I know this sounds so third-grade and PC, but...Ace, you've got to be yourself. I am not a big fan of the f-bomb in every post, but if that is who you are then go for it.

Everyone writes better when they let their true nature show. If you love bitting sarcasm and 80's pop culture references then by all means do that.

You get in trouble, when you start trying to write for and like someone else. Any big writer (of which I am not) will tell you that you first all of have to write something that you like and that you are interested in. Because if you don't care about it then the audience will see straight through that.

You are not Instapundit, Powerline, LGF, Andrew Sullivan or even Oliver Willis (Ha!). You are Ace and you need to start acting like it and writing like it.

I think every blog is suffering from this post election slump. Politics is in a lull right now, so intrest in political things is down. I am sure some scandal will come along and push intrest back up. If not you can always just turn this into a Miami Vice, 80's rock blog and we can discuss why Van Halen should have done a benefit concert for Crockett and Tubbs.

What are you doing wrong? Not much, but I do have to insist on one thing: I gotta have more cowbell.

Ace, are you concerned about yout traffic numbers? Hmm, I'm no blog expert, but if the majority of blogs are still getting the traffic they did pre-election, I'll fall off my desk chair (no easy task since it has padded arms).

Either way, here's an idea...

Stop asking people for suggestions.

Didn't you just mention that "changing to please (being respectable)" may have caused a drop-off in traffic? I wouldn't be surprised; if you're not writing the way you're accustomed to writing, folks are going to pick up on it, subconsciously or otherwise, and it's going to turn them off, especially if they already liked you.

I come here to read what you have to say, for no other reason than you're funny, you're smart, and you're right. I don't know how you'd improve on that.

I had a lot more written about this but I decided to have mercy and delete it, since I'm basically giving the good ol' "You're not going to please everybody so just please yourself" speech. I'm a mom so you have to expect that, but I'm pretty sure that when you asked for suggestions you were looking for HELPFUL ones you weren't already aware of.

Well, substance-wise, I can't think of anything. Esthetically-speaking, I wouldn't mind seeing the occasional black n' white photo of Charlton Heston in his prime. But considering your gender and orientation, I doubt I'm going to get that.

Later,
bbeck

BlueDevils: nail/head. Ace, be yourself. Maybe not the NC-17 version of you, but at least the R version, with real puppet sex. And don't beg for approval. Not from us, not from Reynolds. As any woman might tell you, there's nothing less attractive than that.

PS: if you're looking to expand your base, then you probably shouldn't be asking YOUR BASE.

Just thought I'd interject some logic. I've been known to do that on occasion. Rare occasion.

Later,
bbeck

More chicks!!!

Oh, and add me to your blogroll. Why are you blackballing me? Is it because I don't use the F-word enough?

Just yankin' yer chain. I agree with most of the suggestions I read here. "To thine own self be true"... or something.

Seriously, you gotta be yourself, no matter how many or how few f-words that entails. If you let your real voice be heard (like you were speaking to us in a bar) some people (like me) will always come here. Others will not. But if you dampen/throttle/filter your voice, no matter how well-intentioned, you'll end up with a pale white-bread candy-ass vanilla blog that *nobody* will read because there's ten thousand of them out there competing for your attention.

I also agree that everyone's seeing readership drop off after the election. As a nation, we're burned out on this. It's only temporary, though.

And as a final bit of advice, I'd say take a week off. We all need breaks to recharge the batteries in this biz, otherwise you just can't keep it up (heh-heh) day in and day out.

I think the key to attracting new readers is to CLOSE YOUR FRIKKEN ITALICS TAGS!

Oh yeah, and you could start by telling us what the heck was with that "afternoon break" the other day.

Dorky D&D references.

Johnny Coldcuts.

Top ten lists that make me want to spew Coke on my monitor.

Writing that slices like a f*cking hammer.

That sort of thing.

Ditto all of the above.

I too really don't care for the swearing and sex. But your view of things and your sense of humor is right-on with me.

What to right about? Hmmm... I think there is still plenty of lunacy from the left, Kos, celebrities, the EU, radical Islam, the UN, MSM, etc. Take your pick, unsheath your katana and pick apart these bozos. Swear if you must, but keep up the Ace style of humor.

God bless.

agorena

Definitely add the playing card back to the site. I miss it.

Why do I come here? It's simple. Especially when I first arrive at work in the morning I need that injection of attitude, that shot of adrenaline to get me going. I need my cowbell and Kim Richards. I need Johnny Coldcuts and Top 10 lists. I need copious fuckin' cursing and hammer slicing.

