comment on one of those posts, so I guess that’s something.
Mostly, I get it.
I get it.
You’re not interested in what I have to say. In fact, you find it boring. What’s more, I don’t think you like me or my personality or my ideas.
And I’ll be completely honest - I was really reaching for the bottom of the barrel this past month.
I mean...talking about a BK Wheeler book and then what Joe Howard was writing about 70 years ago?!?
Who the hell cares about that stuff? No one.
I can understand that - what happened long ago has absolutely no relevance on your life or how you came to be where you are today.
I get it.
Sometimes I stray away from those statewide issues and personalities and cover local Missoula issues. Sadly, these articles of mine get the fewest views of all.
Alas, that’s all I feel like writing about during this slow summer...a summer in which I’m a Missoula candidate. That’s where I’ll focus a lot of my time - on winning this race. And I won’t talk about this race; I’m not giving the opposition a clue as to what I’m doing.
I’m sure not going to write about 2020 candidates when we haven’t even finished this year’s elections. Currently, there’s not a single 2020 Montana candidate I’m interested in voting for. The candidates that have declared make me want to not vote.
Few want to delve into the issues, but this shouldn’t surprise us - even when all these people are announcing their 2020 statewide runs, few if any have an issues page on their site.
They’ll sure as shit ask you for money right off the bat, however.
The current topics I was working on for later this week would bore the pants off you.
The other main sites in Montana - RD, Montana Post, Flathead Memo, Missoula Current, MT Free Press - are all struggling to come up with viable stories as well.
Sadly, when there isn’t much in the news we often try to do ‘make-news,’ which is mostly just bashing candidates we don’t agree with or cheerleading for those we do.
Montana Post will be doing the former for most of the summer and into the fall; Missoula Current will engage in the latter.
I’m just tired of all that. I’m tired of watching it, listening to it, reading it, and hearing about it. I’m tired of the blogs repeating what the TV news sites are saying; the TV news sites repeating what the newspapers are saying.
You are too.
So let’s take a break - a nice long break - and let everyone else get up in arms about the ‘issues’ that don’t really affect us anyway.
Try to enjoy your summer. Don’t pay much attention to the news, and certainly don’t track what anyone running in 2020 is doing. Travel. Enjoy your state.
Your life will be better because of this.
Come back in the fall when you’re rested up and ready to pay attention again to the issues ‘that matter.’
But until then, just try to get away from it all.
I will.
