Tuesday, April 18, 2006

 

Breaking the curse of the cross-post

At one point in South of the Border, West of the Sun, the hero's father-in-law tells him that the hero's wife happens to be his (the father's) favorite child. The older man admits that no parent is supposed to play favorites, but that one cannot help it. I've always wondered about that[1]. Now I know. Sitemeter reports confirm the sad truth - this has officially become the less favorite child.

Cross-posting at two blogs is pointless. At some point, readers smarten up and go to just one. In my case the chosen one appears to be the other one. How do I give each of these identical twins his / her own personality? And at the same time ensure that we remain a family? If I followed the example of countless Indian, indeed Asian movies[3], the differentiation strategy would be simple. Starting from the simplest to the more sophisticated , I could:

1. Make an X mark against all posts in one blog but not the other. Well, the blogs already look different. Don't see what another X is going to add or take away.
2. Out myself on one, but not the other. And compete with myself? Besides which, I suspect that Earl Stanley Garnder sold more books as Earl Stanley Gardner than he did as AA Fair.
3. Tamizh-ize my posts at Stochastica. Become some sort of a web-enabled Junoon? Hmm... Not a bad idea.
4. Decide on an arbitrary boundary, and stick to it. Countries do it, why shouldn't I? Let's pick something random - I know - the names! Posts on books, movies and life go here. Assorted random stuff to Stochastica. Hmm...Also interesting - but pretty much all the random stuff I care enough to write about is to do with books, movies or life. There isn't going to be much differentiation this way.

So, turning into Junoon looks like the best option. Yikes! I think I'll think some more. I just heard the Pidivaadam tune in my head, and want to fight it out some more before admitting defeat. Meanwhile, I'll randomly post different things at both blogs.

[1] Thanks to my being an only child [2], the question used to be one of idle curiosity and nothing more.
[2] If you're thinking, "Oh, this explains so much", come off it, will you?
[3] I've watched Seeta aur Geeta starring everyone from Sridevi to Jackie Chan and yes, Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Comments:
Smart Move. Methinks you should stick to one blog only, and you know which one I want you to stick to ;)

And pliss, dont go around Tamilizing your posts.. that other blog wants your book posts too. Badly.
 
Gee, someone reads this blog after all :) Thank you for making me feel wanted !
 
doz,
If it consoles you in anyway ;), I re-read the cross-posted posts here as well! I actually do.
 
Zero: It consoles me in a BIG way! Thank you :)
 
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