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News & ArtsWednesday, January 11, 2012
2012 / Savage Love Mediaite On Santorum's Google Problem: The Most Important Poop Joke of Our Time
Posted by Dan Savage on Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 10:48 AM
Reacting to my column this week, Jon Bershad at Mediaite writes...
Many people who just see Rick Santorum as another GOP candidate with a chance to oust Barack Obama forget about the values and ideas that he has been espousing for years and the very real ways they affect people in this country. They see the whole Google thing as juvenile and, y’know, it is. After all, it’s basically just an incredibly complicated poop joke. However, it’s the most important poop joke of our time (again, who wouldn’t want that title?). Until Santorum takes back his hateful comments, that definition will haunt him. In a perfect world, his comments themselves would follow him but we live in a 24-hour news cycle so that’s impossible. His “Google problem” will have to suffice, working as a perfect, frothy reminder of the things he stands for.
Bershad gets it. As I wrote yesterday and as the originator of the idea to redefine Santorum's name predicted: the whole point of the "frothy mix" campaign was to make sure Santorum would forever be forced to eat, own, and answer for his hateful comments about gays and lesbians. Mission accomplished.
1
How is it "incredibly complicated." I think it's more beautifully, elegantly simple (talking form here, not content)
2
maybe as the primaries go on and more people come in contact with the poop joke, and as the poop joke potentially gets more and more distanced from his actual words that elicited the poop joke, you should put a couple of quotes of him on the same page with the santorum definition. that way, when people Google him, they'll come in contact with the REASON for the poop joke immediately.
4
Whenever I read about Dan Savage's definition of Santorum, I often wonder about the person who actually submitted that definition. They essentially wrote a joke that Dan Savage constantly gets credit for and I'd love to read a follow up on their perspective now that it has exploded in such a huge fashion. Who is this person? In my mind I always picture a lonely guy sitting at a bar watching some sporting event when Larry the Cable guy pops on TV and says, "Get R Done". At which point, he mutters under his breath to the bartender "I wrote that".
6
Can you use your powers for good, as well as evil?
How about a Google bomb for Reagan Dunn, a Republican leader who went whole hog for gay marriage?
Washington AG candidate Dunn backs legalizing gay marriage
Republican King County Council member and Attorney General candidate Reagan Dunn tells KING 5 News he will back efforts to legalize same-sex marriage.
http://www.king5.com/news/politics/Wash-…
7
Poop. EVERY animal and human organism on planet earth does it. That is a pretty hefty accomplishment, Rick. It is the most basic UNIVERSAL trait of our existence. Sheesh, a little thanks are in order.
I still laugh at burps and farts, too. I'm actually only 12 in human years.
I still laugh at burps and farts, too. I'm actually only 12 in human years.
12
@ 10 - Matt, if Dan were really serious about opposing Santorum, then he'd dump Google ads as a revenue stream for The Stranger. Is this a case of "The Almighty Dollar trumps all"? If so, don't tell the Occupy people...
13
It's over when Rick Santorum apologizes for his comments, makes massive donations to the Trevor Project, It Gets Better, Freedom to Marry and the ACLU, and then shuts up forever. That would be the time to take down spreadingsantorum.com.
14
@12:
I prefer to think of it as Santorum's campaign staff squandering precious resources they can't really afford to squander, because let's face it - is there really ANYONE on SLOG who would actually consider voting FOR this douche-nozzle?
So, every dollar they spend buying ad space here, is one less dollar they have to spend it somewhere it might actually have some positive impact for their campaign.
I prefer to think of it as Santorum's campaign staff squandering precious resources they can't really afford to squander, because let's face it - is there really ANYONE on SLOG who would actually consider voting FOR this douche-nozzle?
So, every dollar they spend buying ad space here, is one less dollar they have to spend it somewhere it might actually have some positive impact for their campaign.
15
I've been waiting almost a decade for Santorum to apologize for his comments that inspired the redefinition of his name. So far, I haven't heard anything close to an apology.
The website stays.
The website stays.
16
Maybe you want to keep this info under wraps, but I'd be really interested to see analytics for spreadingsantorum.com. How many pageviews? Do they all come from organic google searches? Which search terms? I bet lots of readers here would enjoy those charts and data points. I sure would!
