Can you believe it’s been four years since I’ve been blogging about David? No, I can’t believe it either.
And yet, I’m still here, and you’re still here! 
Thanks for visiting this blog, everyone.
Soul David
Imagine there’s no heaven … and no religion too!
OK, Peeps! I know when there isn’t much Archunews we tend to get led astray … But let’s try a Moratorium Challenge!
How about we avoid any discussions about David’s faith for the rest of the month? I say just one month (which is almost over BTW) to see if it is at all possible for us to talk about David, pop culture, current events, etc. and NOT reference David’s faith practices and the expectations that come with it.
Who’s with me?
It is amazing to me how I am celebrating three years of Soul David! So, rather than just mark the anniversary with a new banner, as I’ve done in the past, I decided to do a whole new theme!
This one is called “Parament,” versus the “Black Letterhead” that I’ve been using from WordPress.
Actually, it was because of that glitch in the Black Letterhead last week, in which I had to try a temporary theme so you, dear readers, could read my posts, why I even thought that I could really change things up at Soul David.
And now that we’re in a whole new era in Archuworld (what with our Beloved all the way in a different country doing his missionary thing), we might as well really shake things up.
So, I hope you like the new look!
I don’t know how many “original” Soul Davids are still here (hello, Joymus, Desertrat) when I first set up shop on April 28, 2009. I don’t remember if I ever explained what drove me to creating SD.
My journey as a David fan, as you all know, started when David sang “Heaven” on my tele. My journey as a David blogger later began when I discovered Noting David, via Rickey’s and Fanblast (remember those days?).
Noting David was where all the non-tween fans gathered (it seemed), and Rascal was leading the pack. Then he announced that he was closing shop at ND when he received one hate mail too many. In our immediate panic , I suggested that those of us who regularly congregated at ND should still keep an independent blog going. At the time when some folks set up shop at Just David (remember that short-lived community?), I was on an overseas trip, and lo and behold, when I returned, I was told that JD was up and running, that I had access to post as a guest blogger, and won’t I join in on all the fun?
Well, I did, without realizing there were “rules” I was supposed to follow. Boy did I step on some toes when I audaciously posted a fan video without going through the proper channels:
That action led to one of the “editors” privately emailing me and chastising me for posting a blog without going through them first. Of course, that rubbed me the wrong way, so I went back and deleted my post. This deletion also got me into trouble! 
Since I had already posted my blog, just leave it up there, I was told, but please remember to not post anything without first going through them. They must be able to control this “open community” blog.
Well, whatever! Once Rascal healed from his wounds and decided he wasn’t quite yet finished with blogging, he invited me among others to be apart of a new community called The David Chronicles. Which sounded cool to me! But then, lo and behold, it would function as a community blog with various editors editing our blog posts before they were made for public viewing.
After one or two posts, in which what I passionately wrote about David got truly edited down so that my posts would be less “provocative” (even though Rascal recruited me to be part of TDC for my “provocations”), I decided: you know, I like being part of a collective, but I’m still trying to make sense of my ODD, and curtailing my passions in a collective was just not going to be enough.
Hence Soul David began. Where I just wanted to express my David love my own way, with no edits and no sanctions. Rascal congratulated me but also confessed that he wasn’t completely thrilled because he valued my provocativeness, which he was sure I would be redirecting to my new project.
And, as it happened, that’s exactly what I did! Things really took off for Soul David when I was the only blogger in Archuworld who didn’t get the memo that there was a moratorium of silence on the #MIC massage parlor scandal. I knew there were many fans who were distressed about the situation, and they just wanted to vent (especially when the rest of the media was spinning the story beyond our control).
I imagine my lifting the silence on this subject has stuck with me and the reputation of Soul David, where commenters feel very free to express their feelings about David (whether they are popular or not). And for that, I’m grateful to be that venue.
I can’t say how things will progress from here, but I at least want to mark this milestone. Three years counting, and my love for David hasn’t gone away. Some relationships don’t last that long!
Thanks for your readership, everyone!
Oh, and one more thing: “Leave a comment” is posted just below the blog title on this new theme.
Happy Good Friday, everyone!
I’m just offering a quick end-of-week review for Soul David.
First, David’s “Forevermore” video has reached 109,772 views (as I type this). Not bad for a video released earlier this week (although viral videos reach over 1 million views in a few days nowadays – if we want to believe those numbers and not that certain studios/companies are paying for those extra views – so I trust that the number of views on David’s video is both organic and legit).
Speaking of numbers, do you realize that David now has 960,942 followers on Twitter? Let’s celebrate when he reaches 1,000,000!
Also, my WordPress has added new features, which allow me to track the number of comments and where in the world folks coming to my site hail from.
So, this is what I’ve learned:
My Top 5 Commenters of Soul David:
1. Marie
2. Grammyj
3. Tibitibi
4. Cq
5. Desertrat
Thanks for keeping my blog a busy and hopping place!
Next, my most commented upon blog post (with a total of 269 comments): Music and Faith: Concerning David
Since I began in 2009, my blog has received over a million views, but my all-time busiest day, in which I received close to 5,000 views, is on December 20, 2011 (the day we learned that David would be going on a Mission – that figures!).
Hmmm, I see a theme here: David and his faith, more than David and his music, tracks the most hits on Soul David.
Is that because David’s faith is still a controversial point for fans, or is it that my blog is really the only place in Archuworld where fans can discuss their concerns freely?
Finally, here’s a snapshot of where my Soul David visitors are lurking and posting from today!
Thanks again for stopping at Soul David, folks!
Dear Soul David readers,
I’ve made a decision to keep blogging for 2012. What I will focus on, when, and how often, I have not yet decided. But since I’ll be away for the next few days, I thought I would take a blog break and devote my time to contemplating the next phase of Soul David.
Have a blessed week, everyone!
