Why is battlegrip.com Always so Random?
A few times — usually through places like Twitter, e-mail, and at conventions — I’m asked one question that really drives home just how confusing things can get. The question, paraphrased, comes down to something along the lines of:
Why is battlegrip.com always so random?
What is battlegrip.com?
I’ll assume that most of you reading this know that I stay pretty busy with work. My day job, for those of you who haven’t heard, is at Steve Jackson Games where I have the title of “Chief Operating Officer.” It’s my day to manage day-to-day operations and keep things moving, and as a side job to that I also handle a lot of our manufacturing needs/problems and work with staff to move projects along. It’s fun, yes, but it can be stressful at times.
battlegrip.com is where I unwind. I use the site to relax, posting about toys, art, or anything else I’m interested in at the time. There’s no outside force or weird agenda driving what goes up on the site. There’s just me and my brain . . . and what I feel like doing to relax at that exact moment in time.
Waves of Weirdness
And that “do what I want” approach means that there are times when something really stupid happens. Like in the last week when I ran four Franken Berry toy reviews one after the other. I did this because I was entertained by the idea and having fun. Trust me, traffic proves that very few of you wanted to see pics or read about Franken Berry toys. But I had fun, so the reviews were successful for me.
And then there’s days when a bunch of Transformers posts appear, or Batman, or . . . well, I think you get the idea. I’ve said before that what often happens is I find a toy that really speaks to me and will inspire me to get even deeper into a line, and that usually leads to a wave of related reviews. Those end when something else catches my eye or a toy in the line simply kills my excitement.
The Freedom is Fun
Not answering to anyone but myself means that I have the freedom to post whatever I want, and that freedom is a hell of a lot of fun for me. Posts about books I’ve read, comics that have caught my eye, and games that look interesting mix right in with posts about toys and art and I love that I get few complaints when I do something unusual like write a review about a dictionary. Actually, that one inspired zero complaints so it’s a bad example. Anyway, I’m sure you know what I mean.
For Example, this Post is Pointless
See, this post right here proves that the site is random and I’m free to post anything. I wrote this simply because of a conversation that I had that was focused on the strangeness of both a Batman review and a book review appearing yesterday. And no, it wasn’t a Batman book. Hell, it wasn’t even a comic.
But both items were things in my brain at that time. And that’s why they both happened at once.
Anyway, regardless of my reasons for what I post here at battlegrip.com I appreciate all of you who come along and read my rambling nonsense and look through the various photos that I post. It may be a fun way for me to relax, but without people reading — and the comments and discussions that sometimes appear — the site would grow boring for me very quickly. So thank you, everyone, for visiting. And I promise to stay as random as I can.
I enjoy the randomness! Keep up the good work.
Amen!
I nearly quit PGPoA last year because I wasn’t having any fun with it. I’m still struggling to make it fun even now.
So I totally understand why you run the site the way you do, and I say, more power to you!
I totally agree with you. I get the same questions as well. Like you, i’ve realized that my site is more for me than it is for anyone that might care to read it. we both post whatever the heck we want and if someone likes it, great. if not, that’s ok too. keep up the great work!
Diversity is why your site is one of my top ten Phil. Don’t change a thing. On another unrealted note, check out the Art Spirits Active Gear Iron Man Mark VI. One of the best Iron Man figs I currently own, and worth the Benjamins! Peace!
@Tommy – Thanks! Nice to hear someone thinks I do good work. 😉
@Poe Ghostal – Closing down would suck. I hope you can find a way to be happy and have fun with the site.
@toybot studios – I love that you put up some stuff I would never even think to look at. The knife posts, for example, are an entire field I’d never looked closely at before. Some of those knives are works of art.
@zachary – Art Spirits? Haven’t heard of that. Time for me to search the web.
Random is great!
At least you have the courtesy to post most every day. I find I wind up with about a post a month at this point between the Everything I have going on.
@Poe – how do you MAKE it interesting to yourself to post all the time? One of those strange questions we only can ask ourselves in the internet age. Once it feels like work, then meh.
i would not change a thing about this site. i love it as is. keep up the great work and content. be yourself!
@DoctorKent – Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone, but I cheat. When I find a block of time — usually early mornings or on weekends — I write and schedule several posts. And before a trip I try to pack as many posts as possible into the system so that the site stays updated while I am on the road.
@rupert_valero – Deal! I’ll keep writing random nonsense if you’ll keep reading it.
Hey Phil, check out this link to get a gander at the Art Spirits Active Gear Iron Man Mark VI
( http://minus.com/mLFcemcNH/1g#1g )
It’s slightly stylized which some could find fault in, but let me tell you, for sheer overall fit, finish, and playability, it’s stunning. Can’t wait for the the Mark V and War Machine they are doing. Sign me up!
Nothing wrong with random, man. In fact, you could even go more random. Today, Iron Man busts; tomorrow, spatulas. (Actually, you’re doing great, so don’t change anything!)
I follow about 300 RSS feeds and I’m guessing
about half of them are blogs. I don’t follow
blogs because they’re consistently posting a
great post after great post after great post.
I follow them because at least once a month
they post something I find interesting. My
guess is that someone who is bothered by a
blog that posts random content follows only
a few blogs hoping that those few blogs will
give them all the news on the topic(s) they’re
interested in.