Statistics

Back to The Blog

~ beetleypete ~ 6 Comments

Having a break from my recollections of past employment, and political rants on my ‘other’ blog, this shorter post is one of my occasional dips into the life of my blogs, and how they are progressing, if at all.

I passed something of a landmark earlier this week, with over 10,000 views on beetleypete.wordpress.com. And before you ask, my own views do not count in these figures! This works out at an average of 770 views a month, roughly 26 a day. The lowest ever daily view, during the thirteen months I have been blogging, was 4, from 1 visitor. The highest was a fraction under 130, from 28 visitors. So far, at least on this blog, I have not sunk to 0 views, though it will happen one day, I have no doubt. On my other blog, 0 views is the norm, so a best ever daily figure of 190 on that blog, was a welcome blip, courtesy of a mention elsewhere.

Like a lot of us, in the ‘minor leagues’ of blogging, I often wonder if it is all worth it, and need constant self-discipline, just to bother to continue. When I just feel like closing up my blog shop, and leaving for Internet obscurity, I remember why I started it in the first place. It was always for me, to keep me thinking, my mind working, and my thought processes constant. Part of it serves well as a diary, to reflect on later, other parts might provide a sort of legacy, for those that would ever be interested. Expressing my thoughts and opinions, and recalling experiences based on a reasonably long life, is never going to please or interest that many anyway, but it comes with an inner satisfaction for me personally.

Being a part of a blogging community has always been worthwhile. That community changes constantly though. Companions come and go; some disappear without warning, as others appear, apparently from nowhere. For many, outside influences seem to impact on blogging. Their lives become too busy, or overwhelmed with other issues, and blogging has to go. In some cases, anger at events in this country, or abroad, spills over into the need to blog, to make their protests heard, by means of the written word. Then there are the gentle bloggers, posting very nice photographs, and letting us know what they have been doing, and how their lives and interests are progressing. They are the stalwarts of the blogging world, remaining constant, their occasional posts are comforting and relaxing, like a letter bringing good news from home.

Having followers is a nice feeling, and gives you the idea that at least that many people are constantly reading your output, and anticipating your next submission. This is a fallacy of course, as realistically, you can safely assume that less than 20% of those shown as following are actually doing so. It doesn’t matter, leave the big numbers to the huge blogs, where daily views and visitors exceed my thirteen month totals. Have a look at the Top Blogs, at the bottom of your dashboard, if you ever get time. Nintendo, Street Dancing, Climate Change, just some of the most-viewed and followed blogs on WordPress.

When I see this, it makes me feel a lot better. I think I might just carry on as I am.

As always, a big thank you to my blogging ‘friends’, old and new. For all your comments, your views and opinions, and the effort and time spent reading all my stuff. It is appreciated, perhaps more than you know. Thanks also for your own blogs, the enjoyable reads, the thought-provoking subjects, and the wonderful photos. We are all in this together.

300: Not The Spartans

~ beetleypete ~ 8 Comments

On the 28th November, 2012, I wrote a post that I called ‘100 Not Out’. This was to mark the publication of 100 posts on this blog.

Seven months later, and this is the 300th post on beetleypete. Time for reflection, I think.

Blogging is still very enjoyable, though the urgency I once felt about writing posts, getting them down when the ideas were still fresh, has diminished somewhat. I have played around with the categories, removing Politics, and adding Music. I still do not publish photographs, and do not feel like changing that policy just yet. I have stuck with the ‘theme’, and the look of the blog generally, as I find comfort in familiarity. I have reduced the rate at which I publish posts, though I am sure that there are many out there who consider that I still write too much! My original intention, to catalogue my change of lifestyle, from London life, to living in the countryside, has not been lost. However, there have been journies into my past, that I never intended to include at the outset. That said, they have been cathartic, and enjoyable to write, even though they are sometimes difficult to read back to myself.

