Thursday, September 2, 2010

My Phantom Blog

Posted by Bruce Miller
Just like a man whose leg has been amputated, I've been feeling the presence of this blog during the last several months even though it hasn't been a part of my on-going reality. Once a post is written--and it turns out I've written over 500 posts--it lives on in ether eternity. When someone--anyone--Googles anything from Southbury Summer Playhouse to Lil Wayne, this blog shows up on a radar screen.

In the month of its lowest readership, August 2010, 1,604 people stopped in to visit the Barksdale Buzz. When readership was at its peak (5,370 visits in Oct of last year) 173 readers stopped in every day.

We added zero content to the blog last month (hence the low turnout), and yet 1,604 people showed up for the party. They came after Googling to learn more about Crumbs by Israeli theatre artist Ravid Davera, or David Crank's Emmy Award-winning Art Direction of John Adams, or David Cromer's final Off Broadway performance as the Stage Manager in Our Town. Google, God bless their giga-byting hearts, directed them to Shalom from Israel - May 26 2007, or The Clean Lobby - Sept 23 2008, or My Regards to Broadway Part II - Aug 27 2009--three pages found (you guessed it) on the Barksdale Buzz.

Of course, I'm sure they Googled a million other things as well, and found them mentioned somewhere on this blog. Maybe they Googled your name, and found you here.

Our Marketing Director, Sara Marsden, is fast becoming a master of social and technological media, and she's been urging me to jump back into the blogosphere to help increase visibility (and connectivity) for Barksdale and Theatre IV. So here I am. I'll be writing shorter pieces, I hope, but once again enjoying the opportunity to share some of the thoughts going on behind the scenes at your theatres.

Keep those cards and comments comin'. I hope this will be a two-way conversation. We love to hear from you.

--Bruce Miller

2 comments:

Thespis' Little Helper said...

Crumbs by Ravid Davara is an incredibly moving and funny play. I'm not sure if there's a good English translation yet, but if there is, give it a read!

Jody Strickler said...

Glad you're back! I enjoy the perspective you bring to a wide variety of topics. Oh, and I am ever grateful for the constant work you do to promote awareness of nonprofit Arts as a vital part of the economy! Many thanks!