Greetings,
When I started blogging at Abysitter.com in late 2008, it was because I’d heard rumors that websites catering to the ABDL community would soon be shutting down.
I’d made only a fraction of the friends I’ve made in the years since, but to me in 2008 it seemed like the possibility of our community vanishing would basically be the end of the world!
I decided to be proactive. I reserved the dot com extension of my username - Abysitter - and started sharing my ABDL story on a Blogger blog with the same name in the hopes that, if/when our sites folded, at least a few people I’d gotten to know might remember that I had a blog and thus be able to find me - and, I hoped, keep our friendships going.
That fear probably seems unfathomable in the Fetlife and Tumblr era - our community’s presence online is basically exploding with new people entering it every single day - but it was very real to me, and many of us, at the time.
We were one or two ABDL sites going out of business away from losing all of our diaper connections.
So I started blogging. A few days into this new experiment I installed a blog counter I’d found on another blog. I watched it day after day, but it was clear that, for a while at least, I was my blog’s only reader.
It would be a little while before I’d get a viewer besides myself, and I still remember how excited I was!
Later, I’d get my first blog comment.
And even later still, a reader would email me after reading an entry on my blog!
These gradual milestones would, slowly and over time, become more frequent.
Fast forward nine years and nearly 1,500 entries later. My blog has 1,500 entries, many of them from community contributors, and so much has happened here…
- Four contests, including this one.
- The Q&A Series, which has hosted more than 70 questionnaires filled out by members of our community.
- An e-book that would sell more than 100 copies, partially funding some contest prizes and some of my other efforts, and…
- The ‘Origins of ABDL’ poll, launched in January of this year, which received more than 1,500 respondents - some of you may have attended my class at CAPCON, and there will be lots more on this coming in the near future.
Nine years ago I was so excited when I got my first email from a reader. In the years since I’ve received so many emails I - to my great shame - fail to even respond to them all.
I long ago lost count of the emails and texts I’ve gotten from members of the community contacting me to let me know that something they read in my blog made a difference in their own development of their ABDL persona.
But it never stops feeling amazing.
When someone emails me to let me know that a particular story meant something to them - especially one I wrote all those years ago - chills.
When I meet a young ABDL for the first time and they whip out my ID and remind me of the blog entry they read where someone else did the same, it reminds me that, while I’m meeting them for the first time, they already know a lot about me from my blog.
Last year I walked around CAPCON and lurked as people talked about the fact that I was teaching a class at the event. I felt guilty eavesdropping as people heaped praise on my blog. But it also felt so fucking good, and I couldn’t resist.
A highlight of my blogging experience would have to be when I was standing outside my CAPCON class just before it started this year, nervously going over some of what I was going to say in my head. A guy walked up to me and asked if the classroom behind me was “the Abysitter speech.” I told him it was, and he, not realizing it was me at the door, confided that attending “this class was the reason I came to Chicago.”
That feels beyond amazing.
Just this week someone contacted me on Twitter, quoting a portion of BabySideKick’s Q&A and telling me that the words he’d read there could have basically been his own. We talked about the subject of the paragraph he’d read - one on purging - and I urged him to reach out to Jesse directly to discuss it some more.
The fact that contributors to my blog are getting the same reception my stuff has makes me absolutely joyous, and I look forward to what I hope will be more years of that to come.
I remember how slowly the views came at first, so when I started realizing my blog had gained some sort of popularity I was both excited and kind of fearful.
I wasn’t just blogging for me and some friends anymore…
The height of my blog’s popularity was probably early 2011. It was receiving an average of 150-160 unique daily views.
Then I spent two amazing weeks with a vanilla friend who Pamped up for me the entire time. I purged a little afterward, and in the midst of that de-activated my blog for a bit when the next stop of his journey discovered it on his browser.
Around that same time Tumblr was becoming popular. My blog, which had given people a place to showcase ABDL photoshoots that they couldn’t then showcase in a set like that anywhere else, was the Tumblr of 2008 - 2011, really. So when actual Tumblr began to become popular as more than just a dumping ground for stolen photos, viewership of my blog fell off a bit.
Over time I became less active. A promotion at my old job, and freelancing, plus more opportunities to meet ABDLs visiting Orlando… whatever the reason, I just started blogging less. And, with that, the views decreased even more.
