One year has passed…

Today one year has passed since the first post in this blog.

Horta, Portugal

Blog-wise, what has happened this last year?

Since I started this blog one year ago I’ve posted 201 posts (this is the 202nd) and 204 people have decided to follow the blog. Most of these followers are passive (they stop by every now and then to read a post and perhaps say hello or click the like- button), while some are more active; always reading my posts & leaving comments. I also follow many blogs and of course it’s only natural to be more active in some blogs and less in others.

My first post was about Mexican photographer Daniela Rossell, an article I wrote many years ago and decided to open the blog with. First I published the Norwegian article, then I followed up with an English translation few days later. Throughout the year this has been my most popular post – both in terms of ratings, search terms and clicks – which is very satisfying considering the fact that there’s a lot of work put into the article: both research and translation. Let me specify: the English post about Daniela Rossell is my most popular post, while the Norwegian version is among the least popular.

My plan when I started the blog was to write all posts in both Norwegian and English, but I quickly realized that the Norwegian posts don’t generate any visitors. So I decided that I wouldn’t waste my time and energy on it. The only positive thing is that when I write my mother’s tongue, it raises the level of my writing, because my vocabulary is better. Translating the stuff I write into English also helps my English vocabulary.

But. like I said, I won’t be writing for the Norwegians; they enjoy stuff like clothes, fashion and sports, and their favourite conversational subject is the weather. Research actually prove that they are a bunch of conformists (Stanley Milgram): If Norwegians are placed in a group, and the majority of the group agrees on a subject – most of the Norwegians will also agree, just to fit in (even if he/she didn’t really agree on the given subject in the first place).

Other popular posts have been my series about The History of Tattoo (it took a long while before the stats started increasing on those articles, but after the second article was published it created a synergy effect, so now both of them are improving in terms of readers and popularity.

So, where will the blog go from here?

Like every single other human being that has ever walked the surface of this earth, I’m not able to predict the future. The only ones that can somehow vaguely predict the future is the meteorologist and the best thing they can come up with, is a chaos theory about what the weather will be like the next few days.

This is not a prediction and as you can see it’s definitely not chiseled in stone, but I was thinking about posting less frequently and write longer, more researched posts (like the ones I’ve mentioned), but I haven’t really decided on anything in particular, because I also like sharing photos: sharing photos is quick and easy, while writing a good post takes time.

I’m also considering removing the like button, because basically it’s like a digital dog taking a piss on a blog corner: “I was here, I clicked like, I moved on”. The like button isn’t even a guarantee that people actually liked what they read/saw. I’ve experienced publishing a long post and almost instantly received a “like”, even when there’s no way that anyone could have read that fast!

Well, at least for a while, I will try a new life without the like button which means that from now on, if you want to let me know that you’ve been here, you’ll have to walk the extra mile and go through the hassle of leaving a comment.

Apropos comments, feel free to leave one and tell me what you would like to read about in this blog. Do you prefer photos or long, written posts?

P.S. Right now we’re travelling in the Azorean Islands of Portugal, but I ‘ve saved up some drafts to post while we’re travelling. So you can still expect new material while we’re on our journey.

August 23, 2012 | Categories: computers | Tags: about blogging, blog anniversary, blogging, writing | 27 Comments »