Statistics

Our Multi-National, Multi-Cultural Country

~ beetleypete ~ 57 Comments

I watched a report on the BBC about statistics for England and Wales regarding the numbers of people born outside those countries, but resident in them as of late 2021.
(Scotland was not included as it had not participated in the survey.)

I looked up some of the details available.

People born in India top the list, with a total of 920,000 born in India, but living in England or Wales.

760,000 people who were born in Poland also have a British passport, along with 539,000 people born in Romania.

EU nationals account for 36.4% of those born abroad, but living in England or Wales.

Between 2011 and 2021, the population of England and Wales rose by over 3,000,000 as a result of foreign-born migrants, according to the Office of National Statistics.

Other nationalities in the top five include Pakistan, and Ireland. Total numbers of foreign-born residents now exceed 10,000,000, almost 14% of the population.

Over 35% of all foreign-born nationals living in England and Wales live in Greater London

I find all of this fascinating. As a former Londoner, I can confirm the last figures. London is incredibly diverse, and the different cultures have added to the overall enjoyment of living in that city.

However, where I live now, in Beetley in rural Norfolk, I could count foreign-born nationals on both hands and have fingers to spare.

SIX THOUSAND AND ONE

~ beetleypete ~ 58 Comments

I noticed the follower numbers had ticked over to 6,001 this morning.

I usually mark such milestones on my blog by writing about how so many of those followers never actually follow, and why the numbers don’t matter in the least.

But I won’t do that today. 🙂

I will just say a big “THANK YOU!” to everyone who follows this blog.

Best wishes to you all, Pete.

Blogging: Mind-boggling statistics

~ beetleypete ~ 42 Comments

I was reading another blog post today, this one https://jrliming.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/409-million-people-read-blog-today.html

That got me thinking about just how many bloggers are out there. So I did some research. When we start blogging, it always feels very personal. We write about what we feel, things we enjoy doing, or what we have a passion for. Very often, those posts remain unread, floating around on the vast ocean of the Internet, waiting to be discovered one day. Like me, you might have thought, ‘But surely someone out there will see it?’ It is all-too easy to be discouraged, when views are low, and you seem to be getting little attention for what inspired you to start in the first place. Take heart, there is so much stuff out there, it is almost a miracle if one post was ever noticed, let alone read.

In fact, there are now so many blogs, that it is impossible to provide an accurate figure. New additions every day, dormant blogs, and those started but never completed, the numbers are just too huge to even imagine. Take just three of the most popular platforms as an example, and you will start to get the idea.
Tumblr, WordPress, and Squarespace. These three alone host almost 410,000,000 separate blogs. That number does not include Blogger, which does not provide figures. However, as they had almost 1,000,000 individual blogs as long ago as 2002, it is safe to guess that has increased to many millions now. Self-hosted blogs are not included, and we know that there are millions of those too. Taking all that into account, I believe we can assume a current total of around 450,000,000 blogs to be out there, not all of them active. And if you count Instagram as a blogging platform, then these figures could be increased greatly.

Many of them are active though, and posting regularly. Each month, more than 100,000,000 blog posts are created, suggesting some 25% of bloggers are still posting. Blog readership is also on the increase. Estimates suggest that 22 BILLION blog pages are read every month, by over 400,000,000 people. This continues to increase exponentially, as more and more people turn away from mainstream news media, and search the Internet for information about what is happening.

For some bloggers, and online companies, this is a very lucrative market. Pay-to-read blogs are on the increase too. The well-known Huffington Post earns over $14,000,000 every month, from advertising and online subscriptions. I cannot even begin to imagine how much WordPress earns, with advertising on all of its free to host blogs, as well as the millions who pay for the Premium and Business services. They also run the company using volunteer admin staff and moderators, so their staff wage bill is very low.
Since the first ever blog post was written, in 1994, the world of Blogging has exploded beyond comparison with anything except mobile phones. Talking of which, most blog posts are now read on those, or Tablet computers. Laptops and tower systems are on a rapid decline, at least as far as social media is concerned.

So, the next time your tip-top blog post gets two likes, nine views, and no comments, don’t be downhearted. You are a member of a very big club.

WordPress: The ‘Annual Report’

~ beetleypete ~ 66 Comments

Anyone blogging for more than a full year will recall those notifications that WordPress sent out. They told you all about how your blog had done during the past year. How many views, how many visitors, and full statistics. They would mention how many readers would have filled this or that venue, and what your most popular posts had been.