17
@ 12, how google ads work:
As you can see, this means that google's algorithms aren't perfect. It does NOT mean that SLOG is accepting ads from Santorum, or that Santorum wanted to place them with SLOG. Also, given that few, if any SLOG readers would actually click through to Santorum's campaign, we can deduce that the Santorum ads aren't generating enough to pay for the coffee they drink at one weekly editorial meeting.
Google Adsense works because of relevance. The ads that Google shows on a website is relevant to the website's content. This ensures that more clicks come from the website's audience. For example, you have a website or page about 'plasma television sets'. The ads that Google will place on your page would be about 'plasma television sets' or something that matches very closely. Of course, your visitor will be interested in these ads and click, earning you and your website a few pennies and sometimes up to a few dollars.
As you can see, this means that google's algorithms aren't perfect. It does NOT mean that SLOG is accepting ads from Santorum, or that Santorum wanted to place them with SLOG. Also, given that few, if any SLOG readers would actually click through to Santorum's campaign, we can deduce that the Santorum ads aren't generating enough to pay for the coffee they drink at one weekly editorial meeting.
18
The thing I find funny about the Santorum ads on here is that his campaign is indirectly funding the santorum website.
21
@12 The Santorum ads show up here because of the percentage of santorum discussion. Last night when Ron Paul's speech post was the latest entry, there was a Ron Paul ad with almost the exact same graphics, but it was gone quick. It's hard to top King Bottom for Slog attention.
23
Ditto #13 www.spreadingsantorum.com should stay... is morally obligated to stay as a reminder to the Rick, and others of his ilk, that their vacuous principles have real human consequences.
24
@3: "If the "mission" is "accomplished", then you can take ss.com down, right?"
Huh? It's working because it's negatively affecting Santorum.
Unless Santorum has changed his position, there's no reason why we should change the successful program. He is perpetuating hatred, we are pushing our opinion of him based on his ridiculous claims. Are you aware that he's recanted his opinion of homosexuality? Even CONDOMS are a force of evil to him.
Huh? It's working because it's negatively affecting Santorum.
Unless Santorum has changed his position, there's no reason why we should change the successful program. He is perpetuating hatred, we are pushing our opinion of him based on his ridiculous claims. Are you aware that he's recanted his opinion of homosexuality? Even CONDOMS are a force of evil to him.
25
I think that if Santorum publically apologized for this original remarks, then SpreadingSantorum should be taken down just on that alone. Good faith works both ways.
26
When I checked last night, the first Google result I got was this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_fo…
2nd was this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Santor…
3rd was spreadingsantorum.com.
This morning, I checked again, and this 1-2-3 has been reversed, 3-2-1, with SS on top where it belongs. Anybody else see this? Anybody know what's going on?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_fo…
2nd was this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Santor…
3rd was spreadingsantorum.com.
This morning, I checked again, and this 1-2-3 has been reversed, 3-2-1, with SS on top where it belongs. Anybody else see this? Anybody know what's going on?
27
@8: "Nah, way too adult for this crowd's narrow, immature, black-and-white thinking."
This is the power that we have. Do you think the media takes us as seriously as they do dangerous individuals like Santorum? Hardly.
This is the power that we have. Do you think the media takes us as seriously as they do dangerous individuals like Santorum? Hardly.
28
@12: "Matt, if Dan were really serious about opposing Santorum, then he'd dump Google ads as a revenue stream for The Stranger. Is this a case of "The Almighty Dollar trumps all"? If so, don't tell the Occupy people..."
Don't be a fool. We're taking his money and not at all his demographic. That's more money that won't be put into other sites, and more money for people speaking out against him.
Don't be a fool. We're taking his money and not at all his demographic. That's more money that won't be put into other sites, and more money for people speaking out against him.
29
I also think the website should stay, at least as long as Santorum doesn't apologize for what he said.
'Author of the most important poop joke of our time' is really a cool title. Someone should make it a t-shirt for Dan, or for the original author of the definition (or the guy who suggested redefining Santorum as santorum).
By the way, even though I agree that the guy who gave the idea and the one who proposed the definition both deserve a lot of credit, let's not forget that without Dan's syndicated column plus the spreadingsantorum website and his indefatigable promotion of the frothy definition, this idea would have never taken off. Dan deserves credit for making the whole thing possible.
