Yesterday was the two-year anniversary of Now Is Good. I missed it (as, in all honesty, I miss most anniversaries, birthdays, and milestones). Truth be told, I didn’t even think about it until I received my annual statistics report for the blog. Interesting stuff.
According to WordPress,
- Now Is Good was viewed approximately 50,000 times in 2011. That’s a few thousand more than in Now Is Good’s first year, but pretty consistent between 2010 and 2011.
- There were 66 new posts in 2011. That’s not nearly as many as I’d like. I need to write more.
- Now Is Good’s busiest traffic day was August 31st. When people came on that day, they read “Venting.” It continues to fascinate me that the most painful or frustrated posts are usually the most popular.
- The most commented-on post in 2011? “Grass Rhymes with Ass Rhymes with Class.” And not all of the comments were nice.
- The other three most frequently read posts this year were “I A Little Crying,” “Find A Little Courage,” and “Marriage Farce.” When I go back and re-read these, I can tap right back into the pain and turmoil of those times. That’s a good thing, because although I don’t want to feel those ways again, I don’t want to forget those pains. The hard times are the ones that shape me and the ones I want to remember clearly.
- Of my five most frequent commenters? Four are people I’ve only “met” virtually out here in the blogosphere. And three are folks whose own blogs I read (and comment on) regularly.
- When people found me by doing a search, they usually appeared to be searching specifically for me, with “now is good,” “now is good blog” and “nowisgood blog” being the most commonly input terms. Wonderfully, though, the other search terms that most frequently led people here were the words “Yes” and “Courage.” I really like that, because those are two words I’ve found within myself as a direct result of writing here.
- Most of my readers hail from the U.S., but there are a good number in Canada and India, too. Readers have also landed here from Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Columbia, Chile, Argentina, UK, France, Germany, Austria, Ireland, South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Namibia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Guam. This boggles my mind and drives home the fact that although the world is vast, we are all interconnected.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for commenting. Thank you for supporting me. Although I may go AWOL occasionally, this blog has given me a voice and a creative outlet that was very much lacking in my prior life. You’ve given me a community, and I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.
Happy New Year, everyone. Here’s to a magnificent 2012!
Your blog has helped me so much on my own journey back to life. You have put words on pains which were otherwise festering inside of me, and helped me think about the bigger picture, the possibility of a better future, bringing hope into some pretty bleak days. For this I thank you…
Have a wonderful new year 2012!
x
Mere – what does it say about me that the first thing I thought when i saw Namibia was “omg, angelina is totally reading meredith’s blog?!” Anyway, love this and thrilled you’re still actively writing. Thank you! Happy New Year!!
Your blog is an inspiration. Thank you
I think those stats are awesome! Furthermore, I agree you need to post more often as many times your words bring so much needed laughter in my day or re-direct my anger of the day to people who have pissed you off – ultimately sparing my people’s lives…..
Lastly, I vote that we should travel the world to all those really cool places your readers live and meet them – I’m packed!!!
Was so excited to see you posting again. Here’s to a wonderful 2012 for you and your beautiful tribe!!
Happy New Year Meredith! I’m not surprised to see that the posts that were written to express and share a lot of pain and anger were the most popular ones. Most often people visit personal blogs for two reasons- first, because we want to put a finger on our own thoughts,feelings, emotions. It’s so much easier to read someone else’s blog and then be able to effectively figure out how we felt and why. Second, we are all looking for hope, courage and positiveness. My grief might be different from yours, my hurdle, bigger or smaller to yours , that does not stop me from drawing courage and confidence from you. It has been a wonderful symbiotic relationship with you and I look forward to more engagements.
Bravo! What great stats (I wish wordpress sent them to me!?) – I look forward to 2012 and reading more here. Yes and courage are two of the themes I personally think you write about, and epitomize. xoxo