Confused and Slightly Intrigued

I know that this blog is not widely read. Or at least I knew that last week.

I know that I'm not that important. I'm hard to Google. I also know that I don't check very often, I'm not that narcissistic. Seaching "Ghosts in the Game" does find this blog. Searching my common username "GameGhost" pulls up at least couple of hits that are me (the Experimental Gameplay Project, and a wildly out of date profile on the Great Games Experiment). Searching my name is an act of futility and more likely to turn up the town of Duncan, BC than anyone of my likeness.

I know that a few people read my blog (hi Dad!), because I get occasional comments. I've even been cross linked from a few blogs that I read regularly and comment on (I really should update my links section sometime this year). But I honestly don't promote this site. I don't really have the time or desire. Most of what I post here isn't for mass consumption, it's for me. I certainly don't blog with any expectation of readership or, heaven forfend, monetary gain. I don't pay for this site, I don't host adds, I put very little in but my time, and I get very little out again but the satisfaction of a post well written.

And yet, and not for the first time in the past few months, I've been sent solicitations about my gaming website. Often these e-mails are looking for free linkage and promotion for their site or game. I'm stingy, and selective (and lazy) so these are easily discarded. Once or twice it was a group blog looking for new members. I can't keep a schedule for this blog, so there would be little chance of helping out on another. But now I've gotten what appears to be an offer for a review copy of a game. Based on my website.

Now, firstly, I did some checking - yes, it seems legit. But what part of the e-mail is just a blanket missive and what part is actual appreciation of my writings here? Is there any way to tell?

I guess I'm just at a loss here of what to think. It's ego-stroking to hope that I've made enough of an impact with my occasional mental meanderings that I've attracted attention. It is far more likely that a general search of game bloggers has simply turned up my blog and e-mail alongside hundreds and thousands of others. It would be nice to be able to do reviews without the $60 hit to my wallet. It would be interesting to get the chance to analyze up and coming titles, and look behind the scenes of games in production. But I'm no game journalist, and this site (as far as I know) has no mainstream impact. Is there a point?

The idea of it is nice, but the reality is that I don't have the mindset to make this simple blog more than it is: a place for me to put forth my ideas to a small group of peers. At least, not yet.

But maybe I should look into setting up some site analysis anyway.