You approach the edge.
vertigo hits.
JUMP!
And so I did. I officially "launched" this blog last night, quietly. Well, almost quietly. Pretty much the only buzz launch pad I used was twitter. I only joined twitter a few months ago, garnered a handful of followers, and then, thinking it seemed kind of boring, and just another waste of time, I forgot about it. I was recently wooed back to the fold a couple of days ago while researching online social media, and so thought I'd give it a twirl. Well, after some tweet-dabbling I have more than tripled my "followers" in 2 days to over 70 as I type this blog entry. Not a bad welcome at all. I almost felt like a transformed ugly duckling! I was suprised in using the application how friendly people were and how quickly some interesting interchanges actually led me to follow certain people as well as them following me back. Pretty soon I was somewhat addicted and realized I'd have to cut myself back (but that's another blog line.)
So, with a few followers on twitter, the stage was set for my blog "launch", my inaugural flight. I was curious, after reading so much talk about online social media by gurus such as Chris Brogan, Liz Strauss, Darren Rowse and Tim O'Reilly (especially about twitter), how effective could it be really, for a fledgling like me? (Ok, I dabbled in blogging back in 2006, so I'm not exactly a complete neophyte; but that was more like taking leaps in the nest than flying.)
So there I was, on the cliff edge. I was ready, flapping my wings and in the air and all—I'd even studied Bernoulli's principle of lift such as retweeting, blog layouts, widgets and the art of being twitty. Peering over the edge spreading my wings, about to push the "publish" button on my first post, I wondered,
Can twitter really help me find a flock? Can it help me fly with this flock instead of hurtling down to the dull crunch (that I alone hear) of my head hitting the ground?
Well, aside from my head not hurting, and a smooth hit-the-ground-running landing, I think I have a solid answer to that question. Thanks to statcounter I have some metrics. So, after two blog posts in 24 hours what are the stats on Maria Write Now?
The above is a clip I took of my map of hits from statcounter (using OneNote's clip tool) this morning. It shows that my global hit count was 6. The blip in South America doesn't really count as I am pretty sure it's my boyfriend (who's learning how to build adobe houses just this side of Patagonia.) And since I don't really count either, that's only a total of 4 birds. Not much of a flock. There was no point even showing the rest of the world on the above map as activity on my blog elsewhere was zilch.
Tick tock tick tock.
Tweet tweet tweet.
The day goes by...
And now, after a day of tweeting now and then, mentioning my blog just a handful of times (and changing my twitter url to my blog page), I just checked my stats again tonight.
Well, now, that's starting to look interesting. In 24 hours of my blog going live, with almost no "advertising" I'm already a multinational entity! As many of the bubbles above are duplicates, you can't even count all the birds following me just from the map alone. So, time to turn to statcounter's handy dandy graphs:
So there you have it, 102 page loads (albeit most of them me), 28 unique visitors, and 7 return visitors.
All in all, I don't think that's too shabby. Thank-you twitter and thanks to my new twitter friends! I think I've found my flock, and my fear of flying is starting to fade into the night. And, at this point, I'm wondering, what are the experiences of other fledgling bloggers using twitter? How is it working for you? Let me know, especially if you have some metrics to share too!
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4 comments:
A hearty congratulations on your launch, and early success. Starting with Twitter then moving to blogging is novel to me. I'm doing the opposite, with the jury still out on Twitter.
Regarding making the jump, there's a whole lot going on personally to get to that point, to do it, then to evaluate results and re-direct/quit/etc. For me, treating everything in life as a scientific experiment makes the process much more enjoyable - it takes the fear out (AMAP) and provides a framework for working with yourself and the world/environment. It's the subject of my book project. Initial post here, FYI: How Do You Treat Life As An Experiment?
Question for Maria: Given your science background, do you look at living as an experiment?
Cheers!
Ah, life as an experiement? Yes, I do see life as an experiement, a work in progress, a tapestry and a grand adventure. I think science training does give you a few extra analytical tools with which to check your life (and I've taken some to a bizarre max), but in many ways I think there is only so much we can gain from science. Carl Jung says it best:
"Anyone who wants to know the human psyche will learn next to nothing from experimental psychology. He would be better advised to abandon exact science, put away his scholar's gown, bid farewell to his study, and wander with human heart throughout the world. There in the horrors of prisons, lunatic asylums and hospitals, in drab suburban pubs, in brothels and gambling-hells, in the salons of the elegant, the Stock Exchanges, socialist meetings, churches, revivalist gatherings and ecstatic sects, through love and hate, through the experience of passion in every form in his own body, he would reap richer stores of knowledge than text-books a foot thick could give him, and he will know how to doctor the sick with a real knowledge of the human soul."
-- Carl Jung
And I guess that's partially why I like twitter, it contains both the beauty and chaos of the human experience.
A really interesting response, Maria. I agree science has limits, but in this case, there's a contradiction that isn't readily apparent. Using a method based on what we've learned from science doesn't mean we can't "wander with human heart throughout the world." Not at all! It's the opposite: Having a method to guide us through our lives frees us up to invite and experience those rich stories. Otherwise, obstacles like fear, getting it right the first time, and not wanting to make mistakes hamper our journey. For example, the risk of "abandoning exact science" is that we'll throw out tools for learning from the experiences.
Thoughts?
You are quite right. Sounds like you speak from experience. ;) Truth is that I know quite a few scientists who become rather like automatons, but I also know a lot of people who wander about without methodology nor heart! lol And there are plenty of scientists with amazing methodology and heart. I personally like this quote as I'm not working in the science arena right now (and it was a tough good-bye). And the point is not to get too absorbed in the nitpicky details when one does science, but also remember one's humanity and the general human experience. When one can do that, I think one's science becomes better too. :)
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