Who reads my blog from these countries? I would like to know. Navel gazing has its delights : and Blogger's Statistics is a valuable tool for this armchair sport. Readers from other countries like the US, Asean or Gulf don't surprise me, because I suspect several know me personally; though their persistence in reading my blog is both surprising and gratifying. But I know no one in Ukraine or Brazil! It cannot be merely software, I suspect - too consistent.
One of the wonders of the web is the utterly surprising connections it makes, not just technologically, but socially. I recorded my earlier reluctance to blog - I thought of myself as an aspiring professional writer, who should be paid to write, and blogging seemed to be the antithesis of that. But just as the emergence of TV reduced journalists to "print journalists" and the cellphone renamed AG Bell's invention as the "landline phone", I think print journalists are now "salaried bloggers" and "tv journalist" are "salaried youtubers." A writer of Jayamohan's stature is blogging a novel.
As an amateur blogger, who has made a deliberate choice to write in two languages, perhaps discouraging some readers, and on a variety of subjects in the same blog, rather than blogging by category, and on fields of somewhat limited interests, where there are far more knowledgeable writers, this is flattering. Though the famine of comments is bewildering - more people have given feedback by phone, email or in person .
I had planned to start a bilingual magazine in 2005, but my usual Mycroft Holmesian laziness ensured it went nowhere, like my other writing efforts. I had planned to make it a non-periodical, like most blogs but no journal : I doubt it would have been a sustainable model, economically. But I am delighted that the bilingualism has not been a barrier. My Tamil articles get 2 to 3 times the readership that English articles do, and the articles on science get the lowest readership.
Recently, I made some changes to the layout, from black text on white to white text on black, which caused one recent reader, Muthu, to ask me to reverse them. The latter is negative contrast, he said, and a strain on the eyes. Another reader, Mathangi, asked me for a similar change on the sidebar, so I am almost back to original. The only major change which I have kept is the width of the blog, and the size of the fonts. On Muthu's request, I have added a Author Recommends section to the sidebar - a selection of my own favorite essays in my blog.
Here is a table of my least popular posts:
My most popular essay is actually not an original, but a Tamil translation of an interview published in Indian Express, with over 700 views, about Capitalism & 'Dalits'.
I write these occasional autobiographical essays as a record to myself. Thanks for reading.
If you have difficulty posting comments, please email me. My email addresses are WriterGopu@yahoo.com and VarahaMihiraGopu@gmail.com
One of the wonders of the web is the utterly surprising connections it makes, not just technologically, but socially. I recorded my earlier reluctance to blog - I thought of myself as an aspiring professional writer, who should be paid to write, and blogging seemed to be the antithesis of that. But just as the emergence of TV reduced journalists to "print journalists" and the cellphone renamed AG Bell's invention as the "landline phone", I think print journalists are now "salaried bloggers" and "tv journalist" are "salaried youtubers." A writer of Jayamohan's stature is blogging a novel.
As an amateur blogger, who has made a deliberate choice to write in two languages, perhaps discouraging some readers, and on a variety of subjects in the same blog, rather than blogging by category, and on fields of somewhat limited interests, where there are far more knowledgeable writers, this is flattering. Though the famine of comments is bewildering - more people have given feedback by phone, email or in person .
I had planned to start a bilingual magazine in 2005, but my usual Mycroft Holmesian laziness ensured it went nowhere, like my other writing efforts. I had planned to make it a non-periodical, like most blogs but no journal : I doubt it would have been a sustainable model, economically. But I am delighted that the bilingualism has not been a barrier. My Tamil articles get 2 to 3 times the readership that English articles do, and the articles on science get the lowest readership.
Recently, I made some changes to the layout, from black text on white to white text on black, which caused one recent reader, Muthu, to ask me to reverse them. The latter is negative contrast, he said, and a strain on the eyes. Another reader, Mathangi, asked me for a similar change on the sidebar, so I am almost back to original. The only major change which I have kept is the width of the blog, and the size of the fonts. On Muthu's request, I have added a Author Recommends section to the sidebar - a selection of my own favorite essays in my blog.
Here is a table of my least popular posts:
| Blog Post Topic | Views | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Third Industrial Revolution | 20 | No Tamil version |
| Traffic LMS | 24 | SMS version more viewed! |
| Fred Sanger, Insulin Man | 25 | Tamil version - 33 views |
| CNR Rao on Faraday & GN Lewis | 30 | No Tamil version |
| Sid Caesar's Ghost | 32 | No Tamil version, esoteric |
| South American Transport Revolution | 36 | Tamil version got 230 views |
| Democracy or Free Market? | 36 | No Tamil version |
My most popular essay is actually not an original, but a Tamil translation of an interview published in Indian Express, with over 700 views, about Capitalism & 'Dalits'.
I write these occasional autobiographical essays as a record to myself. Thanks for reading.
If you have difficulty posting comments, please email me. My email addresses are WriterGopu@yahoo.com and VarahaMihiraGopu@gmail.com
You are right ! People read blogs written by people known to them.this is a general rule
ReplyDeleteBut some read because of topics covered are of interest to them
I read what you write interests me and I enjoy reading them
Keep writing
Thanks Suri, for reading. And for th encouragement.
ReplyDelete