Tuesday, December 11, 2012

An Unsponsored Post

I don't get this whole cat thing on the Internet. What is it about cats? Seriously, what is it? More people like dogs, more people have dogs, yet it's cats that populate the web. Is it because cats are so weird? I'm sort of inclined to believe that. Cats are insane, and people want to watch it. Like a train wreck. Sure, dogs are cute, but they don't do things like this:
And, well, other things that the cat quits doing as soon as I get out my camera. He sits up and looks at me like "I don't know what you're talking about. I was just sitting here. Maybe you're insane."

And, maybe, I am. But that's beside the point.

Or, maybe, it's all a plot by cats to take over the web. A great PR campaign or something. Whatever it is, the few posts I did about our cat interloper got an inordinate amount of page views, which I just don't understand.

Those posts also lead to an offer of a sponsored post. My first. It was a lot of money. Okay, so it wasn't really a lot of money, but it was a LOT of MONEY. More money than I've made all year on e-sales of my book stuff. All because of the cat. And I have to say it was tempting. Oh so very tempting.

I mean, that's the goal, right? To make money off my writing? But there was an issue. I had to advertise for the people that would be paying me to write the post, and the post itself wasn't such a big deal; it was supposed to be about celebrities doing work to save pets or some such. That sounds good, right? But the people that wanted me to do this are from an online gambling website, and I would have had to post links to their site in the post, and I just couldn't bring myself to do that. Yeah, I'm not a supporter of organized gambling.

At any rate, it was kind of a surreal experience. On the one hand, it was, well, it was nice to get asked, to be recognized, you know? On the other hand, it had less to do with me and my actual writing than it had to do with the fact that I had put up a few posts about a cat. And, then, there was the whole gambling thing. It was kind of a bummer to have to turn them down. It was, after all, the first (and only) time I've had an offer like this, and, of course, the thought is, "If I turn them down will that mean I will never get another offer like this?"
That's kind of hard to say, but the one thing I did know, do know, is that I didn't want it to turn into an ongoing series of posts supporting some gambling website.

So... here's my unsponsored post that's not really about cats at all, although there is a cat in it, and  the cat sort of started it. I wonder what the cat would think about that. It's probably all a part of his infiltration plan anyway. Get into a new house and get the people to post pics of him on the Internet, thus spreading the control of Catkind across the world.

Personally, I think cats are still just upset about losing that whole godhood thing that the ancient Egyptians gave them. They're still trying to get it back...

17 comments:

  1. Cats can make you do what they want. They just have to look at you and you're hooked! Or maybe that's just in my house.

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  2. My cat Fang owns me. She's sitting here right beside me as I type this and somehow before she even asks for it, I'll know she's hungry and will get up and bring her food. Yeah, they're still gods.

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  3. Cats are weird!
    I couldn't do advertising for a gambling site. I don't do any advertising period. That's not what my site is about. I get requests to advertise a couple times a month (usually movie or school related) and I always say no.

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  4. I prefer pictures of bulldogs to cats.

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  5. I've never been a fan of cats, but definitely if I could get my hands on one that could make money so that I could just set at home, oh yeah! I don't blame you on being particular and not wanting your link on a gamblers site, but gamblers read! j/k Definitely enjoyed your posting!

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  6. Maybe the cats have it all figured out??? Acting weird is giving them a lot of face time. :)

    I think it would be hard to write and advertise for something you don't support. A good way to loose credibility and possibly frustrate readers...it's a hard decision, though, when moneys involved.

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  7. Good for you not selling out. Briane Pagel woulda snapped up that offer in a heartbeat which is why his blogs are so ugly.

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  8. Cats know a lot of things. They are probably smarter than we are (they at least act like it) so we are intimidated easily by them. They definitely know when you are going to take a picture of them that will show them in an unfavorable (meaning silly) light. People should be so smart.
    I'm betting it was a good idea to pass on the gambling gig. The cat would have, too.

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  9. You're right, Cats haven't forgotten what once they had. Felines will rise again. Right after the Mayan thing.

    I've had dogs and cats, and cats are more apt to play with an owner's mind. The dog, on the other hand, considers you a buddy.

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  10. Suzanne: Well, we're not quite that bad, but I do understand, now, where the comparisons between women and cats come from.

    Anne: LOL
    They certainly know how to establish their rule.

    Alex: If it had been a simple banner request, I wouldn't even have thought about it, but they were offering to pay me to write which is why I ad to think about it.

    PT: I'm not into the whole Internet cat thing myself.

    G_G: I've never been a fan of cats, either. I'm still not. I just happen to have this -one- cat that I like.

    Rebecca: Yeah, cats certainly know how to get the publicity.

    Michael: Now, see, if only someone would offer to pay me to write something about Star Wars!

    Donna: I'm not at all certain the cat would have. I think the cat would have taken the offer so that he could do some weird cat thing to them.

    D.G.: I love my dog! She's the cutest thing ever.

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  11. I read once that dog owners have dog parks to share their pets with others, so cat owners, with their less sociable pets, decided to use the internet for the same purpose. Personally I just find cats adorable and can't get enough of the silly things people post about them. Maybe they have some internet activated superpower.

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  12. I like cats very much, but I would prefer a German sheperd anytime to a cat.

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

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  13. Put it this way - I haven't visited anybody's blog all week, well, hardly at all, but I saw you wrote about your cat and HERE I AM!!!!

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  14. I get emails sometimes about my blog, but I assume they're all spam so I never even read them. What if I've missed out?

    Still, I think it's cool that you've been offered money. You can prove you're principled now. You've turned down money.

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  15. Jeanne: Maybe that's what it is. Maybe their brains are the Internet! That makes an odd kind of sense.

    Gina: Well, I have a half German shepherd and a cat. That's sort of the same.

    Cathy: You know, I really don't know what to say about that except that maybe I should just post a cat pic every day.

    Rusty: Is that it what it takes? Turning down money? I'm gonna have to remember that.

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  16. I still haven't gotten the cat thing, but I guess that's what it's all about. Maybe I need to do a few cat posts. I'd have to get the images from someone else though.

    Lee
    A Faraway View

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  17. Lee: I don't think I'll ever get the cat thing.

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