Well, OK, maybe I don't *need* all that stuff, but they are cool and a source of great enjoyment. Bottom line, be yourself, geek out as you see fit, and write whatever the heck you want.

Maybe it would help to think of yourself as the NY Post of blogs.

It would also be super-groovy if you'd bring back the old blogroll. Those were the only hits I've ever gotten. :-(

Reading this post is like watching Eminem cry.... painful. No one wants to see to see it dude.
Keep up with the swearing. You use it well. Most writers can't say the word "vagina" without it sounding forced and embarassing (Read Wonk lately?) . Carlin made a Loooooooong living being profane with an attitude.

Ace, just slice like a fucking hammer.

Anka, Haiku, taking shots at everyone who sticks their pompou heads up and squawks, and commentary that sears like a laser out of the screen and hits the mark - that's what folks want.

They want Ace.

Ace--

I dunno what to do. I really don't read your writing anymore.

I just surf the comments section, wondering what Sobek and Jen are saying about me behind my back.

I guess you could improve the site by linking to me more often. It works for Jonah Goldberg, it may work for you.

Cheers,
Dave at Garfield Ridge

P.S. Honestly? It's post-election slump. We're all in it. Either we'll get a scandal, a terrorist attack, or some nasty congressional fight (Supreme Court nod?) to break us out of the lethargy.

Until then, just write what you know. And get angry when you want to get angry, but don't get angry just on a whim-- all good things in moderation.

Excuse me: to everyone reading this at the National Security Agency, I am *not* supporting a terrorist attack solely for the purposes of providing blogging fodder. Good Lord, no.

Personally, I'd much rather have something a lot more innocent. Perhaps something involving Jeff Gillooly.

Ya want fodder? Write about how we have the best two-party system in the world. Write about how Bush (or whoever is in office) dosen't suck up to anyone, even when it's to our benefit; Principle vs. short-term gain. Write about how much this country NEEDS Demorcrats, and lots of them.. even though we completely disagree with most of them. I'd rather live with a 51% margin than a 90% one. Write about how stale Crocus got after thier first album... and then compare it to the persian gulf. It's all good dude.

Yo ACE! THE VIRGINS didn't mean to lash, a first for Islam. Think about why it is that 10 million people a day listen to Rush Limbaugh and love him so much: because HE HITS THE LEFT HARD!!! Attitude and ridicule are necessary ingredients but the stories of the Outrages of Liberalism are what animate us all. And the more biting you are, the better. You've had some truly memorable stuff here that was nowhere else to be found. You've already got it all, just continue to get the HARD HITTING stuff, and oh yes, how 'bout returning the ACE to your format again?

One word Ace:

WARP0N

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,65885,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1#

®

Sorry, that was supposed to be WARP0® N

Damn this sucks with the preview.

How about the old format Ace, just for ease of use?

OK - I've been reading your stuff since the first Democratic Presidential candidates/D&D character post was linked by NRO. I laughed out loud. I was here when you first started reader comments, and it was kinda sad how all of them were set a zero. By that standard, you've grown by about 1-2 orders of magnitude. If your traffic has taken a dip, keep your shirt on. You've come a long way.

That said, I think the answer to your questions really gets back to first principles. What are you trying to get out of this blog? Respect? Traffic? Expression of your muse? Figure that out, and you'll be a long way toward deciding how much to modulate yourself to increase your profile.

You want traffic, you might just have to bend a bit. Shakespeare had patrons. Michelangelo had patrons. To a degree, you do what your patrons want. This crap about "do what you love and the money will follow" is a modern conceit. Traditionally, it was more along the lines of "do what you love and starvation will follow". Finally, enough with the "do you think Glenn will notice me in this outfit"? I think "scatological-Ace" has his fans, and "biting-social-critic-Ace" has his, but pretty much all of us can do without "8th-grade-teenage-girl-Ace".

Good luck

David

- Top 10 lists
- Screenplays (like your "The Apprentice" skit)
- Inside jokes (Anka, Walken), 80s pop culture
- D&D, SF, other geeky things (link to my SF Babe polls occasionally)

I won't tell you to ignore the Sitemeter since we all are addicted to knowing who reads us, but don't make that the focus of the blog.

Bob Fuckin' Dylan, baby.

All Bob, all the time!

That, and a healthy dose of Johnny Coldcuts will keep me a happy reader. :)

My favorites, everyday;
Drudge
Ace
Instapundit
Corner

In that order. I appreciate your humor, I stay with you for your analysis of events.
I think that the use of vulgarity is detrimental to your very valuable insights.