My blogging ‘community’ has settled into a great group of regular ‘commenters’, who I like to think of as friends. I look forward to their posts, and I anticipate their comments on my efforts. I miss them when they are absent, and feel a connection with them that is perhaps tenuous at best, given the fact that we will probably (with one exception) never meet. I ignore the fact that WordPress tells me that I have almost 200 followers, on various platforms. Very few read the posts, if statistics are anything to go by, so I must presume that they are just following, hoping to be followed in return. I have finally stopped worrying about the stats of readers and views. There was a time when I got edgy, if my daily views dropped below 50. Now, I do not concern myself with those figures at all. I have achieved Blogging Maturity.

I have failed in one major area, and that is reading other blogs. I have let some people down there, as I confess to not following some as I should. My own small group that I have signed up to follow is the exception, though even some of those seem to have disappeared, or have just stopped blogging. I have a vision of myself in a few years, tapping away, posting articles, and sending them into the black hole of the Internet, where they are never read, in a world where everyone has moved on to other things. I will still be doing it though…

In a relatively short time, I have seen so many blogs just wither and die. Perhaps they did not enjoy the process as much as I do, or maybe their lives moved on, with other preoccupations to take up their time. Many are still trying to make their fortunes from the massive resource that is blogging. I am still getting lots of ‘followers’ who want me to sign up for their get rich quick schemes, or to tell me how I can make as much money as they do, drive luxury cars, and enjoy a second home on the beach. Sorry you lot, I just don’t buy it. Literally. A large section of bloggers want to write professionally, and publish books on the Internet, or sell hard copies online. Nothing wrong with that, writing is good, and the desire to keep writing is to be encouraged. Far be it from me, to burst their bubbles, or carp on about book sales. One of them might well be the next J.K. Rowling, so what do I know?

I decided to (mostly) remove Political issues from this blog, as they can be contentious, and are often not conducive to enjoyable reading. They can be thought-provoking, but usually I find that opinions on these matters are entrenched, and I do not really want to be argumentative, just for the sake of it. The other blog that I write them on, redflagflying.wordpress.com has few followers, even fewer readers, and most days, no views at all! I do not publish so much over there, but I do enjoy it, and the lack of following has helped me adjust completely to not worrying about an audience.

So, where to go from here? I am assuming, at this stage, that the next 300 posts will be fairly similar to the last. I will continue to reflect on my past, and to write about everyday, perhaps mundane things, that happen in Norfolk. That serves as an online diary for me. There will be some more Ambulance Stories, although there is a big problem with those. Life in the Ambulance Service is repetitive. Even terrible things happen on a regular basis; people die every day, often in unpleasant circumstances. To keep writing about those events may carry with it the danger of constant repetition, so I will have to give that category a lot of thought. I will go back to looking at films, as I have given that area a long ‘rest’ recently, and I will write more about music too, as that gives me pleasure, and brings back good memories. One area I have yet to write about, is travel to other countries. In the past, I have visited lots of interesting places, though I would not claim to be a ‘traveller’, in the sense of backpacking adventurers, or gap year wanderers. I was working hard at real jobs, so could only visit as a holidaymaker, rarely for more than three weeks at best. I will reflect on some though, as it may be of interest, albeit historically, as most of those places have undergone significant changes. I will not try to ‘write a book’. as many have suggested. I just don’t have a good enough idea, or sufficient inspiration as yet.

I will carry on blogging though. I have frequently written about how satisfying it is, and urged any of you who do not write blogs to at least try it. I do so again now. It will really change your life, and in a good way. Thanks to everyone who has ever read a post, and additional thanks to all of you who have commented on one. For those of you that I follow, my gratitude for your writing, your thoughts, and your inspiration; keep it up. For those who really follow me, my heartfelt thanks too.

I could not have done it without you.

Strange blog statistic

~ beetleypete ~ 9 Comments

This is just a short post, reporting something very different, and wondering if anyone else has ever seen this, on their blog.

Since yesterday, I am having constant visits to one post, ‘Some Japanese films’, by a person or persons in America. By midnight last night, this had happened 83 times, and was giving a strangely false impression of views on my site, leaving it currently as ‘best ever day’. With the stats showing 1.27 views per visitor, this was showing that someone was constantly visiting the site, and repeatedly viewing the same post.