It went on to tell you all about the countries that visitors had come from, how many new followers you had got, and lots of other stuff that was of great interest to anyone really involved in their own blog.

After Christmas, I waited for the report to appear. 2016 had been a busy year on my blog, and I was keen to see the usual comprehensive overview provided by WordPress. But nothing showed up. No report telling me all those fascinating facts. Now January is coming to a close, I am resigned to the fact that this is something else that WordPress has just decided to do away with, apparently without telling us bloggers.

So did I miss it? Did any of you get their report? Maybe I deleted it by mistake, or just didn’t notice it this year?

Let me know in the comments if you got yours, or what you think about those reports.

My third anniversary

~ beetleypete ~ 31 Comments

Today marks my third year as a WordPress blogger. Since the first short and tentative post in 2012, much has changed on this blog. I have even started a second blog, added more categories to this one, and recently I began to add photos too.

I have lost some followers, mislaid others somewhere along the way, and attracted lots of new ones as well. Many have become real blogging ‘friends’ and have introduced me to very different lives, in unusual places all over the world. I have been privileged to read some incredible writing, and some deep thoughts and poetry. There has been work of academic standard to enjoy, alongside the no less valued tales of everyday life from other parts of this country, or all over the planet.

Pictures and photographs have been posted to be admired, criticised, or just seen. Old friends contacted through blogging, news caught up on, and families reunited. Moans and gripes aired, films reviewed, memories and nostalgia wallowed in. And my education continues, with fascinating historical posts, journeys to far-flung corners, or to places nearby that I had never even heard of.

I have discovered viewpoints that are very different to mine, also life experiences that are surprisingly similar. Bloggers of all ages, united by writing and interests, never divided by years.

My totals and figures are nothing exceptional, by the standards of many bloggers.
Total posts. 740
Total views. 36,000
All comments. 7,600
Followers. 653 (Including Twitter and E-Mail)

But all that is a far cry from what I expected, just three short years ago. It seems longer, and in a good way. It has become a part of my life that I would miss if it stopped. It has real value.

Mega-Blogs

~ beetleypete ~ 26 Comments

I occasionally post updates on this blog about how many followers I have, how many posts I have written, and whether or not I have had a lot of views, or hardly any. Although I am not obsessed with statistics, I do find them interesting, especially when my blog is viewed in a very unusual country. (Bhutan, anyone?) I never cease to be amazed at the diversity of the blogging community, and that is only those writing in English.

A couple of days ago, I received a ‘like’ from someone. As is my habit, I checked out her blog, to see what it was like. It was an accomplished and well-established blog, with diverse articles, lots of photos, and many reviews. I noticed a stats counter in the margin. I could hardly believe my eyes when I read the figures. She has 40,000 followers. That’s forty thousand! Average daily views exceed 12,000, over half as many as I have ever had, every day. This got me quite excited, and I set about trying to find blogs with similar heavyweight stats. I found a few with more than 50,000 followers, and one with 107,000. I found another blog with daily views in excess of 25,000, and two separate pages of blog awards, requiring their own category.

These were all based in the USA. One was religious, and two of them were about American sports. I won’t bother to show links to them, I think they are doing well-enough as it is.

Looking deeper into this subject, I had to wonder why a blog with 40,000 followers is only getting 12,000 daily views. What happened to the other 28,000 followers? Is it just that they cannot be bothered, or have they never really actually followed the blog, just added a follow, and moved on? Is the blogger just adding a like to every post published anywhere, in the hope of generating return traffic perhaps? Then there is the housekeeping issue. Do they ever reply to what must be hundreds, if not thousands, of comments? No doubt views at this level must generate some income, in one shape or form, but how do they manage that amount of time at the keyboard.? Do they have a team, or an assistant?

I can only imagine that these mega-blogs are no longer just blogs. They have transcended blogging, and the reasons that most of us blog in the first place. They are jobs, a source of income, pure and simple. This discovery, and the small amount of research, actually made me feel quite good about my own blog. I never wanted it to be a job. It is exactly what I hoped it would be.

Two Candles On The Cake

~ beetleypete ~ 14 Comments

At the end of next week, we are making a rare trip away from Norfolk, to attend a wedding in Sussex. So, I will not be around for what will be the second ‘birthday’ of this blog. With the first posts published in July 2012, the blog was set up, and rough work done, two years ago, next month.

