Yesterday, marked one year since the inception of this blog. When Mariam and I created Real Talk we wanted to create a forum where fair-minded individuals could “debate” wide-ranging issues. Although the concept of a more typical debate between myself and Mariam has yet to regularly come to fruition, I can confidently state that there have been many great discussions via this forum.
Neither of us really had any clue how “successful” we would become. We didn’t know how many views to expect each month. How was success even to be measured? I was always the one more concerned with gradually, increasing our readership on a weekly basis. I thought we had the right formula to ensure great success and I wanted to realize our potential. From the group (which now includes Camelia) I’ve always been the one who tries to maintain some semblance of consistency in terms of posting. I’ve also done my best to reply to any comment and/or tweets.
For a long time, in fact for the majority of the year, I was sort of obsessed with how many views we’d garner each day. I’d frantically check every day. I’d become so discouraged when one of my posts didn’t garner as high a view count as another. I’d feel my writing was inadequate and thus I’d become overwhelmed with a sense of defeat.
One of the bloggers I follow is Bucket List Publications . I’ve mentioned the blog in previous posts. Early on I remember reading a post in which Lesley Carter (the blogger) stated that in 18 months she had accumulated over a million views. This number astonished me while also setting an unfair goal in my head.
It’s unfair because EVERY blog is different. A blog with a greater view count isn’t necessarily a BETTER blog. What a blogger should care is that they are providing quality posts. I’d rather have fewer and more engaged readers than people who simply like my posts even without reading it. After all, the intent purpose of Real Talk is to engage the reader in “debating” whatever topic discussed.
I am not worrisome over my views anymore. It took long enough, but I’ve reached that point. I worry more so about the quality of my posts. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact Real Talk has accumulated more than 92,000 views (via WordPress and Paperblog) in its first year. But this fact doesn’t consume me anymore. I care more about the almost 1,900 comments, the 2,053 blog followers, the emails from foreign countries and that our posts have reach readers in 154 different countries. That to me is more impressive. It proves our readers are engaged in the discussion.
I’ve sincerely enjoyed my blogging experience. I hope you continue to read our posts and I more so hope you continue to share your thoughts. We really appreciate them J
And to any fledgling blogger, the greatest advice I can provide is simple:
It’s not all about the numbers.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @adrakontaidis & @talkrealdebate