'Author of the most important poop joke of our time' is really a cool title. Someone should make it a t-shirt for Dan, or for the original author of the definition (or the guy who suggested redefining Santorum as santorum).
By the way, even though I agree that the guy who gave the idea and the one who proposed the definition both deserve a lot of credit, let's not forget that without Dan's syndicated column plus the spreadingsantorum website and his indefatigable promotion of the frothy definition, this idea would have never taken off. Dan deserves credit for making the whole thing possible.
30
I know SLOG readers & those who spread santorum like to take credit for his low polling numbers, but....
There's really only one person that is responsible, and that's Mr. Frothy Mix himself. His views are medieval. He has no intellectual depth, he's an extremist, and he says something monumentally stupid on a daily basis. The best thing to do to destroy his career is give him a microphone.
The only reason people looked to him as an alternative was because the rest of the GOP field are chuckleheads & he was a relative unknown. People had forgotten his visit to what was left of Terry Schiavo and how he had made that issue a cornerstone of his political career. He was voted out of the senate by the widest margin in modern history. Once he was in the spotlight, people realized why he was a bottom-dweller, and he's quickly returning there.
Personally, I'd love to have him be a strong contender in the GOP convention. He's an anchor around their collective necks.
There's really only one person that is responsible, and that's Mr. Frothy Mix himself. His views are medieval. He has no intellectual depth, he's an extremist, and he says something monumentally stupid on a daily basis. The best thing to do to destroy his career is give him a microphone.
The only reason people looked to him as an alternative was because the rest of the GOP field are chuckleheads & he was a relative unknown. People had forgotten his visit to what was left of Terry Schiavo and how he had made that issue a cornerstone of his political career. He was voted out of the senate by the widest margin in modern history. Once he was in the spotlight, people realized why he was a bottom-dweller, and he's quickly returning there.
Personally, I'd love to have him be a strong contender in the GOP convention. He's an anchor around their collective necks.
31
I clicked on the Santorum ad multiple times, because I think it's funny that Newsmax would have to pay Index Publishing anything, ever.
32
@30: "Personally, I'd love to have him be a strong contender in the GOP convention. He's an anchor around their collective necks. "
Ideally I'd like to have a good, decent Republican candidate so that Obama and congress could stop lowering the level of discourse to appeal to the center-right, but I also live in a fantasy world sometimes.
Ideally I'd like to have a good, decent Republican candidate so that Obama and congress could stop lowering the level of discourse to appeal to the center-right, but I also live in a fantasy world sometimes.
33
@ 30, you do have a point. While his "google problem" ensures he'll never again be taken seriously as a man seeking elected office (unless he goes for something like school board, something NO person who's achieved a national profile would ever deign to do), he's also been an unlikely contender ever since he lost re-election over five years ago. But his "google problem," not as well known then but as well established as it is today, still might have contributed to that.
But you're right. As Republicans begin to embrace the idea of gay marriage, Santorum is a true throwback.
But you're right. As Republicans begin to embrace the idea of gay marriage, Santorum is a true throwback.
35
Folks, I'm not saying that The Stranger is actually selling ad space to Santorum, OK? I'm not stupid. I know how Google ads. And I'm pretty sure The Stranger (or any site that uses Googgle ads as a way to make money) has no choice and no control over what ads pop up, as has been pointed out.
But did anyone look at the small print at the bottom of the ad? It came from our friends at Newsmax! Haha!!
So now, aren't you outraged that ads from Newsmax are leaking into your precious little neo-Marxist playground? I sure hope you are, because you all do outraged so well...
But did anyone look at the small print at the bottom of the ad? It came from our friends at Newsmax! Haha!!
So now, aren't you outraged that ads from Newsmax are leaking into your precious little neo-Marxist playground? I sure hope you are, because you all do outraged so well...
36
@35: "So now, aren't you outraged that ads from Newsmax are leaking into your precious little neo-Marxist playground? I sure hope you are, because you all do outraged so well..."
Boy, you *are* dumb.
Boy, you *are* dumb.
39
Nobody has commented on the "ss.com" links above all going to a Social Security information website, not santorum.com.
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