I could not let this pass by unnoticed, and thought that I would give an overview of both my blogs, and the experiences of being a blogger. It may interest regular readers, fellow bloggers, or anyone considering starting out, with a blog of their own. Then again, it may be of absolutely no interest to anyone, except me.

Statistically, it it still a minnow, in the sea that is blogging. I have now published 462 posts on beetleypete, in 11 featured categories. They have attracted just under 17,000 views, and almost 3,000 comments. I am told by WordPress that I now have 400 followers, including those on Twitter, and e mail. Some blogs enjoy these as daily figures. I am not so sure that I would want the time and responsibility that comes with such a following and huge amount of viewers. Though the money might be nice…

I try to ‘manage’ the blog on a daily basis. Whenever possible, I reply to every comment received, (which means you can essentially halve the number above, as fifty percent are mine) and try to comment on all the blogs that I follow myself. At the moment, I only follow 26 other blogs. There were more, but I ‘un-followed’ some, as they were no longer posting anything. I also contribute to a film website, and have had 10 articles published there, as well as a single film review on another site.

I also have another blog. For those of you who didn’t already know, or would like to read it, here is a link. It is very different to this one. https://redflagflying.wordpress.com/ On that blog, I have only published 34 posts, and had less than 100 comments. Views are rare, and followers number just 40. It will happily plod along with no readers for days on end, and as I post infrequently, I can expect no more.

Here on beetleypete, I get on average around 20-30 views a day. A popular post may attract numbers in excess of 50, and something spread over Facebook (which I am not on) might exceed 100. In the grand scheme of things, it is small potatoes. But it is my small potato, and it makes me very happy. Some posts attract views far and above others. The most regularly read, and by far the most popular overall, is ‘The Driest County In England’. This was a sardonic look at the fact that Norfolk is supposed to be the driest county, but it rains a great deal here. There are no likes or comments on this post, which is mainly discovered from Internet searches by people looking for somewhere dry to live in the UK, I must presume. I suspect that I may have put them off Norfolk, in that case.

In my two-year blogging journey, I have made some great ‘friends’. Sadly, I have also lost some, and some of the best at that. Other bloggers become part of your community, as you become part of theirs. There is a familiarity despite never meeting,  (except on one valued occasion) that is assumed. Sometimes this is a false assumption, but generally it is all good. There are the viewers from the most unusual places, something that never fails to fascinate me. Who can I possibly know in Bhutan, Ecuador, or Samoa? The answer is no-one of course. That is the wonder of blogging, contact with the unknown. Losing regular blogging friends is sad indeed. Some simply drop off the radar, tired of the routine. Others lose heart, or find other things to occupy their time. Some move to other countries, or become involved in work. I have even gone so far as to send e mails to ‘absent friends’, as I was worried that they were still OK. They replied courteously, and all had their reasons for departing. New ones arrive to take their place. Different subjects written about, other themes explored. And so it continues.

In my long life, I have found little to compare with the experience of blogging. It is not simply a diary, as I first intended. It is not ‘writing’ in the accepted sense, at least not as far as I am concerned. My own efforts at fiction were below average, and it will be a while before I attempt more. It allows expression, sharpens ideas, and facilitates the acceptance of new thoughts, provided by others, from all over the planet. It is a conduit for discovery, a mine of information and experience, and at the most basic level, a release. I have said many times, that if you are even remotely considering becoming a blogger, just do it.

I look forward to the coming years, and hope that I remain mentally active enough to carry on, and to provide articles worth the time and effort of reading them. I would like to thank everyone who has ever read my blog, posted a comment, or clicked a ‘like’. I could do it without you, but I wouldn’t want to.

 

Grown-up Blogger

~ beetleypete ~ 12 Comments

After all but crippling myself during a recent spell of over-enthusiastic gardening, I have not been doing a lot. Other than walking Ollie, I have found myself unable to undertake any physical tasks, at the risk of more back pain. This has also applied to my blog, with little written over the last few days. I have submitted articles elsewhere, but have been neglecting beetleypete, as there has been little inspiration for tales of everyday life that involve sitting around, and taking painkillers.

