Ok, that was a very desperate attempt at fooling everybody.
When I came up with the post on how the newspapers planted April Fool`s Day stories, I had no intention of coming up with my own April fool`s Day prank.
But then, somebody left a comment saying “I guess, we can expect a prank or two here at Ouchmytoe”. That kicked me into action. I now had to come up with a prank, to not disappoint the Ouchmytoe readers!
With time running out, I had to think fast. If Ouchmytoe were a BBC (which we sure will be one day) whatever I upload would have been believed. But Ouchmytoe was still a small fry in the big scheme of things. Which is why I had to bring in a bigger player – Rediff Blogs Team – into the picture.
In the backend, I replaced Ouchmytoe blog`s code with that of Rediffblogs`. This was done after I had saved Ouchmytoe`s code (both in ‘my documents` and in the Gmail server). If you are planning on something like this, please have a backup of your Blog code in at least three places.
Now my Blog looked like Rediffblog home. But there was something missing…how would I know who got fooled and who didn`t? I definitely had to bring in a feature that would allow visitors to leave comments – documented proof that the prank had worked.
The presence of this feature wouldn`t have worked by itself. I needed to build a story around why I could have been blocked. Which is why I left the first comment – This is such a flimsy reason to block my site. I didn’t agree to write for you because you don’t pay well…and that was it. I didn’t realize you would go to the extent of blocking my site! This is the heights….
Now, a new problem cropped up. What if regulars visited the site, found it blocked and decided never to return? The prank could have backfired. I had to leave some hint for the deserving visitor to find out about the prank. What better hint that my Stats Counter, which you are used to seeing in the top left corner. I showcased it at the bottom so that only those who scroll down see it.
Now that the prank is over I hope the crowd comes back. You can help me get back the crowd by posting a line in your blog that Ouchmytoe is back and it was just an April Fool`s Day prank!