To the folks who sent me a note announcing their new blog:

First, I suppose I should thank you for cospamming me along with the likes of Josh Marshall, Glenn Reynolds, and Tom Tomorrow. I don't get mentioned in the same breath as them very often, and after being ignored by everyone's favourite wanker I was beginning to question whether I'd ever get noticed by a link slut. So thanks for giving me a little Stuart Smalley moment this morning.

Of course, when you think about it, the A List gets a ton of unsolicited mail, most of which gets ignored since they can barely keep up with the mail they want to read. You're just wasting your time spamming them. You'd be much better off aiming at B and C listers, who might actually have the time to read your mail and look at your blog.

If you do, though, you run the risk that one of those lower-tier fellas (like, say, me) might discover that he's been begged for a link by someone who hasn't already linked to him. Which might lead to him writing a sarcastic blog entry about clueless link sluts and their pathetic attempts to garner attention.

(Actually, on second look, you don't link to most of the people that received your spam. I haven't seen such chutzpah since a UN representative from an OPEC country complained about New York City's gas lines in 1979. Bravo!)

I've already written about some of the ways in which one can properly try to draw people to one's blog. Leaving good comments with your homepage URL, sending feedback to specific entries, writing responses to other people's stuff on your blog (two words, Sparky - "referral logs"), the list goes on but stops rather short of spamming. If I happen to come across your blog by these means in the future, I may pay you another visit. I may even respond to something you've written or (heaven forfend) give you that link you crave. I'm a forgiving chap. Until then, I'm applauding your blog with one hand and deleting the email you sent with the other. Have a nice day.