Behind The Blog: It’s our four year anniversary. Thank you!

Thanks for four years, Taylor Nation.

Here at the Swift Agency, just a guy who started out with his first ever post back on November 10 of 2009, we’ve come a long way. Well, we still don’t have a coffee maker and the guys at the Ninja Department never show up for work (or do they?) but this ain’t Hollywood.

Four years ago, a little writing experiment started. Writing has always been a passion of mine, but finishing a story seems to take an incredible amount of tim and effort. Blogging is a different animal. Four years ago, watching Taylor Swift interviews and vlogs ate most of my free time. Media articles seemed to be completely clueless about her though. The more things change, the more they stay the same. That writing about the Enchantress would garner me a readership was unexpected. Getting a few hits a day would constitute a thrill. Nowadays it’s… well let’s say sometimes the number of visitors is wonderful and puzzling at the same time.

The reason why this website started is the same reason why it goes on. Just be aware that it’s going to sound very presumptuous and lame. Feel free to unsubscribe at any time. The following will be completely my biased opinion: most sites get it wrong.

Professional media sites are good when they are professional. When they are two-faced, backstabbing and completely misinformed but report rumors and half truths, we got a problem. When they still think of Taylor as being twelve years old, we also got a problem. And when Taylor’s only songs are “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story”… well, please update your references. Is it too much to ask?

The number one problem with a lot of sites, and  is that they fall in love with the graphics. Yes, you need a header and sidebars and so forth… but why are the news less than 25% of the page? Here’s my rule of thumb and almost every fan site in Earth breaks it: You make your readers scroll to read just the title of the news today. Think about it like a folder newspaper. A lot of us are lazy readers and don’t want to scroll. You need to grab me with the title, or at least the promise of a picture I haven’t seen before, on the first half. If you need me to scroll I might just decide to click away instead.

Since we’re on the subject, you might as well hear my pet peeve: interviewers with an ego. I understand there are TV and radio personalities out there. They’ve forged an image, so they get away with talking about themselves. That reminds me of why I prefer to be a writer: the subject should be the person interviewed, not yourself. This is true in a lot of ways but specially in a grammatical way: please do not begin all your phrases with “I…” that makes you the subject. Yes, some phrases will have to begin with it but please, not all of them.

Learn to use your passive voice. Make the person you interview the center of your chat.  Also, if you can avoid putting that special accent or sing-song on the “I…” that would help a bit. Then again, if you’re successful you probably can get away with it and don’t need to listen to me. This is my opinion after all. All of it. If it’s written in this site, it’s contaminated by me. That’s the whole idea of me writing this up.

Sometimes, specially after a particularly busy week of managing real life and the blog, the sensible thing has appeared to be stopping. But then, she says something else and I want to put it somewhere in the internet, give it the proper justice and frame it up with all the words. Sometimes, it just gets addictive all over again. And honestly, how often does she say something cute, smart, funny, silly, wonderful, tragic and inspiring at the same time…? Ok, ok, how many times a day…? I usually don’t have to wait too much to have another reason to write.

There are also reasons not to write though. Sometimes, the spotlight is too focused on her. I try to keep it light or thoughtful. Although we want to know where Taylor is most of the time, nowadays I avoid the personal stuff unless she brings it up. Same with the Agency. Differentiate the news. If it comes out on Twitter, cool. Facebook can be tricky. If there’s doubt or if it’s based on a paparazzi shot… No dice. I did it once or twice in the past and regretted it instantly. Nowadays, avoiding it unless you’re certain or delaying it until there’s official confirmation seem better approaches that just posting it for views.

Sometimes it’s good to diversify. There’s good reasons for that. The Agency is the main reason. Mallary Hope is another guest star. Elizabeth Huett is now on her own and a fix here. There’s still news on The Civil Wars. And from time to time, the spotlight (in my case it’s a bit of a flashlight) shines on other independent artists.

Hey, you made it this far. Whether you’ve been reading for four years or just found this page, you are a reader. Thank you 🙂

Coming up on the Calendar!

• November 10: The four year anniversary of this blog thing!
• November 10: The MTV EMA Awards. Taylor Swift is up for Best Pop, Best Female and Best Live.
• November 14: The 2013 Billboard Touring Awards take place at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, NY. Taylor Swift’s RED Tour is nominated for the Top Package Award. Taylor is also nominated for the Eventful Fans’ Choice Award.
• November 20: Mallary Hope opens for Corey Smith at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, CA. Click here for ticket information.

(Sources: TheSwiftAgency.com)