10 May 2008

Blogging Statistics...

This might be called a recurring theme for me but it remains one of interest! I would guess that based on my stats sex or sex-related material gets the visitors in but it does not get them back over and over again. So, then the real question is how to increase visitors, particularly repeat visitors, without resorting to time tested tactics relating to sex!

Controversy always works and my posts on the last supper still draw a good number of hits. The posting of the accompanying pictures to those posts was a worthwhile deal because some were hard to track down at first (although they are not so hard to track down anymore).

Yet, the killer here I think is that if what you are posting is readable and interesting then people will keep coming back. I also think that if you write it as you see it, the idea of calling things based on your personal experience, then you make a personal connection with the reader without ever having to meet them in person! So, in that sense it does not matter whether you are anonymous or you reveal your true identity. Two examples of this are my blogging colleagues Jakartass and Rima Fauzi.

I return to both their blogs because I enjoy reading what they write as much as I enjoy how it is written. I should also give a shout out to the other blogs I read, all of which are in my blog roll. But, a special mention to the ones I read most often such as Treespotter, GJ, Greenstump, Dilligaf, and Finally Woken (all linked in my blog roll -- check them out!).

However, as I have already written many times, I blog to amuse and humor myself! If I do happen to amuse and humor others along the way then so be it! I never really started doing this blogging thing for recognition, personal or otherwise, so stat numbers are not so crucial to me or my existence. The idea that someone is reading what I write is intriguing to me but that is about as far as it goes. Nah, I am competitive and I like to win and I like to be the best, but I am also a realist and this reminds me of an analogy involving bodybuilding and working out!

"There is always going to be someone bigger than you out there!" So, don't get too caught up in the ego of this. Simply, there is always some one out there prepared to work harder, do more, or take more steroids to be the best! I am struggling to be just happy being me right at this moment in time without putting on any added pressure on myself of having to be the absolute number one blogger in Indonesia and the world!

By the way...the other thing that seems to drive visitors is posting good pieces and posting often. If I can visit and see something new each time I visit I tend to keep visiting other blogs. So, I reckon it would be the same for others who visit me...

9 comments:

Unknown said...

dude, you sure you want people looking for steroids to find you a destination?

rimafauzi said...

good posts are exactly why i come back to your blog too.
and the fact that it is simply too hot to go anywhere, and i'd rather stay home and blogwalk rather than real walking..
aaaargghh.. c'est tres chaud!!!

Rob Baiton said...

Tree...

The steroid thing was an analogy and not a confession. I figured in an olympic year then the word "steroid" in the label might attract some visitors :)

Just kidding...it is an analogy and nothing more!

Rima...

Yep, it is hot here too! But I tend to walk my dog at 3 or 4 in the morning as it is probably the coolest time of the day just before dawn...

Good weekend to all!

Unknown said...

Rob, you must be the bravest man in Jakarta. Walking at pre-dawn on Jakarta footpaths, so how many times have you fallen into the drain or suffered personal injury??
Fav girl broke her angle in a SHOP due to the uneven surface!!!!

So, do you wear the undies on the outside during these walks?????:-)

tere616.blogspot.com said...

Hm..can't agree more than you.

I don't care of my blog stat, as long as I can clear my mind throgh writing then it's ok with me.

Yup, you're rite, people will come by how often you write and the stuff that you write.

Rob Baiton said...

GJ...

Not really our complex is fairly walker friendly and generally walk on the roads...late night and early morning there is not traffic and no people...

It was always the best time as we could wander at leisure and I could talk to her, she was always much better than a shrink because I only had to feed and walk her!

Tere 616...

I have linked you in my blog roll...yep, the statistics have never been the key for me, as it has always just been a place to write about any old thing that is on my mind at that point in time.

Finally Woken said...

Honored to be mentioned - more than once!. I've got a very long list of blogs I (should) visit, but only a handful of them that I check regularly. Yours is definitely one of them!

One that that amazes me is how you have enormous energy to write almost everyday, and often more than one post each day, in between your job, your missus, dog, and reading Terry's book! :). Care to share?

Unknown said...

Thanks again Rob, I know I should write more, but, someone else told me I should get out more..

Quandry!

Rob Baiton said...

FW...

I sleep less than I should! So, the pros -- plenty of new entries on the blog every day! The cons -- tired and irritable and generally a pain in the arse to all those around me!

Arghhhh...finding balance!