We've just recorded the busiest month's blog traffic ever since we've been blogging; here are the numbers from Sitemeter:Blogs only prosper because there is a community out there that is interested in what other people think. Over the six-plus years that we have been a part of the blogosphere, our readership has increased steadily. It spiked around the time of the 2011 General Election then flattened out a bit last year. But in the last few months, there has been another significant up-swing.This is the first time we have ever gone past 40,000 page views in a month, and it's also the largest number of visits that we have had in a single month. People may not agree with some or all of what we post, but an increasing number seems to be stopping by. And we are now up to #13 on the Open Parachute Blog Rankings, which surveys a range of New Zealand blogs, not just those with a political emphasis.So thanks to everyone who calls by, and even bigger thanks to those who take the time to comment. As we've said before, we blog because we enjoy it, and it seems that others enjoy it as well. Long may that continue!
We installed Sitemeter as a hit counter on Keeping Stock about four months after we started blogging. Each week, Sitemeter sends us a report of blog activity for the week from Tuesday to Monday. Quite why the week is configured that way is beyond us, but over a period of time, it all equals out.
And when we receive that report tomorrow, it's going to show a record number; check this out:
The numbers are small compared to the likes of Kiwiblog and Whaleoil, but as "hobby bloggers", we're pretty happy to have hit 10,000 page-views in a week for the first time ever. And our average figure for unique visitors for a week has never before passed 900 per day. So we are treading new ground.
The reasons for the explosion in numbers this week and likely highest ever monthly figures are pretty obvious. There was David Shearer's fishy stunt and the admission of a secret meeting with John Key last Tuesday, Mr Shearer's resignation on Thursday, and the dreadful Kim Dotcom tweet yesterday.
Each of those events produced a spike in traffic, but the cumulative effect of them all taking place within a seven-day period has had a very positive spin-off for visitor numbers. We are expecting that this month will trump our previous busiest month ever, which was November 2011: the lead-up to the 2011 General Election and reflecting on the result.
And we are well on the way to welcoming our millionth visitor. With an increase in blog traffic in recent months, we are likely to hit that milestone this side of Christmas.
As we've said in the past, we blog because we enjoy blogging. When it becomes an chore, and when the enjoyment factor ceases will be the time when we step away. For now however, we ARE enjoying blogging, and the numbers suggest that there are a few people out there who enjoy what we do.That makes it all worthwhile.
Six years ago today, this post appeared.
Things have changed considerably since we first dipped our toes into the blogosphere. We're six years older, but not necessarily any wiser. We've made lots of friends and acquaintances around the place. We don't visit the golf course as often as we used to, although we're putting that right this morning and breaking a lengthy golfing drought.Most significantly though the Electoral Finance Act, which was the piece of legislation that was the catalyst for us starting to blog was repealed when the John Key-led Government was elected in November 2008.A self-congratulatory post wouldn't be complete without a few numbers. This is Keeping Stock's 8050th post. We have received 32,661 comments as of this morning. And although we didn't install Sitemeter until we'd been blogging for a few months, we've hosted over 900,000 visitors who between them have recorded more than 1.3 million pageviews. We were at #13 on the Open Parachute blog rankings for July, out of the 280 New Zealand blogs that Ken collects Sitemeter information on.We blog because we enjoy it, and when we cease to enjoy it we will cease to blog. We came close to that earlier this year, after a concerted personal attack. Readers will not have seen that, but that is why we now leave moderation enabled. That is the less pleasant by-product of voicing one's opinion.Thanks to all who stop by, and especially to those who take the time to comment, even if it's to express a contrary opinion to ours. Comments are the lifeblood of a blog, and we appreciate your willingness to engage.
So while we're on the golf course today filling our lungs with fresh sea air, we'll reflect on the last six years, and we'll think of what lies ahead. We can't guarantee that we'll still be here next year, but conversely, we have no immediate plans to cease and desist.Happy birthday to us!
