blogs, Reflections

2014: My Blog in Review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog. Since WP put in the effort, I thought I would review my stats from the year — seems like the annual thing to do and all.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 22,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 8 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Who Views

No surprise that America is my biggest audience — as that is where I live. I wonder how US-centric WordPress is in general, and how that impacts those who blog, write, share, and produce content here. I’ve been pondering content sharing online since that talk Laura Czerniewicz (@Czernie) gave on visibility and presence in scholarship in #scholar14.

“Some of your most popular posts were written before 2014. Your writing has staying power! Consider writing about those topics again.”

Maybe I was more interesting from 2010-2013? Or at least my post topics or titles were. Based on my click view stats from this year, compared to the last few years, my overall readership has decreased. Then again, it looks like I posted 48 blog posts total, which is down from from 59 post in 2013 and 62 posts in 2012. Perhaps I was a tad busy writing other things in 2014 (*ahem* Dissertation *cough*). It is no wonder why a number of readers decided to look back into the archives of this blog – top 5 hits included:

I am not concerned. I started and continue to blog to share ideas, reflect on learning and put a few things out there with regards to my own teaching, service and research scholarship. I blog for myself, and the community of practice who shares similar sentiments and values. It’s quality not quantity, right? I am honored to have a number of new followers and loyal subscribers from my PLN who read, respond, and engage.

Top Commenters for 2014

I’d much prefer to get comments and thoughts shared on posts then just click views any day. Plus you never know what a blog post might lead to. Often it has been a new connection, collaborative writing, and even research fun – OH MY! {Yes – this even includes random meet ups and spontaneous dance/beach parties. True story.} Beyond my blog reflections, is where the real networked magic happens. These posts are really just a springboard to more learning, fun, and research.

If you care to learn more about the TechKNOW Tools stats from 2014, feel free to click here to see the complete report. Thanks to the many social platform links and even a shout out to Josie for referrals here. Happy blogging to all in 2015! Blog on.

p.s. Why the heck would I want to use the new WP editor? I much prefer the classic wp-admin mode ANY day for my blogging experience. Seriously.

blogs

HOW TO: Set Up A WordPress Blog


  1. Go to WordPress (WP) http://wordpress.com/; Here’s the Get Started guide from WP for further help: http://learn.wordpress.com/get-started/
  2. Click on the “Sign Up for Free” blue button in the middle of the page.
  3. Select and enter: blog name, username, email & log-in information. Consider a name that you will want to use & share for your blog.
  4. Click the “Create Blog” Button for your FREE WP Blog
  5. Go to the email address you entered to Activate your blog
  6. Choose a starter theme for your blog. Be sure to click the “Show More Themes” button at the bottom & select a FREE theme
  7. To update your blog log into the wordpress.com website OR go to YourBlogName.wordpress.com/wp-admin & sign in
  8. Go to your WP Blog Dashboard to set up and personalize your blog & check out http://learn.wordpress.com/ to customize

Resources:
What is a Blog? via @ProBlogger
How to Blog: Blogging Tips for Beginners via @ProBlogger
Warning: Do You Recognize These 21 Blogging Mistakes? via @ProBlogger
Blogging as literacy via Steve Wheeler (@timbuckteeth)
WP Tutorials http://wordpress.tv/
85 wordpress plugins for blogging journalists | Online Journalism Blog
12 Must-Do Tasks for the New WordPress Site Owner | Copyblogger