One of the first rules of "point whoring" for a blogger, I have discovered, is to include the names of celebrities in your article. Preferably with a host of other keywords, such as nude, titties, s&m, or other words describing sexual behavior (even and especially deviant sexual behavior). But the celebrity names themselves will generate hits, if they're hot enough.

I found this out the (err, ahem!) hard way when I first started blogging and wrote the now-notorious "Mary Kate" article (as in, Mary Kate Olsen). It was when her eating disorder was headline news, and I wanted to comment on the situation. As I watched, however, the article took on a life of its own, and, try as I might, over 1500 articles later, I have been unable to generate an article that takes on the popularity of the Mary Kate article. While some of my articles have certainly been less than substantial, some have been well researched and have involved a lot of work. Those are usually the "B-List" articles, sadly.

The Mary Kate article still generates points from time to time. It is still my all time leader by far in referrals, and I have to check back for comments on a regular basis.

But all that may be about to change. Some time back I blogged on Brittney Spears' infamous drive with her baby perched between two sets of airbags (sorry, couldn't resist). While I knew the article would generate points, it was relevant to a running topic of mine, that of the routine abuse of families by CPS. The article hit my top 40 within days, and has finally cracked the top 5, still generating occasional responses. It has probably the strongest potential of unseating Mary Kate at #1, and now, despite not being anything close to a celebrity blog, I have two celebrity blog articles in the top 5 (probably three, once this article hits google with the appropriate buzzwords).

So, if you want to be a good points whore, celebrity articles will definitely move you up the map. The hotter the celebrity, the hotter the article.

Now if I can just figure out a good article on Lindsay Lohan (smirk).