Most Visited Posts in 2012: A Surprise

This is the time of the year when bloggers and sites are posting their most popular, most visited, and/or best articles of the year. I’m always fascinated to see what draws people’s attention. I hadn’t done it before for my own blog, for no particular reason other than I’m always “writing forward.”

Until now. Out of curiousity, I went and look at the statististics for all of my posts in 2012. And I learned something.

I know I should pay more attention to “the numbers” – visits, comments, RTs, shares, etc. But I don’t. I’m always grateful for these things, of course; like every other writer, I’m always gratified when something I do strikes a chord. But it’s not the main reason I write. That is a more complex subject, comprised of compulsion and the desire to tell a story, no matter how large (or small) the audience.

If you had asked me what I thought was my most visited post of 2012, I would have said “Acknowledging Daily Mercies, What?” published in June. And I would have been right, even without looking. What happened was that Tim Challies at Informing the Reforming cited it in a blog post, and visits soared (once again punctuating how much of the internet is all about influence).

What did surprise me was this: five of the ten most visited posts on this blog were poems, and by a significant margin. Four of the five were in the top five most visited posts. I can’t explain why; there was no Tim Challies of poetry who cited any of them on his blog. But there were tweeted and shared, and a few showed up on some lists.

But still, poems occupying five of the ten top spots? I wouldn’t have guessed that at all. In fact, after blogging for going on five years, I wouldn’t have guessed that at all. (I also wouldn’t have guessed that people are interested in my Poetry at Work column at TweetSpeak Poetry, but they are.)

And while I do a fair number of book reviews, only one book review made the top 10. (And it was the only review that made the top 30 most visited posts.)

So, here are my 10 most visited blog posts of 2012, out of a total of more than 450.

1)      Acknowledging Daily Mercies, What? (June 21, 2012)

2)      I am a path (poem) (Jan. 22, 2012)

3)      Three pearls (poem) (Jan. 10, 2012)

4)      Train to Oxford (poem) (Oct. 14, 2012)

5)      Crepe Myrtles (poem) (June 12, 2012)

6)      Beauty and Love and Grace, Reflected (May 14, 2012)

7)      Using Work to Block Creativity (June 27, 2012)

8)      F.C. Etier’s The Tourist Killer (Nov. 16, 2012)

9)      Archtown Beer (poem) Oct. 23, 2012)

10)  A Riot in Sunday School (Dec.. 5, 2012)

To provide some numerical context, the blog averaged between 200 and 250 visits a day in 2012. "Acknowledging Daily Mercies, What?" had just over 700. The last post on the list had just over 300. The poems had 588, 502, 484, 393, and 324, respectively.

Does this mean I should post more poetry? I don’t think so. I think I’m going to keep doing what I have been doing.

But the poetry thing is still surprising.

Photograph by Peter Griffin via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.

How I Will Vote

I do not watch political ads on television. I have seen them before, and I was afflicted by them while trying to watch special coverage of Hurricane Sandy last week. I am not swayed by negative ads. I am appalled by them. All of them.

Data point for voting: A candidate is only as honorable as his or her worst political attack ad, no matter who funds it.

I have caller ID. I don’t answer the phone during political season. My voting intentions are my business. I don’t respond to polling surveys.

I do not respond to the barrage of political letters and solicitations that bury my mailbox. I mourn the loss of the trees that had to be slaughtered. I do recycle without reading.

Data point for voting: I consider an incumbent’s entire voting record. I am not impressed if an incumbent’s voting pattern changes to accommodate the coming election.

I do not make decisions on referendums, initiatives and propositions without understanding the motives and identities of the sponsors.

Data point for voting: Newspaper editorial writers are no better informed on candidates and issues than the rest of us. I do not make voting decisions based on newspaper endorsements.

Notice to political profilers: Just because I subscribe to a particular magazine doesn’t mean mailings from a particular political party or candidate will appeal to me. My subscription to Poetry Magazine does not mean I am a Democrat.

I do read, and I read across the political spectrum. I value a well-reasoned, well-supported argument. I have spent my entire career in public relations, so I know what is positioning, what is spin, and what is staging. I know when I’m being messaged. I know when I’m hearing talking points. I know when legitimate questions are ignored. All of that tells me a lot about political handlers, but it also tells me about candidates. And none of that is good.

I am not a Republican.

I am not a Democrat.

I am not an independent.

I am not a conservative.

I am not a liberal.

I am not a moderate.

I am not a Boomer, Gen-X, millennial or any other nice demographic category. And I don’t like being labeled.

You might think I’m generally conservative until the discussion turns to the death penalty and gun control.

But I do vote. And you can’t take my vote for granted.

There is one thing you need to know about me, and it is the most important thing.

I am a child of God.

Photograph by Petr Kratochvil via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.