Our First Year: Taking Stock

It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been writing this blog for a year now. The first post was published on Saturday, May 20, 2006. Since then I’ve published 82 articles and received 101 reader comments. As near as I can tell, on average, about 15 people a day stop by. Some days, usually after an article has been republished in the Sag Harbor Express, that number rises dramatically, often reaching 80 visitors in a single day. I realize that those are not big numbers for a blog, but I am also aware that I’m writing for a limited audience, and that many people only read the blog posts that are published in the paper, and never visit the website. Yet even at 15 readers a day, that still means the blog has received well over 5,000 visits from readers (including many repeat visits) during its first year.

I gather these statistics from a few different sources, which tell me how many readers I have, and where they are from, but not who they are. So, unless you leave a comment signed with your real name (not required), I have no idea who is reading the blog. It is fascinating, though to discover that I have had readers from all over the world, including what seem to be repeat readers in Germany, England, California and other far off locations.

It’s comforting to have these statistics, because as much as I enjoy writing these articles, it wouldn’t be half as much fun if no one was reading them, and, since not that many readers leave comments on the blog, without the statical reports, I just wouldn’t know if anyone was out there.

During the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to write about many interesting topics, some controversial, some not, some personal, some not, some informative, and some just for fun. Being the one who picks the topics is both challenging — I often have no idea what I’m going to write about when I start a post — and inspiring. Having the responsibility of  picking meaningful topics, has often inspired me to write something of which I end up being quite proud.

Herewith, the highs and lows (in my opinion) of my first year as a blogger:

Best Post: 98.6 Miles – Maybe the best thing I’ve ever written.

Best Comment: I wrote about an op-ed piece that Robbie Vorhaus wrote for the Sag Harbor Express and then he commented on my blog post. It was a real thrill for me to have someone I wrote about read and comment on what I had written. The post was called What I Learned About Love Today, and Robbie Vorhaus’ comment can be found at the end of the post.

Funniest Post: What’s In a Name? – This one was written by my wife, Bobbie. We got a lot of comments about this one, both on line and in person.

Most Childish Post: A Mess for S.G.  – Really pointless, although one reader did comment that he thought it was “hilarious.”

Most Rewarding Moment: This is a tie. My first most rewarding moment, came at a Sag Hampton gathering where I was introduced to the head of a local real estate company who, it turns out, had been reading Sag Hampton. He proceeded to let me know why my attitude about the gentrification of Sag Hampton (I hate it) was wrong. While I didn’t, and still don’t, agree with him, it was very gratifying to learn that he was a Sag Hampton reader! The other most rewarding moment was when the post I wrote about Robbie Vorhaus’ column (mentioned above) was in turn written about by Jennifer Jones in her blog, Goodness, Graciousness. I have a great deal of respect for Jennifer, so to have her pick up a topic from Sag Hampton was very meaningful for me.

Biggest Disappointment: Only 101 comments. (Unfortunately, that number is misleadingly high, since some of those are my responses to others’ comments.) As I’ve said before, one of the main reasons I started this blog was in the hope that it would evolve into a forum of sorts where everyone was welcome to express their thoughts and opinions on a broad range of topics relevant to the Sag Hampton area — and certainly we have had a bit of that going on. But, I hoped for more, and still do. Maybe it’s me. Maybe I just don’t write about the right things, or maybe I don’t write well enough keep you engaged. If that’s so, then I accept that I’m never going to see the volume of comments I had hoped for.

But, if it’s not me. If the topics I write about do interest you, and if I am writing well enough to keep you reading to the end, then I want to encourage you to click on the words “Post a Comment,” or sometimes “Leave Comment” that follow each post, and let me, and the other readers of Sag Hampton, know what you think. (By the way, if there are already comments on a post, the words “Leave Comment” are replaced by “X Comments,” where X is the number of comments already left. In that case, just click on “X Comments” to add yours.) Oh, and if someone has already commented, and you want to comment on their comment, you can do that too. You don’t have to register – that’s optional. You don’t even have to leave your name – just check the box that says “Post Anonymously.”

With that said, let me sincerely thank you for making Sag Hampton part of your world over these past months. With your encouragement, I’ve really enjoyed my first year as a blogger. Looking ahead…well, I’m not sure what I’ll be writing about, but I’ll do my best to keep it lively, and  I hope you’ll do your part too…go ahead, just click below and have your say.

—————————————————–
Currently listening to: The Late Greats by Wilco

Powered by ScribeFire.