Dan said we need a new article on our front page. So, I'm here to talk about the

importance of having fresh content.

It's a well known fact that visitors to a website enjoy

seeing new content on a somewhat regular basis.

Many of the most popular sites on the Web are the

ones that have the most frequently updated content. Sites like

/.,

Metafilter, and at times,

yours truly.

These dog days of summer (in the northern hemisphere at least) are well known

for generating little news, happenings, events, or things to talk about in general.

So what's a site to do? You want to keep users coming back,

interested, and happy - but it's a difficult task when there's not a

whole lot going on! Fear not, gentle reader. Me and my friends have some

hints that might help you pull through these slow times:

  1. You can write parodies

    (1,

    2). It's a nice way

    to escape the doldrums of everyday life, and reminds your faithful

    audience that you still have a sense of humor.

  2. Claim to have invented

    something really cool, useful, revolutionary, and excellent!!

    Then hype it up to the ends of the earth. Ignore the fact that there are

    hundreds of

    other applications out there that have more features, are more powerful,

    and are currently being used by tens of thousands of people.

    If anyone questions your claim to

    greatness, shrug off the question and spin an answer. Of course, there is

    more than one way

    to put this into practice.

  3. "Blast" a large, tightly bonded community. This is a sure fire way to get attention from the group you're blasting in the form of links, flames, and more links to your site.

    It's also a great way to generate media hype about your site!

  4. Finally, if all else fails, simply

    let your site rot.

    Oddly enough, this will also generate interest in your site when your

    once faithful members start wondering

    what is going on and asking questions.

Of course, this is only a short list of the numerous options

that you have to generate content for your site and keep your viewers happy.

Hopefully you find some relief from these sultry summer months while you

and your content keep - and stay - fresh!