Featured Blog: Gate 21 - Life, the Universe, and College Football

Website: Gate 21

Interview With: Matt

When did you start your blog?

November 2007

What made you start it?

Just wanted a creative way to participate in the sports discussion and found blogging to be the easiest method to do this which allowed me the flexibility to say what I want, when I want without having to worry about being filtered or having to fit my thoughts into a model developed by others. Also really enjoy the graphic arts side of the web, and added that as a sub-part of my blog.

What is your background?

Tennessee Alum and season ticket holder, a practicing attorney by trade.

Do you blog for fun or are you trying to make it a career? What is your goal with this blog?

As much as I would love to make some money from blogging, I haven’t. Be that as it may, my primary goal is to do it for fun — it is a creative outlet which is as fun as it is challenging.

What was your tipping point? What put you on the map? (if you bring in more the 5,000 uniques a month)

Not yet to the 5,000 uniques a month status. I focus on my message (a/k/a original written and graphic content) and though it has slowed my growth a bit, I have tried to avoid simply using gratuitous pictures of scantily clad women to draw hits — there are a few on my site occasionally, but it isn’t a regular thing. My most popular attraction is my Tennessee Home for the Visually Offensive, which is a collection of photoshopped/farked photos related to sports.

What type of blogging software do you use?

WordPress 2.3.3 (self-hosted); PhotoPlus 11, Inkscape, and Post2Blog.

What ad network(s) do you use?

Currently use Adify (YardBarker Network), Commission Junction, and a few direct affiliations. May be switching to Adify exclusively due to better payment structure.

How much money do you make off your site monthly?

A few dollars, never more than $ 5.00

If you could get something for free to help you out with your blog, what would it be? (Ex: design, marketing, ad optimization, etc)

Advertising Optimization, I suppose. Graphically I am happy with it — I do all my own graphics, mainly would just like to get more traffic.

What are some of your favorite blogs?

Loser With Socks, Rocky Top Talk, Everyday Should Be Saturday, Brahsome, Busted Coverage, Your Mother Slept With Wilt Chamberlain, 3rd Saturday in Blogtober, Deadspin, Hugging Harold Reynolds, Fulmer’s Belly, Get the Picture, etc.

Any bold predictions for the future of sports on the internet?

The internet is just going to continue to grow as a medium for sports coverage and expression. I imagine that the primary mode of delivery of live content will eventually be Internet-based. The real question is whose content will win — the marketplace of ideas is becoming more and more crowded, with less and less real difference in some areas. In the end, however, as is the case with all blogging, content sells.