My Five Most Popular Posts of 2011

This is the first full year that I’ve been anywhere near what one could call a proper blogger. After a few years of experimentation, I think I’ve found my blog’s form and my own voice, although it’s still developing.
With that, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at what the most popular posts of the year were. I don’t track this stuff on a regular basis, so I’m using what Google Analytics tells me.
1 and 4: Tumblr and ex.fm
My most read posts are probably not surprising– “how to” guides on internet stuff. It seems the guides I wrote this year that were the most useful were the two on Tumblr and ex.fm integration. How Do You Music Part Four: Tumblr/ex.fm was the most popular post I wrote this year, with 318 unique visitors, while How (And Why) To Start A Music Blog With Tumblr is fourth with 166 unique hits.
2. Our Surprise Wedding
A highly personal post was the second most-read. Our Surprise Wedding was sort of the official public announcement that I had married my longtime partner, so it’s not shocking to see it had a good number of hits (200), almost all of them on the day it was posted. Mostly friends and family, I’m guessing.
3. @hotmail.com
The third most popular is an interesting one. Simply titled @hotmail.com, this is a post asking the question of whether or not a @hotmail.com email address could look professional in 2011, or if it had too much baggage. It generated out of long Facebook discussion, so it’s a topic that people are interested in, but I wonder how many people stumbled on it simply looking for the actual hotmail website (there is a tendency to Google websites, rather than just look for the name). Still, the 183 unique visitors spent an average of 1:27 on the page, so it seems even if they found it by accident, they read what I had to say on the subject.
5. Stereotypes
And I’m really pleased with number five. When I wrote it, it was the post I was most proud of, and it stays that way. Stereotypes was about my take on the negative views held of Aboriginal Canadians in the modern world. At the time, it received a good number of retweets and popped up on Tumblr, as well, seemingly resonating with a few. It’s hit 152 unique visitors.
Actually, Stereotypes is tied with a later entry, also about Aboriginal issues, but this one more tangible. How Much Do You Cost the Government also has 152 visitors, and is simply asking in the midst of the Attawapiskat controversey over money spent and potentially misspent– how much is spent on non-Aboriginal-Canadians, on average.
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So a pretty mixed bag, but one that I think sums up my blog well. I write about what’s on my mind. Sometimes it’s the internet and music, sometimes it’s my personal life, and sometimes it’s broader national discussions. The fact that each of these facets is resonating with even a few other people is gratifying. Thanks for reading.