Not much that I would change except I've never understood Johnny Coldcuts.

We cannot afford to lose you now that Allah and Clueless are not posting.

Sorry Ace.

I have seen you on many a blogroll, and I've probably been here before, but after getting linked to the "A Liberal Who Doesn't Want (Much) To Call You a "Retard" Anymore" post. I don't who sent me here. It might have been RWN or LaShawn B, or Powerline or Wizbang, or somebody I check out all the time, but I didn't even read that post. Too long. (You know us conservative intellectual types.) I'll get to it when I have more time.

I don't know what you need to change. You're fuckin nutzzz. I've been lmao looking at your shit. I will be back all the time. Keep it up you funny fuk.

Oh, and dammit to da begeezuz belt man.

Bang that cowbell.

Bang like the wind man.

Bang it like it stole from your mama, you fool bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

'cause sometimes you just gotta say...

NO, NO, NO DON'T 'SAY' JUST 'DO'!
DO THAT COWBELL THING AGAIN!

Why would anybody want a Bill O'Reilly book? That guy's a fucking putz. The only difference between him and Rather is that Bill KNOWS he's full of shit, Dan is too far gone to know the difference. Bill's been duping conservatives for years.

As far as your site goes, the only thing I don't like about it is the new format. I liked the old one better. It's still the first one I check every afternoon. I like the fact that you don't pretend to be unbiased like Instapunk does.

One more thing, MORE COWBELL!!!

Can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you what I like;

1. I like the swearing, because you do it well. When I used to hit an F-bomb on your site, it would usually be set up in such a way as to make me spit cola all over the computer.

2. I like the silly stuff that you throw in, like the Anka bit, or the day in the life of Michael Moore.

3. I like the rants where you disembowel leftist idiocy

4. I like that you will actually answer an email once in a while.

You never did explore what grandiose heights Miami Vice could take this blog. After all, what would happen if Crockett and Tubbs quit the police force and decided to become real estate agents who broke all the rules and went to any extremes to get the job done? What if the death of Tubbs' reclusive Russian uncle brought him a generous inheritance and aging Russian Aerospace company, prompting the duo to start the worlds first detective agency--in space.

Like David up there, I first ran into you with that D&D guide linked off of The Corner. What I always liked about the site was the merciless brand of humor you delivered regularly, with the occasional straight up essay to explain your own position while (gob)smacking around, say, Andrew Sullivan.

Incidently, if you want to get linked by Instapundit, the O-Dub Doctrine of insulting Glenn does have a proven record of success.

I've been a regular visitor to Roger Simon's site for while; and through his recommendation I started checking out Michael Totten. Unfortunately Totten turned out to be one of those "I hate labels" liberals who can't take a stand on anything without pointing out how "independent" and "sincere" he is. And then he was (a la Andrew Sullivan) always bemoaning his ostracization at the hands of the mean old "partisans" out there -- at the very same time he was starting to publish his lame prose and lamer ideas at Tech Central Station, and get high profile touts from Instapundit, etc. Oh boo hoo.

So I stopped reading his pap. But not before you ripped him a new one. That's when you hooked me. Like a lot of people, I started reading blogs because the MSM just wouldn't tell the truth, or if they did tell the truth you couldn't recognize it after they got done fucking with it. Well now the Big Boy bloggers are, IMAO, starting to act a wee bit like the MSM themselves as they watch out for their own. Their darling Michael J. Totten is a case in point. Even Andrew Sullivan during one of his ninny fits can drive the occasional point home. Totten on the other hand is all borrowed thunder. Take away his high-profile endorsements and he's batting a puny .190, easy.

So Ace, you done good by calling out Totten for being a poseur when no one else would. It was the elephant in the room and all that.

Now if someone would just notice that "Jane Galt" is a supercilious know-it-all...

I'm sorry Ace I took the weekend off and didn't get a chance to link to you, hence the numbers dropped ... I'll get right back on it.

I know I'm late to this party... And I had somehow missed the Totten dis. (Yes, I searched your blog and read it. Stellar.) Hey, Mr. Totten's back from Libya, and has a Very Special Article all about his trip coming up on some for-pay news site. I read it on Instapundit. I can hardly wait to not read it.

*mmmf* I meant I read the news about the impending Totten opus on Instapundit, not the opus itself.

Dude, *don't* *ever* *change*.

Except for the f-bomb. Too much F-bomb. But us holy rollers are like that, ya know.

And about that cowbell thing: More, More, More, that's how I like it, that's how I like it. But not *too* much 'cause we all know that 30 minutes of Facts of Life is way better than 60 minutes of same.