I find it hard to believe, though it would be flattering if true, that this post is so fascinating, that someone would view it 83 times. As for today’s figures, it is already 20+ and building, for the same post again. It has left me intrigued, and wondering why. The refresh speed of the blog has slowed, that’s for sure, but all other functions seem to be normal. Could this be some sort of ‘blog blockade’? Or is it just a kind of ‘repeat setting’, like a record stuck on the groove?

Any ideas or suggestions welcome. Hope everyone had a nice Valentine’s day, by the way, for those who celebrated it…

 

 

Small milestones

~ beetleypete ~ 10 Comments

Yesterday heralded some small milestones for my tiny blog. I reached over 5,000 views, and had my first ever day with over 100 (104) views, albeit by only 20 people! In the grand scheme of Blogging, this might seem laughable. I have seen posts with more views, on other blogs, and total views of tens of thousands, overall. Yet, it filled me with a (slightly overblown) sense of achievement, and a feeling that all the writing had been worthwhile, after all.

When I started this blog last year, I had no concept of followers, views, links, and referrals. It was just going to be a diary. I really didn’t expect anyone, outside a very close circle of friends and family, to ever want to read it. I could not imagine how they would find it, why they would even want to look for it, and what would inspire them to read about my life and opinions; or to carry on doing this, for seven months. I have written before about the positive aspects of blogging, so I will not go over old ground. For me to have 70+ followers, even if some have ‘given up’ on me, and to find that twenty people have taken time to read five posts each, is a greater thing than I ever imagined it could be. If I had written a book, and it had been seen by over 1,000 people, and about 100 of those had bought a copy, I would be absolutely thrilled. In a way, that is just what I have done.

My foray into Twitter yesterday was another milestone, as I had vowed never to embrace Social Networking, in this form. In many ways, it was how I imagined it might be, like Facebook on speed. Constant updates about very little, some pointless chatter, video clips and photos, and a lot of blatant advertising, with a few useful bits hiding in all the chaff. I managed to add over 100 blog posts to my ‘thread’, but I have a feeling that they will never be read; at least not in the same way as they are read by fellow bloggers. Let’s face it, blogging is not about speed of delivery, and not even necessarily about topicality. It is a thoughtful, often painful process; it requires life experience, preparation, research, and honesty. The fairground style, acid-trip haze of Twitter is another world, and an alien one to me.

I did learn one lesson though. Sharing on LinkedIn, Twitter, and anything else available, is not an answer for me. Referrals from these are few and far between, as are re-posts, or whatever the other engines call them. I don’t have the time, or the inclination, to jump on the fast-moving escalator that is a Twitter feed; I just cannot keep up. I won’t stop it now, but will leave it there; popping over to Twitter and LinkedIn occasionally, to see what’s going on, and to make sure that the stuff is being published there. But I will seek no further outlets for my posts.

I shall stick with the ‘blog family’ that I know and love, and if that is all there ever is, it will be more than enough for me.

Blog report 2012

~ beetleypete ~ Leave a comment

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here is a generic summary from WordPress about my blog for 2012. It makes interesting reading if you are already blogging, and may give you the push to start one of your own if you are not. Happy New Year to everyone who has ever read, liked, or followed my blog, and thanks again to you all. I wish you happy blogging in 2013, and a fulfilled and healthy life for everyone during the coming year.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 2,900 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 5 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Best day ever…

~ beetleypete ~ 2 Comments

Well, today I achieved the accolade of ‘best day ever’; the most views on my site. I suppose I should be ecstatic, and I am mildly excited. I am more interested as to why. Is it the subject of the posts? I really don’t know. Maybe it is because I have never sought a lot of views, and life is just catching up on me, who knows? Whatever the reason, I cannot help but be pleased. I have had views from Greece, and Israel, both for the first time. This can possibly be referred to my post ‘Hellas’, as the Greeks will no doubt be intrigued.  What has really boosted the figures, is a total of 35 views from Australia. What is that about? I would love to know. Still, it makes me feel really good, to inspire my Antipodean brothers, or sisters.

This is the great thing about blogging. You go from 9 views, to over 80, in the course of a day, and you never really know why. Are your ideas fresher? Is there a previously undiscovered audience?  It is impossible to quantify. The statistics tell you a lot of things, but never the answer you really desire, a simple why? I wish that I could bottle the secret to ‘a good day’. To me, the posts are similar to others, no better, no worse. Yet, for some reason, they generated interest, like never before.

