the Guppie Life

Hi, friends. I owe you a lot of updates. I’ve got a notepad next to my desk just brimming with future blog post ideas.

But I’ve been having a hard time staying motivated.

What’s wrong, you ask? I can’t really complain. I love my new car. I’ve been meeting boys. I’ve even made some meaningful contributions at work.

But Google hates me. More specifically, Google hates the Guppie Life. And I don’t know why.

Want to see for yourself?

See? All the results are talking ABOUT my blog. But Google doesn’t link to the blog itself. Back in the day it used to link to my blog and even my individual posts, but not for 6 months or so.

Sometimes people say Google does this as a punishment if a website owner has done something shady in an attempt to manipulate search rankings. But I haven’t, I swear! And of course, Google is a multi-billion dollar company. They aren’t going to take the time to explain to me why they’ve gone sour on me.

Why is this a big deal to me?

Well, search engine visitors are often the number one source of traffic to a blog. Many sites and blogs get up to as much as 90% of their traffic from search engines. Without appearing in the Google search results, many normal people (i.e. people who are not themselves also bloggers) will never find the Guppie Life. And without them I can’t become internet famous. (Joke.)

Fellow bloggers, I encourage you to read Can Google Be Trusted? from SEOBook.com. It could happen to you, too.

Anyway, I don’t think there’s much I can do about this. I just wanted to vent. Thanks for listening, friends.

Popularity: 40% [?]

Last night I upgraded my blogging software to the latest version. The process somehow restored functionality to the Guppie Life Comments feed, which had not been working for some time. (Oops.)

If you’d like, consider subscribing to the comments feed. It’ll keep you up-to-date on the conversations that happen in behind-the-scenes in the comments section.

  Subscribe to the Guppie Life comments in a reader

While you’re at it, why not subscribe to blog posts via RSS or via email newsletter?

Popularity: 42% [?]

I’ve had a great time these past few weeks getting to know my readers and fellow bloggers through my twitter profile. It’s addictive!

In fact, I’ve had such a good experience with Twitter that I’ve decided to invite you guys to IM me on a Google Talk account. The username is “guppielife” [at gmail dot com]. I don’t know yet how often I’ll be on, but if you see me signed on, say hi!

Popularity: 17% [?]

Mike from Broken Cupid is holding a contest. The prize: a free copy of the book “Gay and Single… Forever?”

Mike swears by the book, and I must admit he has piqued my curiosity. I like what I’ve read so far. Check out a free preview of “Gay and Single… Forever?” at Google Books.

One passage in particular struck a chord with me:

I had visions of walking hand in hand with my guy to the farmer’s market to pick up a loaf of blueberry bread from a local Mennonite baker, and then we’d go home to cuddle and read on a worn but comfortable sofa that screamed student chic. I was disappointed by my reality. For much of high school I sat on the sidelines and watched my straight peers date up a storm. That I could accept. After all, I was still in the closet, so who would I date? And yet, even after joining gay society, I was still on the fringe, witnessing guys coming out after me and getting into relationships before me.

Stop jumping the bloody queue! I wanted to shout.

Popularity: 16% [?]

As of yesterday, you can now subscribe to comments made on the Guppie Life using your favorite feed reader, such as Google Reader. By subscribing, you’ll be able to effortlessly follow the discussions that go on in the comments section of blog posts.

Not sure what all this RSS Feed stuff is about? Start here for a really good overview.

And as always, you can also subscribe to Guppie Life posts in a reader or via email by visiting the Subscribe page.

Popularity: 15% [?]