I came back to the blog this morning, to check on some posts, and have a look at comments; all the usual stuff carried out by regular bloggers. I was thinking about the absence of some of my favourite bloggers, wondering what had happened to them, and why they were not writing posts, and appearing in my reader. I don’t like it when blogging friends disappear. It makes me worry about them, watching the metaphorical tumbleweed roll across their blogs; no posts since January, perhaps even December. After almost three years, you convince yourself that you know these people, many of them in far-off lands. Your correspondence with them, even if only by to and fro comments on blog posts, assumes a familiarity and a connection. Then they are gone.

This slight erosion of that small community impacts far beyond its real importance. There is a family feel to blogging, a cosy feeling of togetherness, in an electronic world peopled by untold millions. Without that group dynamic, it feels not unlike throwing a message in a bottle into an ocean. But life goes on of course, and for some it is very busy. Blogging is a diversion, not the purpose, and those absent for whatever reason have their own stuff to deal with. It is pointless to assume the same connection is felt by everyone concerned. To some, the blog is an ‘as and when’ activity, to others it is a forgettable experience.

If you have ever expected crowds at a party you were throwing, and only a few turned up, you will have an idea what I am on about. I have written before about concerns for the blogger. Lack of followers, few readers, less and less views. Over the last few days, I have had few guests at my ‘party’. Despite a welcome increase in followers, for some reason daily views and the always welcome comments, have plummeted to an all-time low. When you are not being productive in your output, this is perhaps to be expected. As consumers, whether of entertainment, foodstuffs, or the written word, we all look for something fresh every day. Something to stimulate, to share, or just enjoy. It is up to us, as bloggers, to provide such fare.

Today marks a very good day for me. I used to worry unduly about views and likes, clicks in and out of the site, searches, comments, and statistics. I stopped worrying this morning. I don’t know why, I just did. It is like a weight off my shoulders, a burden removed. I am now a grown-up blogger, and it feels really good.

 

 

Blog Review and Happy New Year

~ beetleypete ~ 10 Comments

Here is the wordpress review of my blog activity for 2013. It may (or may not) be interesting for some of you; so you can compare your own, or just realise how much better your blogs are doing! I wish all my blogging friends a very happy 2014. I hope some of you have better years, others continue to flourish, and for the creative ones, keep doing what you do best.

Thanks again to all my followers, regular readers, those who comment, and those who just read. I would still keep writing this blog, but it would be a much less rewarding experience, without knowing you are all out there. Pete.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,900 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

The forgotten archives

~ beetleypete ~ 12 Comments

During the recent examination of my blogging progress, and attempt to analyse the statistics of my own blog, one thing soon became apparent. The archives are rarely looked at, not even in passing. Most visitors to the site, attracted by a tag, or subject matter, rarely read more than the post that attracted them in the first place; although they also often read the ‘About’ page, perhaps interested to see the kind of person I am.

There are some exceptions of course. Those visiting from a link on another site, or by clicking through from a comment elsewhere, will often be attracted to a certain subject, and may well read 3-6 posts in that category. This is fairly easy to work out, when you see the stats for posts read that day, and divide by how many visitors, and from what countries. It is also interesting to note that they may return to that same category later, or on another day, and select random posts from it to read. What is more obvious though, is that most readers only read your latest post, and perhaps the one before it, and then move on. This is perfectly understandable, and something that I have frequently done myself, when looking at other blogs.

How often do we look back through the archives on these sites, say back to 2010, or even further, to see what they were writing about then? Almost never, I suspect. It is probable that much of the best work of these writers and bloggers, rests dusty and unseen, in the blog archive. On the right hand side of most blogs and websites, that long list of previously published articles or photo spreads, lies forgotten, and unloved. It is true, that many bloggers improve with time. They gain confidence, improve their skills, and take more time with their posts. Perhaps it is only fair to assume that the latest work is always the best, given this proposition.

Part of me disagrees. When someone is inspired to start a blog, they often write with passion, explore new ideas and thoughts, push their personal boundaries, or reveal more of themselves in their work. Photographers may get better as they develop technique, but there is something to be said for the impact of their raw, early attempts. This can also apply to Writing, Poetry, and Comment blogs equally.  We are all missing hidden treasures, as we carry on reading through the recent posts that appear by e mail, or via the Reader, without delving deeper into the archives that are waiting patiently for our attention.  When we start to follow a fellow blogger, or become attracted to something that they have just published, don’t we owe it to ourselves, and to those forlorn archives, to explore further, so that these gems do not remain unseen, or unread, for eternity?

Let us all try to become better bloggers, and to be more thorough in our reading, and appreciation of other blogs.