Still, they never stopped coming. Even at my lowest point - battling depression, purging, and struggling in some areas of my life - 50+ people every day would visit my blog. Sure, they’d leave disappointed, because I went days or even weeks in between posts for a bit. Still, they’d come, hoping to find new content, and that knowledge was what brought me back to blogging - that time and several times since.
When I ‘disappear’ and people who read the blog realize it hasn’t been updated and reach out to me to make sure I’m alright… I can’t tell you how much that has helped me.
Even just realizing how many people have come by the blog in my absence helps.
I remember when a spanking blog I follow got its first million pageviews. They had a celebration, and I remember thinking that’s obnoxious - who counts views like that?
When I realized my own blog was closing in on its millionth view years later, I’d come to realize what those numbers signify.
Every single one of them is someone who came to the blog.
But some of those views represent someone who came to the blog and found something.
Some clicked once, realized it was 99% guys, and never returned.
Others clicked through page after page after page, taking in the pictures and reading my stories or, later, the Q&As submitted by members of the community.
And some of you, I know, have actually read every single entry.
I meet people at places like CAPCON and realize that there are people in our community who know my blog better than I do.
After nine years of this, I’ve forgotten the details of some of the stories. There are some in our community who haven’t. And that’s when I realize that they make up dozens, or hundreds, or even thousands of the million views. When I realize how much one of my stories, or a guest entry, or the words in a Q&A, mean to some of you, I realize that the blog’s page views represent way more than a number.
That’s when the millionth view becomes more than just a celebration of some ‘milestone’ I never thought in a million years I’d ever reach.
It is recognition of what some of the content here has meant to some of you - and, of what your viewership - especially when I really needed to know it was continuing - has meant to me.
A total of 53 people participated in this year’s contest. There were a total of 57 entries, all competing for 16 prizes, most of which were donated by sponsors - businesses in the ABDL community - and a few of which are backed by me.
I worked for more than a month before the contest announcement to secure sponsors.
I understand that some companies are barely making ends meet, struggling to survive in a community deluged with competition for your diaper dollars, so I don’t fault the companies who don’t support events, and contests, and other things of that nature.
But I do believe that the companies that are in this for more than the almighty dollar deserve recognition, as well as our support.
For this contest, those sponsors are:
Cosy ’n’ Dry, who offered to create a custom onesie and donate a pair of frilly pants
EuroDL, who is donating their DotsBody onesie
Kinky Diapers, who are donating a pair of rubber pants from their Basic Line
I won’t name the ABDL companies I didn’t hear back from, but they actually include some who reached out to me for free publicity when they were just starting up. (I’ve never charged any company or event for promotional posts, and don’t trade free diapers for publicity - every single item I’ve ever received for free from a merchant has gone straight to you guys in the form of contest prizes). The irony that some companies are quick to reach out when they need help, but can’t find their inbox when I run a contest, makes each of the companies above who do support this stuff even more special.
I did hear back from two companies - one anonymous and one to remain unnamed - who wanted to show their support but felt that they could not participate because they’ve received bad publicity in the community and they are afraid to offend anyone by lending their support to things, especially blogs whose primary readership is male, gay, or etc.
That diaper drama contributes to less support is unfortunate - but again, as you make your choice of which merchants to shop, remember those who support the contests you enter, the munches you attend, and the websites and forums you frequent.
I'm not saying you have to enter ‘Thank you for sponsoring Cwis’s contest’ in the ‘Special Instructions’ field of your next order, hehehe! But always let the ABDL merchants you support know how much you appreciate them, and especially why.
I have a lot of exciting stuff coming up for the blog.
I’m going to be doing a big push for Q&A contributors, and will be featuring some of the recent (and some new) in an improved format. Want to do a Q&A? Read them all here.
The data from my WhyABDL Survey is just waiting to be explored further and shared with a wider audience. Plan to see some of that here over the summer. Read more about that here.
The ‘Luvs Boat’ goes back into the water in a few weeks, and I’m looking forward to showcasing diapered visitors all summer and fall. Want to visit?
My blog hits its 10th Anniversary in November 2018 - maybe another contest of some kind? Who knows…
Hoping to teach another class at CAPCON 2019, and maybe take my ABDL show on the road to some other events down the road as well.