We mostly blog for ourselves. I know that I do, for sure. However, to get a readership, sprinkled across many nations, is definitely a bonus. Anyone who says that they can not be impressed by others reading their stuff, is being obtuse. It is impossible not to notice that others are noticing, even on such a tiny effort as my humble blog.

So, more power to my elbow? No, more power to my viewers and readers, giving me the impetus to continue, and to be enthusiastic.

Blog day afternoon

~ beetleypete ~ 2 Comments

I have just had a quiet time on the blog. Thanksgiving in America, and UK friends probably getting tired of gruesome Ambulance stories, who knows? It isn’t really important, just interesting, to see the fluctuations in views. One of the fascinations about blogging, is to look at the statistics, and see how the viewings of your blog change. Weekends are usually much quieter that weekdays, for example. No doubt there are lots of people with more to do at weekends, places to go, people to see, less time for blogging activities. It is easy to appreciate that, and to make sense of the trends.

I then changed the tone of my blog. Over the last two days. I wrote posts about letters, and doing things now, and suddenly, it has all taken off again. Lots of likes, four new followers, and many comments too.  In one afternoon, I have had more blog traffic than in the previous two weeks. Not in terms of views, but in contacts, comments, and general interest. Perhaps it is time for me to re-evaluate (yet again) and try to decide if I should diversify more often.  Once more, most of the interest comes from North America, from Canada, and the USA.  This has always intrigued and amused me, as many of my posts have taken a blatantly anti-American stance, and others have been mildly sarcastic about undue American influence in English culture.

So, I take my hat off (metaphorically, as I never wear one) to those North Americans. They have seen further than some of their fellows, and embraced criticism, something that they are not acknowledged for, ever. They are also looking beyond their shores, and showing interest in other lives, something else not normally associated with them. I am having to re-think old prejudices, which doesn’t come easy, at my age. I don’t include those trying to sell books, or services of course. I wish that they would stop using the ‘shield’ of blogging to do this. If your stuff is so good, advertise it on Google, or sell it on Amazon Marketplace. I don’t need it, and I will never buy it. Please, just stop.

For the rest of you, much thanks, and more power to your blogging elbows.

Blogging statistics

~ beetleypete ~ 5 Comments

Those of you who have not ventured too far into the arena of blogging, may not be aware that the blogger can view statistics relating to his or her blog. These include; followers of the blog, comments received, most popular posts, and my personal favourite, daily views.
I confess that I most often look at the daily views. It is encouraging to see if anyone is actually reading anything you are writing. Not that this is a reason to either desist, or continue, as the reasons for writing a blog go far beyond the assumption that anyone else cares about it.

I was interested to see that yesterday, 25th September, was my highest viewing day to date, as 29 people had read the blog in the 24-hour period. Before this, the 18th was close, with 27 views, though nothing comes close to matching my best day, with no less than 69 views; the day I actually started the blog, and sent e mails and texts to everyone, asking them to read it! There are a few days when nobody reads it at all. I had two quiet days this month, with no views.
When I started, I did anticipate that there would be lots of comments, not all favourable of course, and that this might create debate and argument between the commentators. This has not been the case, as most people shy away from commenting publicly, preferring to e mail me directly with their thoughts. I also get the option to approve all comments before they appear under the posts, and just so you know, I have never declined any so far, and do not intend to do so, unless they are harmful, or offensive.

There is also an interesting world map, showing the country of origin of those commenting. This can often offer surprises, when you see countries like Ecuador, Bulgaria, and Russia appear, and considering that the tone of some posts could be considered offensive by some Americans, the most current information on today’s map shows views from the USA. Something else that you may not know (as I did not) is that there is also a lot of spam, filtered out by WordPress, but still available for viewing. This is hugely entertaining, as it is mostly scams and sales pitches, but often written in the most hilarious attempts at English. I think I may save some of them, and make them the subject of a ‘spamming’ post in the future.

So that is blogging, my blog in particular, and the statistics thereof. Not that interesting, I know, but it is to me.