Monday, October 22, 2012

Some thoughts about blogs and blog readers

As a writer with diverse interests ranging from noting life and its peculiarities here in this Gimme a Break blog, sharing gardening angst in my Somewhat Complete GardenerNote to Myself, a rant blog; my painting - the canvas type - blog, not to leave out the Starting Over, the embryo of a romance soap opera with a story line that definitely showed promise but is languishing in cyberland, I have a lot to say or write about everthing. There are also a few more of lesser importance - the full count is seven in all - some of which have been abandoned temporarily due to waning interest on my part. Most likely I'll return from time-to-time and add material to keep them fresh.

"So - what's this all leading up to? Another of your 'poor li'l ole me' rants?"

The rationale behind the creation of the blogs, obviously, is to share my thoughts about subjects, which could be of relevance or at least some interest to web readers. Obviously, as a writer and given the multifarious (love that word!) options, the hope is that Web surfers would drop by and make one of them a regular habit. As a means to promote the blogs, I'm a twitterer or |Tweeter...whatever... in other words, I use Twitter to build up circulation. Really, it's a great tool and one that has brought me some new readers from all corners of the globe but there's still a long way to go in order for me to say I have a following. Not that I'm complaining about you wonderful people who have followed me from the start.

As a blog writer, it's important to keep abreast of what others are writing about and I enjoy reading people's take on life. Of particular interest is the number of blog followers that some contributors seem to attract. Okay. I'll admit the little green-eyed monster is at work here but numbers do say a lot.

For example, my busiest blog being this very one, has thirteen followers. My ego soared as each person added themself to my list, which in turn gave me the incentive to be on the lookout for material to share with everyone.  The next busiest blog in my A. Playwright's Rambling, covering the world of playwriting and the angst and frustration of getting one's play produced. It has attracted one follower and in turn I always mentally dedicate my writing to my sole follow-ee.

"Stop rambling and get to the point already!"

On average, the two top blogs get about fifty page views and more on a good subject, but depending on the interest level, they can be as low as fifteen. The largest numbers were posts relevant to the royal nuptials and my not receiving an invitation, how to act should one be in the company of royalty and another one covering every day etiquette and manners. People seem particularly interested in royalty and related matters. While seeking out the quirky side of life, I've noticed that some lucky bloggers manage to acquire thousands of page views and vast numbers of followers. This causes me to shake my head in wonder and awe as to how they accomplish this.

My twitter followers on the other hand, number in the mid 400-range. This means that 400 lucky people get pre-notification  when a new blog is posted. It also makes me wonder exactly who reads my literary offerings and which subjects they enjoy the most. Feedback is the key to creativity, readers! When it's all said and done, it's  a numbers game in the end, right?






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