Popularity can be a funny thing. Not funny in a “Kristin Chenowith cracks me the heck up” kind of way, but funny in a “This is almost as strange as Kristin’s weirdly immobile forehead” * kind of way.
You guessed it… I’ve been looking at the “Site Stats” page on the WordPress dashboard again!
Don’t get me wrong, I really like some of the page’s features. I’m a big fan of the “Followers” counter, for instance, because it introduces me to many of you lovely folks (and conveniently stores the URLs for many of your lovely blogs, so that I can come visit).
Some people follow the stock market…I follow my site stats.
But that “Page Views” counter is another story. It can be very, very easy to get caught up in those numbers, and I have to confess that I’ve been spending more time trying to decipher the patterns within that graph than I care to admit.
Which brings us to today’s word. Agnise: to be particularly aware or cognizant of
In other words…
While it’s tempting to choose your post topics by being agnise about how many page views you’ll get, I have more fun writing about the things that I’m interested in and want to share with my readers.
Speaking of which… a new “Favourite TV Show You’ve Never Heard Of” will be here tomorrow! I’m looking forward to it already.
*No offense intended to Ms. Chenowith. I think she’s extremely talented, forehead and all, and I love her to pieces. I especially love her to pieces in this:
Ahh, the stats page. Such a small thing and sooo addictive. But your right blogging seems to be about authenticity – I liked your post and I think you are authentic.
Thank you so much SJ! I try! I love your post about the 3 things you wrote that changed your life – I thought it was honest and authentic as well
Thank you so much. It was a difficult post to write and your comment has made it worth it.
)
I’m so glad!
I try to ignore my stats page as much as possible. It seems to only spike on the days where I enter a writing contest and/or think of a great title. (I visit commenters, but my blog is small so there’s not many.) I do often wonder what the mystery “unknown search terms” are that lead people to my site. And I laughed like a madwoman the day I saw the term “pointless endeavors” led people to my blog.
I visit commenters as well – I love the idea of having conversations that spread across the blog-verse! And I have to say, you do come up with some great post titles
I love that “pointless endeavors” led people to your site, that’s too funny! But hey, at least you get some new folks checking it out!
I have a #foodporn tag and I get hits for domesticity porn all the time. I can’t figure out if it’s domesticity “porn” (like they’re searching for cute home decor ideas) or if they are hoping to see some buxom ladies cleaning house naked. I hope it’s the former!
Oh, that’ll do it! Imagine their disappointment when they get there and find out you’re really writing about food!
I know! It makes me giggle. Every once in a while they’ll still click on a recipe link though!
Teeheehee! That’s such a fabulous tag name! It makes me giggle too. So glad we all seem to be keeping our sense of humour in the midst of all this stats-madness!!
For the first three months of my blog, I had no idea there was even a stats page. The day I figured it out was a rough one. It’s a slippery slope and you’re absolutely right — i’s very easy to get caught up in. I can spend three days writing a post that is about a dish or project close to my heart and get 2 views. Then I can post a single picture with a caption and get 30 views. I keep reminding myself, like you do, that it’s not about the views but writing about what I enjoy!
I know just what you mean! Sometimes I’ll labour over something thinking it will be popular and its not, and then I’ll dash something off that gets twice as many views! I’ve given up trying to predict it, and try to just focus on how I feel while I’m writing.
You’re right, lurking at our site stats is a waste of time. Do you have an “immobile forehead” because you’re afraid to get wrinkles? I try to avoid frowning as much as possible because I have a wrinkle psychosis! A good friend loves to make fun of me for that
Hahaha! Yeah, but she won’t be laughing when you’re both in your 70s and you’re still looking young and fabulous! Thanks for sharing Cecile
Found you through Truth and Cake – this is a great post! We certainly get addicted to those site stats, don’t we? Like it’s a measure of something that…what? matters? Keep writing what you love – I agree!
Hi Carrin! Thanks so much for stopping by. I’m so glad the post resonated with you, and I’m excited to check out your blog and see what you’re up to! Cheers
Two things I totally connect with:
1) Kristen Chenoweth’s immobile forehead. It looks like someone pulled a shade down on half her face! (And I only pick on her because she’s too pretty and talented to go that extreme with Botox).
2) Site stats. It’s torture. I find that some of the posts I really anguished over and loved (for instance “Hi My Name Is Fever Blister and I’m Not Wearing a Bra”) totally tanked. Yet when I write about mullet skirts, a huge spike.
Enjoying your blog immensely.
Becca (narcissista.me)
Hi Becca! Thanks so much for stopping by, I’m so happy that you like the blog! (And happy that I’ve found someone who agrees with me about the state of Kristen’s forehead, LOL)
I’m looking forward to checking out your blog as well!
Cheers
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