Blogger, The Candid Truth Goes Off On BNN And Quits Blogging

GO HERE for the original Post.

"One More Thing

I wrote this yesterday and wasn’t sure if I was going to post it but in light of today I thought I would.

First I want to say I have been honored with the comments and emails that have been sent regarding the closing down of The Candid Truth. It makes me realize that all the work and effort I put into the blog was really worth something and not just a waste of time. So thank you for the kind words.

I have debated if I should reveal this as I think overall BNN is an asset to bloggers. While the constant writing was taking up way too much time, much more than I had ever anticipated it would there was another reason for ending The Candid Truth. Part of my decision to stop blogging was that I asked BNN to drop me from their website. They refused claiming First Amendment privileges. I find this odd in the fact that I had to ask to be added to their site which to me would make it a voluntary act. Also when I was first asked I was turned down because my site was not deemed political enough for the editor. I actually had to explain who I was and my connection to politics here in Anne Arundel County before I was approved.

So while the primary reason was the time, that was the last nudge I needed to quit.
Of course some of you might have already guessed why I was asked to be taken off. The oddest thing about this situation is that the editor knows there is a problem and claims they are working on a fix, but this was first brought up months ago and nothing has been done as yet. I thought they had solved the problem a couple of weeks ago but was wrong. I also think that that week showed the system is up for manual manipulation. To satisfy one blogger who made a complaint they threw the main manipulator down the list. When I made my complaint to them the next week I was number one. So it certainly looks as if, when they want, they can pick and choose where they want people to be. The editor at BNN seems to think that anyone in the top ten or twenty political blogs in the state just should not complain about the system that he has acknowledged as flawed and is being manipulated. He does not understand why people would complain about being cheated. Maybe I should say he doesn't understand why people would want to compete in a completly fair system. The logic behind his thinking is ludicrous. If I am going to spend as much time as I did trying to make a blog worth reading I expect the system by which my site is judged by BNN to work fairly for everyone which it absolutely has not. If a site has better numbers than mine I can live with that as there are many that do, this has nothing to do with my position overall as I know some sites pull fantastic numbers. I showed the BNN editor one sites numbers compared to mine in which mine were slightly better. Of course he knew why the other site was ranked higher in his admittedly severely flawed ranking system.

What I find to be the worst part is that knowing there is a loophole that is being exploited they have done nothing to address it which would be as simple as sending out a request for the practice to be stopped. For whatever reason BNN is unwilling to address their flawed program which is unfortunate as to me it makes them look bad. They want to play big man with Political Blog yet they openly let their system be manipulated. That speaks to me of being totally amateurish and maybe their only real motive is profit as others have suggested. I find it totally ironic that today on their blog ratings with me at numbers twenty and the person that does the most manipulation at number one. Here are mine and his numbers from this week pulled today. If this does not demonstrate to all what bullshit is going on I don’t know what will, then you take into account that Red Maryland has 2,600 visits far outpacing the number one person you know it is nothing but sheer manipulation of the numbers that BNN does not want to deal with and thinks that everyone should be happy because they list our sites. I for one will not play their fixed game and so for me it made my decision to stop blogging for now an easy one. Before I go let me say this to assuage the minds of those who think I am just whining. There was a recent post about sign stealing, where a certain person was mad because signs were being stolen and asked everyone to stop “If you're doing it: stop. If you know who's doing it: turn them in”, in my mind this is no difference as it comes down to treating each other with respect and decency. That is my biggest complaint wit BS, if he had won the election fairly without the games he played I would absolutely have no reason to oppose him and I would most likely still be a supporter of his as I was when he first came to me and Dwyer and asked to run on our slate. Anyway here are the raw numbers so you can see for yourself. Now admittedly we don't know all the factors that go into BNN system, but this should give an idea because there are sites that do way more postings than anyone and are not number one. There are sites with a lot more commets that are number one. The trick to working BNN's system is the crossposting, of that there is no doubt and is acknoledged as a problem by the editor at BNN.



The Candid Truth Site Summary
VISITS
Total 10,787
Average Per Day 87
Average Visit Length 1:40
Last Hour 3
Today 16
This Week 607

PAGE VIEWS
Total 16,481
Average Per Day 135
Average Per Visit,1.6
Last Hour 5
Today 26
This Week 947


Number One Position Site Summary
VISITS
Total 12,501
Average Per Day 79
Average Visit Length 1:57
Last Hour 2
Today 15
This Week 551

PAGE VIEWS
Total 22,192
Average Per Day 122
Average Per Visit 1.5
Last Hour 3
Today 21
This Week 853"

This is not only a shame, it's out of line. Bloggers are finally starting to see the light. This is a major loss to Bloggers and those people that read them.