Monday, November 17, 2014

343,721

Recently I have been pondering the future of this blog. The number of page views for my efforts here recently passed 400, 000 and that seemed very cool. And on some level, a little impressive. After all, I began this blog over 5 years ago with the expectation that I would write every day for one year and no one would ever read it. It was just for me, to give me something to commit to and put some discipline in my daily life. So to have lasted so long and had so many people read my posts and encourage me has been a true blessing and very unexpected. But I am also very aware that for REAL bloggers- the famous ones- 400,000 page views is a bad DAY of blogging. I have never been one to worry about how popular my blog is, but on Saturday my curiosity go the better of me. I used some online analytics to find out where this little blog ranks among U.S. bloggers. I then tweeted out the results:
Recent data suggests that I am among the top 343,721 bloggers in North America. So I've got that going for me...

343, 721. I mean I knew it wasn't Top 100 or anything, but still, it seemed awfully sad. The world chooses to read over 347,000 blogs each day before they turn to mine for wisdom, insights, laughs and encouragement. It was depressing. But then I began to consider the silver lining of this new information. There are several million bloggers in our country, which means there are at least a million bloggers who have fewer readers than I do. True confession- there may have been a small celebratory dance following that revelation! While discovering my blog is not among the most popular hurt a bit, realizing it is not among the least popular was a moment of pure joy. Everything is relative, huh?

There is still some question in my mind as to whether this blog continues to meets a need among my friends and my readers. There are days when there seems to be little response to my posts and I wonder if my words still speak to people. But just like my reaction to the analytics, everything is relative. It these words speak faith, hope and love to one person each day...I'm good with that. It not about breaking in to the the top 300,000. It's about touching lives. So if you are reading this, thank you! You have brought me much joy and encouragement, and I hope I have done the same for you. And together, we'll keep going. Have a great week!

Because of Jesus,
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3 comments:

  1. Unknown11/17/2014

    Love it, it always makes me stop and think about things, sometimes in different ways I had not thought of. Thanks so much.

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    Replies
    1. CJ11/18/2014

      Thanks so much for reading Janet. Glad I can help you see things a little differently. Hope to see you guys very soon!

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  2. Anonymous11/19/2014

    Hey Carl,

    I know you know, but thought I would just tell you that I love the blog, still read it and it still makes a difference in my life. In fact, it is the only blog I read on a consistent basis. Thank you for it.

    How do I put this ... ? If the blog were being introduced, I would not spontaneously yell out, "Get out of town!" :)

    I loved having dinner with you and the Hanberrys, and look forward to hanging out again soon.

    Todd

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for reading,and thanks for your comment!

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