Go figure: my blogging year in review
It’s the last night of 2012…and the helpful little “helper monkeys” at WordPress have been as busy as Santa’s elves putting together an annual report for A Glass Half Full (and every other WordPress blog).
I’ve not yet reached the 12-month mark on my blog. My first post was on April 27, making it just a few days more than eight months. And as some of you know, it was a bit of a rocky start. I really wasn’t sure I liked blogging at all – it seemed a bit too much like working for no pay. But the more I got into it, the more I liked it, finding an outlet for writing more than just the usual travel stories that I write to earn my daily crust.
And a lot of that is down to my readers. Feedback is a wonderful thing – I know that you are reading! And I got a fantastic boost just a week or so ago, when WordPress chose one of my posts to feature on “Freshly Pressed”. Thank you to all those new readers and followers! I look forward to hearing from you more in 2013.
Links to my travel-related posts also now appear on the website home page of travelBulletin, a leading Australian travel industry magazine for which I write. I’ve also been a guest blogger for Tourism Queensland and for Explore Australia.
Here are a few of the interesting statistics that WordPress came up with about A Glass Half Full:
600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 8,300 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 14 years to get that many views. (That’s actually 8,300 in eight months, so about 1000 views a month). Not sure I quite understand the thinking here…but I guess it’s a fun fact!
I wrote 90 new posts (this one makes 91) and uploaded 339 images.
The busiest day of the year was December 22 with 706 views. The most popular post was An empty place at the table.
My top five posts were:
- An empty place at the table December 2012
- A night at the theatre: fun, footy and that other f word October 2012
- Raising a glass to Merle and Ro September 2012
- My Christmas card list December 2012
- A story of loss, and love, and hope August 2012
My readers came from 108 countries – most of them in Australia, with the United States and UK not far behind. I’ve now got 448 followers (wouldn’t it be great to make 450 by January 1??).
Thank you all! Happy New Year!
A Glass Half Full 
10 Responses to “Go figure: my blogging year in review”
Your comment about blogging seeming like an awful lot of work at the beginning made me smile. That’s how I felt, too. And now. Now it’s my comfort when I need to see how much good there is I the world, and how small my problems are in the scheme of things. In short, I now love it too. Happy new year!
Thanks for your thoughts Deborah. Happy New Year to you too!
I didn’t really know what a blog was when I started 3 years ago, but now I love it. I think writing the blog makes me more observant when I travel and I have made many new friends through Bagni di Lucca and Beyond. I have met several of my readers in various parts of the world. I love the WordPress community and fun comments from readers make blogging a great thing to do.
I look forward to following your blog in 2013.
Yes, Debra, I agree with you about being more observant. Now I look at things and wonder how I would blog them…and I tend to find it’s the really small detail stuff that sometimes works out. Something I’d never write for anywhere else. And I too love the feedback from readers – not something that a magazine or newspaper can provide (except now online versions). Thanks for following me. Happy New Year!
Hiw fun are those stats Lee! Celebrate the New Year as you deserve and may 2013 be a spectacular one. xxx
Thanks Wendy. Happy New Year to you and the teen xx
May your 2013 put double the numbers up the mountains they face and with a smile on their faces and warmth in their hearts! Thanks. :-)
Thanks Len. Happy New Year, smiles and warmth (but not too many mountains) to you too!
Sounds like you’re right on track with your blog Lee. Happy new year and here’s to lots more page views in the new year!
Happy New Year Christine. Here’s to more views for both of us! Will be following you through the year – and hope to see you somewhere in 2013.