I got an unexpected email today from the “stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com.” I was relieved to hear that they think my blog is in good health. But I was especially intrigued to read some of the statistics the monkeys compiled:
Crunchy numbers
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 5,300 times in 2010. That’s about 13 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 223 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 391 posts. There were 679 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 188mb. That’s about 2 pictures per day.
The busiest day of the year was February 5th with 74 views. The most popular post that day was A Prairie Home primer.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were en.wordpress.com, alphainventions.com, mail.yahoo.com, minnpost.com, and en.search.wordpress.com.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for paris catacombs, cities of the underworld catacombs of death paris, ornate pattern, catacombs paris, and catacombs paris stairs.”
At first I wasn’t sure what to make of the data, but I think I’ve figured it out. To attract more readers in 2011 I need to:
• Be more appealing and relevant to travelers (especially those on Boeing 747-400s),
• Post more pictures of Elvis Costello and Garrison Keillor, and
• Narrow the focus of my blog to pretty much just the Paris Catacombs.
So, without further ado, I’m pleased to announce my new blog: Flying Elvis Keillor 747 Paris Catacombs!
In all seriousness, I was flattered at first. It’s kind of cool to think that someone read my words (or at least zipped through the pictures) more than 5,000 times last year. And for second I was seduced by the siren song of reader avarice.
But it took only a moment to remember my blog’s real purpose: I write it for me. And I write it for fun. It’s not meant to be focused or profound or even very informative. But then, neither am I.
So here’s to another year of random thoughts about photography, politics, psychology, ethics, friendship, grammar, Minnesota, Paris, travel, typography, and everything in between.
And above all, here’s a big thanks to WordPress — and its marvelous stat monkeys. Without you, HBlog wouldn’t be possible. You guys rock.
HeideBlog 