The end of March means it is blog’iversary time again. Twelve years since that first tentative post.
A new job has kept me busy and has given some interesting new perspectives(see photo).
That has been reflected in a relative lack of activity here and almost no participation in the software beta programs which make release related posts easier. I can’t write about software I haven’t seen or used yet!
As I wrote last year, in spite of the plethora of social platforms — or perhaps because of their proliferation — I still think blogs are important. While much more comment happens in social media, often related to linked posts, if you value your content a blog is a good home for it. Keep your work outside those ‘logon required’ social media walled gardens on a platform you control*.
Speaking of control, the only significant design change I have made this year is to remove all display advertising from my blogs (try doing that on Facebook). You may still see (clearly identified) affiliate links in posts where appropriate but the display ads just added clutter and complication for no worthwhile reward. I will cover the small, but significant, charity donation that adverts used to fund.
I still find it amazing that thanks to this hobby I’ve made, and in some cases met, many friends around the world. To everyone, everywhere, thanks for visiting, reading and subscribing!
Some annual stats follow in the extended post if you’re interested.
* Or at least can export your content from and relocate should you wish!
Statistics:
Another year of less than prolific posting but visits held up.
Visits & Subscribers:
The weekly “blog beat” is still fairly constant, thanks to the back catalogue as much as any new content.
Location:
As usual the US dominates but I was surprised to see New Zealand now second, up from third last year! Probably reflects more content around local events, user groups and less application/service posts which have wider interest.
Browser & Operating System:
It’s interesting to watch this over the years even if it doesn’t really mean much due to the small sample size. Chrome (on Windows) leads with IE falling, rather dramatically from 28% to 19%, and Windows 10 Edge browser arriving.
Operating Systems saw Windows still on top, almost unchanged, with Mac falling behind both iOS and Android. I wonder if the responsive theme helping with mobile/tablet viewing had any impact? Surprising to see Blackberry still there, suspect those Windows Phone visits may be just me!
Of the desktop OS Windows 7 still rules, just 4% down on last year. Windows 8.1 was up a little, 2%, and Windows 10 appeared for the first time. Both XP and Vista still appear, although down, and someone is still on Windows NT/2000!
Thanks for reading this far through the numbers if you did, see you next year!
