Announcements and Updates

This marks the 100th post since the start of this blog on March 6th, and as of this posting it’s already hit the 1,500 mark in total views. It’s also averaging over 40 views a day, and I’m seeing significant percentage increases every week since it started.

Here I’ve been merrily self-publishing this as a newsletter for nearly a decade with no true way to track what readers are interested in. And now, thanks to WordPress, I can view stats at a glance. I never would have imagined some of the search strings, like the continuous traffic off “monster truck voice” I get from that interview link on David Lee.

I should have upgraded to the blog format a long, long time ago.

But moving forward, I’m very pleased to see so many people with a shared interest in voice actors. That’s the whole reason I started doing this — to help bring attention to what has been a rather overlooked and under-appreciated but important part of the entertainment industry.

That being said, I wanted to take a moment to thank those from The Voice Actor Appreciation Society on Yahoo Groups and Facebook who have continued to follow this newsletter in its new blog format, and to my new readers whose word of mouth is bringing in other new readers.

I also wanted to thank everyone for being good sports over my “Voice Actors in the Nude” April Fools Day gags. I received a number of compliments via e-mail, Facebook, and the Yahoo Group, so I’m glad it was well-received. I also got a HUGE spike in traffic that day (like a 400% increase), and in hindsight I wondered if it was from Google searches for “nude” which makes the gag all the more amusing (at least to me, anyway).

And just in case the April Fools Day posts caused some news from the days prior to go overlooked, I’ll give them a bump. Some of them also have new content added:

– 3.31.2009: Celebrity Voice Acting Round-Up (yee-hah.), made a few minor corrections.
– 3.31.2009: The Legacy of ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’ Continues, 4 new links added.
– 3.31.2009: Amazon’s Kindle 2: It’s a real voice after all?
– 3.31.2009: Simpsons’ Yeardley Smith Appearing at Film Festival, two links added.
– 3.31.2009: VAs on DVD: Don LaFontaine Celebration of Life Tribute
– 3.31.2009: VAs on DVD: VOICE 2008 on DVD-Rom, new links and info added after limited-time offer expired.
– 3.30.2009: In Passing…, added obit for Bob Arbogast and 7 new links.
– 3.25.2009: Family Guy Reunites ‘Star Trek: TNG’ Cast, two links added.

In closing, I wanted to mention that I will be giving the blog a facelift within the next week, and it’s *not* a gag. Other templates available offer an improved visual appearance and better features such as a calendar and search tool. I just wanted to give a heads-up on the change before it goes live.

And on a personal note, I received a phone call Friday from a producer for ABC’s “America’s Got Talent” which I auditioned for way back in January. She was checking on my availability for upcoming callbacks. And while she said they still have not made their final selections, she wanted me to know I am among those being considered. So, fingers crossed!

Voice Out,

~ Craig Crumpton