New Year – I Am Author JED

So 2014 is officially gone. I believe the New Year has found its way into every corner of the world by now. Seems like a perfect time to reflect back on what is gone and we can no longer do anything about. Namely the Stinky Stats!

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Right here at your very friendly neighborhood playhouse, people visited, people commented and people liked what they saw. I know this based on the fact the like button was pressed an impressive -whole bunch- of times!

I started blogging just over a year ago and 2014 was my first official full year as a full fledged blogger. I have been amazed, astonished and extremely pleased knowing the time and effort I have put into being a blogger have been rewarded by me now having a -whole bunch- of followers!

In that year plus worth of time I have probably had more insightful and amusing discussions online than I’ve had in my real life. Okay maybe not, but it’s close and there have been many here I’ve enjoyed! Some of the conversations have taken place here, some at Okay, What if and several at other blogs I enjoy visiting and reading. All in all there have been an amazing number of people sharing their thoughts leading to an abundant -whole bunch- of comments!

If you haven’t figured it out by now I’m not really sharing any stats at all. It’s not because they are less impressive than many others. It’s not because I feel like a tiny ion in a huge universe when I see them. It’s also not because they don’t have any meaning to me. It’s because I think a lot of the stats, when looked at as a whole, equal out to a stinking pile of….. nicubunu_Feces

Sorry, but that is just how I feel. I know who my friends are in this little space and who I enjoy visiting. Who cares if 20000 people come and go if none of them make you feel better about what you wrote than you did before? Who cares is 1000 people followed your blog last month if none of them will ever come back and read something you published?

If google sent a million people my way based on search results but none stayed around and read more than the home page would I be a success? Couldn’t I just spend a lot of money and do that without any good content?

I don’t want anyone to take this the wrong way. My face lights up every time I hear my phone ring with a notification someone just liked a post I published. I smile when I see someone followed my blog. I can’t wait to respond to an insightful comment left behind by a visitor to one of my silly stories.

Would I love to have quadruple the followers? Yes

Would I love to see my stats light up with the biggest day of visitors ever? Yes

Would I turn down the chance to see a post I made excite the WordPress Gods enough to call it Freshly Pressed? Heck No

Bu what about….

Will I stop blogging because none of this happens? Of course not

Will I stop responding to my current visitors because there just aren’t enough of them? Of course not

Will I be here blogging tomorrow, the next day, the day after that even when my stats don’t compare to some? Sure, Why not

And anyway….

If I wanted to let the spam bots leave their comments on my blog I could have thousands, maybe millions more comments this week alone. A lot of them talk about how great my knowledge on the subject I wrote about is and tell me they will be back to read more so they can’t be bad right?

I just enjoy it more when real people say things I can respond to and don’t try to tell me how great I am. I already know that and don’t need to be reminded of it constantly.

So my stats are kinda stinky, but not as stinky as stinky stats could be. The fun however is not stat measured and is anything but stinky. My enjoyment of writing out my thoughts, however silly they may be, is immeasurable. Therefore my followers, my friends, my visitors and those that like what they read are beyond a number I can give you. With that in mind I think -whole bunch- works very well.

If you have made it this far you can consider yourself a part of my bunch. Congratulations!

Now, can I borrow some money?

Daily Prompt: To Boldly Go… An impending new year gives rise to reflection and goal setting. What will your goals for 2014 be? It’s never too early to start thinking about self improvement!

Is it time to think about a new year already? No comment.
It’s never too early to start thinking about self improvement? Should we ever not be thinking about it!
What are my goals? Survival!!!

My guide to the survival of 2014

fgbrian 1) Never watch the news. I repeat…never.