Haiku Society of America - Haiku Column
.haiku column
The Haiku Society of America is pleased to host this ongoing column.
.Haiku: a place to share tools available to haiku writers and fellow haiku fans (like how to use Twitter, Facebook and Scribd for building community, self-publishing and marketing). The column will also feature interviews, blog spotlights and occasional multimedia presentations.
Gene Myers
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.haiku column 23
.haiku column number 23 • 1-2-2014
by Gene Myers <poetgene@gmail.com>
Don't worry bloggers, the holidays are over!
My blog hits went way down in December. I was worried because I went from hundreds of unique daily visitors ("the number of distinct individuals requesting pages from the website during a given period, regardless of how often they visit" per Wikipedia) to less than 30.
I complained about this to a coworker at the paper where I work (all reporters have blogs and micro blogs, we're big on social media!).
"You can't judge by December," he said.
I had not thought about it before, but it made sense. Shopping, parties, holiday preparation, everyone is in a crunch.
Holiday travel and ramped up schedules at work, these are the things that people focus on in December.
There are other good reasons that blog hits could be down.
Search engines and search algorithms get tweaked from time to time. Typically, when Google adjusts its algorithms, it's a big deal that sends bloggers running from chat room to chat room.
If you're looking to keep track of your own blog hits there are options. I use the built-in statistics website that Blogger offers as a free service to its bloggers. WordPress offers the same kind of service.
Alexa.com offers "analytics for any website."
If, instead of blogging, you prefer microblogging, there are apps to help you keep track of tweets and retweets. You can also track how many eyeballs get to the links you share. To do this, simply use a URL shortener like the ones by bitly or Google before you tweet. (It's a good idea on Twitter anyway.)
And take heart! Now that 2014 is here, the web will be aTwitter anew.
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Is there something you would like to see in a column? Email me at <poetgene@gmail.com>.
• .haiku column number 23 • 1-2-2014 •
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