My popularity compared to Murry's - and a matter of disrespect

[Olaf Solstrand]

OK, where to start...

Ah, yes...

Daniel wrote:
> "I've lots of things to do, and I shouldn't be behind the
> computer now. I can't stand the temptation, though. Help!
> Can you all stop writing for a few hours? Thank you very
> much! :-)"

Hmm... sure... why not... Yeah, right! Sorry, Daniel, some of us just can't 
resist it! So I'm writing my letter anyway. But please don't tell Santa.




Also, I'm writing this because I know it will make me a much more popular 
Disney artist. Why is that? Well, one more DCML post gives one more Google hit. 
I'm thinking of making a million pages containing nothing but my name now, all 
linked to each other and available in Google. That way, I will be more popular 
than _CARL BARKS_!

Sigvald, just like you I enjoy testing something's popularity by searching for 
it in Google. But these numbers couldn't be less scientific. I tried looking 
through some of the hits one got by searching for "Olaf Solstrand", and most of 
them were... Well, NOT Disney-related. Thus, when you say "It's my assumption 
that Disney creators is a group of comparable individuals who would be 
mentioned in the internet for the same reason. The more popular they are the 
more they are mentioned" - please leave me out of those statistics.

Your poll shows me to be more popular than Paul Murry. Please keep in mind that
1) I'm an active user of the Internet. Paul Murry isn't.
2) I sign everything I write, both on DCML and on other places, with my full 
name.
3) I DO have other interests than Disney comics, so many of these pages are 
about other things, like student politics or creating web pages. As Disney 
comics is what Paul Murry is known for, not many web pages containing the 
text "Paul Murry" are non-Disney-related.
4) Most of these pages are discussion posts etcetera written by me or someone 
replying to me. That does not at all mean that _I_ am what is being discussed.

Please, keep on googling. Google is a powerful tool and a powerful toy. But 
don't take things like this too seriously. When comparing legends like Murry 
and newbies like me, please keep in mind that I _do_ sign a lot of things 
myself, and that I _do_ have other interests which may be online containing my 
name. Thus, using a google search only can NOT be seen as a scientific way of 
measuring popularity (although, I must confess I love searching for myself in 
Google, and I feel a little more popular every time I find something written by 
someone other than me - am I the only one?). As I said - a powerful toy, as 
long as you don't take it all TOO serious.

Also: Remember that people talking about you is not the same as people liking 
you. As Søren said, Osama Bin Laden makes dreadfully many hits in Google. But 
as a human being, how _popular_ is he? A lot of people talk about him, but that 
does not mean a lot of people would want him for president... or Danish Prime 
Minister, to follow that example. So, keep in mind: You have not only counted 
those who LIKE Carl Barks, you have also counted those who DON'T like Carl 
Barks.



Another question for Sigvald while I'm on the roll:

> c) The Italians have introduced their own characters: 
> James, Brigitta, etc. 

...and you think this shows disrespect of Barks? But... don't EVERYBODY use own 
characters? Does Don Rosa show disrespect of Barks for using Le Chavalier Noir 
in a few stories? Are D-coded stories featuring Oona or Sonny Seagull 
disrespectful to Barks? Was I disrespectful to Barks when I wrote a story 
containing a farmer never seen in a Barks story? Was Carl Barks disrespectful 
against Disney Comics when giving Donald an uncle Scrooge?

Uhm... Then I must have misunderstood something. I thought respect was a good 
thing. I see now that I am wrong. I hope to one day be as disrespected as Carl 
Barks was! Sigvald, these people loved the universe Carl Barks created enough 
to DEVELOP it! If that's disrespect, bring it on - I love it!



Olaf the Blue