State of the Blog -- Year 1

A little over a year ago, on Nov. 19, 2004, I posted the first entry to this blog. Initially I intended to post once a week, usually on Friday evening. Later I added in the weekly legislative update, and in the spring started to post more, eventually going to five or more posts a week. Blogging can be addictive, and even the occasional trip couldn’t slow the pace. At various times, I’ve posted entries from four states and, that country unto itself, the Atlanta airport. When the “kerfuffle” hit last August I was in the mountains, with only limited Internet access from the local public library, in a double wide trailer.

Initially I identified my location as “somewhere in Pennsylvania.” However, after I was invited to participate in the Seth Williams blogging campaign it became very apparent how effective a regional blogosphere can be and my description changed to “somewhere in the greater Philadelphia area.”

Looking back over the past year that campaign is one of the things I am most proud to have been a part of; the Missing Monday movement is another. The third is the effort many people put into keeping the legislative pay raise in the public eye. The repeal of that raise is a definite sign that a large group of vocal voters can have an impact.

A few of the posts I’ve regretted; some I thought were pretty good. My opinion of their quality seems to have no correlation with the number of comments people leave on them.

One of the best things about starting this blog has been the interaction with other bloggers. The Philly Future team are wonderful and have provided not only access to a wider audience, but encouragement as well. Thanks, Karl, for all your hard work. Other members of the Philly Future team that have reached out have been the bloggers at Dragonballyee, the Tattered Coat, America’s Hometown, and the Smedley Log. In addition to these fine gentlemen, the bloggers from A Smoke-Filled Room, Rowhouse Logic, Politics Philly, Young Philly Politics, Rowhouse Logic and the Disenchanted Forest have been exceptionally kind. Newpaper bloggers Will from Attytood and Dan from Blinq have both mentioned this blog in theirs, which gave me a boost in readership. Behind the scenes Dan has also been willing to answer my junior detective questions. From the political world, Sy Snyder of PoliticsPA, John Micek of Capitol Ideas, and from across the aisle, Chris Lilik of GrassrootsPA, have also been willing to answer questions and provide tea and sympathy.

Readership of the blog bumped along throughout most of the year, actually reaching around 40 hits per day (excluding visits from me and my mother) earlier this month. Then, in one week, I was named the featured blogger at Philly Future, and mentioned on a list of best political blogs in the state on PoliticsPA. Suddenly usage skyrocketed. One day it was more than triple the usual. Over the year I had worked my way up from an Insignificant Microbe in the TTLB ecosystem, to flirting with Flappy Bird status and, at least for a day or so, I’ve been an Adorable Little Rodent. Pretty heady stuff for a relative newcomer with a narrow focus.

What will the next year bring? If the blog lasts that long, the primary and general elections next spring will provide fodder for a lot of posts. I won’t be able to track all elections in the region but some of them I will watch closely.

Regardless, I am grateful to all those who have stopped in to read this past year. I hope you found it worth the effort.

[Note: Twice now I have had blinding revelations that I left someone off the list and updated it. The post has thus been edited but I'm too embarrassed to publicly say what the specific edits were.]