The support of this community is the reason I’m able to do some of the things I do.
When I announce a contest and get 50+ entries…
...when I do a survey and get 1500+ responses…
when I teach a class and dozens of people attend…
...all of that is because of the support of this community, and I honestly can’t thank you enough.
Thank you for every reblog on Tumblr.
Thank you for every retweet on Twitter.
Thank you for every share on Facebook.
And yes, above all - thank you for every page view on Abysitter.com.
A special thanks is reserved to those who take the time to enter my contests.
For every person who did, there were one or two who told me they wanted to, but didn’t.
Some people contacted me to let me know that they were sure they could win, but they felt that they were being asked to do too much.
“For the other contests all we have to do is like and reblog,” one person told me. “I’ve won a few that way. Why do I have to make a sign?”
That’s a giveaway, not a contest, I explained.
There were a few people I reached out to who told me that they’d calculated their chances of winning a prize and it was just too low for them to consider entering.
And, with each entry, those odds just became lower, it seemed.
“I was going to enter, but then [insert amazing contest entry here] entered, and I can’t compete with that, so I’m out!” I heard from people multiple times.
A few people reached out to let me know that they supported the blog but their Tumblr followings were important to them and entering a contest they weren’t sure they could win might make their followings view them in a negative light.
I can appreciate that. I would never win a contest, either, so a little thank you to all of those who continued to ride with me despite that fact, hehe.
Still, it made me think back to my first contest, circa 2010 - people entered just because they wanted a place to show off a picture and, hopefully, gain a following.
Sigh…
Then there were the 53 people who entered.
Some entered believing they would never win a prize.
“The real prize is inspiring someone in this community through my entry,” someone told me, quite sincerely.
One contestant even asked me not to award them a prize if they won.
“I have everything I could ever want already,” he told me, “and I could afford to buy anything on your prize list for myself - these prizes should go to the people who can’t afford them.”
Others entered for that very reason - they saw something amazing and knew that the only way it would enter their ’stash’ is if they won it in the contest.
In the end the community voted on some categories, and a panel of judges voted on some others.
The winners were calculated.
Tonight there will be some very disappointed people - people who worked very hard to come up with amazingness that they were sure would win, that may or may not have.
Others will be surprised - they entered believing they had no chance, and will walk away with a prize.
There were just too many people competing for a small number of prizes. Seven group entries competing for one prize. Twelve people from Europe competing for one ‘Best of Show’ prize? Damn. Those are long odds.
And some of the voting categories were just a vote away.
So. Fucking. Close.
In 2016 I sent sample packs of ABDL diapers to all of the people who didn’t win another prize, and it wound up costing me nearly $300 in shipping. Ever shipped something to South America or Asia? WTF.
But B.O.A.T. truly does = Bring Out Another Thousand.
For that and other reasons, I just can’t afford to do that again this year.
Still, I wish I had a prize for everyone.
I hate when people work hard on something - especially something to support me - and don’t win.
Which is why every single person who entered my contest gets a free copy of my e-book, if they want it.
More importantly, though, every person who entered my contest should know this: your support of my contest, and your promotion of my blog through your entry, means a lot to me.
Whether you entered for the first time this year or have been supporting me through all four contests, that support is the reason I’m able to do so much of the stuff I try to do here.
I’ll be asking every contestant - and, later, every member of the community - to consider doing a Q&A for my blog.
I hope that many of you will reach out and contribute to this effort - or, really, in any other ways that you want.
Thank you for entering. Congratulations to those who waddled away with a prize - and for everyone who didn’t, I’m sorry.
Abysitter.com got its millionth view on Sunday, March 25, while I was at CAPCON.
Today is May 12, and as I prepare to announce the prize recipients of this contest I count it has received 24,000 more.
That’s an average of 500 page views every single day.
Many of those views are the result of this contest.
My thanks goes out to every person who entered, prize recipient or not.
To the contest sponsors, thank you.
To the 200+ people who took the time to vote, thank you.
And to every person who’s made up one or more of those views, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Cwis
PS: Stay tuned - I'll begin announcing prizewinners at 4 p.m. EST / 1 p.m. PST, and will announce a new category every 15 minutes until all the prizes are gone!
