Things I've Noticed's Third Birthday, Who Would Have Thought?

I'm proud to say that this blog has been running for three years now.  I never expected to still be writing, but blogging has a special appeal to my creative and analytical sides as well as my Leo side that likes to get some attention.  I take joy in knowing that I can make an impact on the world by making people think.  I also like making people laugh, (or chuckle), and allowing others to get to know me better, but it does expose myself to people knowing too much about me, (like Facebook does, but in a different kind of way).  I've also had a few nasty comments from people who hide behind the veil of internet anonymity.

It's interesting how I come up in theTop 5 on Google search results for…

• anti-vegetarianism
• wearing the same clothes every day
• Deal or No Deal spreadsheet
• quirks of comedians
• Indian guy on American Idol
• selfish generation

This is my 371st post.  So far TIN has had 51,359 page views which amounts to around 47 per day. Google says that there are only 1,794,466 websites more popular than mine!  The average visitor spends a minute per visit and 85% just bounce in and out, perhaps not finding what they were looking for from searching on Google.  (Or perhaps they don't like my picture).  Repeat visitors make up 11% of the visits.  I even have human subcribers that are a subset of the number shown on the right of the page.  That number includes automated subscribers.  I have more readers and more random visitors than I ever would have imagined.

Lots of article ideas still in the hamper, so don't expect me to stop writing anytime soon, but I don't think I'll ever be consistent in how often I write or what types of things I write about.  I keep talking about redesigning my blog, and it just never happens.  Part of me says why mess with a good thing(?), while another part of me hasn't had time to do it perfectly.  I don't want a half-baked redesign.  (To start, if anybody can help me figure out how to make the center column wider on Typepad, I would be grateful).

Now that TIN is three, I expect it to start paying its way, so it has new advertising.  I make about $5 a month so it doesn't do much to defray the blog hosting fee I pay, but I don't care.  One expert told me that with the Google page rank of 3 that this site has, I could make $100 per month with the addition of some text link ads.  In the meantime, please click on an ad or two after you're done reading.  Think of it as a tip.

On a side note, I have one person in Tempe, Arizona who seems to be in the process of reading every blog post I've ever written.  I'm curious to know who you are since you are the first person who has ever done that.

I'm still waiting for Andy Rooney, (my inspiration), to visit this blog and comment.  It's too bad he can't access my site from his typewriter.  I also wouldn't mind getting his job when he retires, but he's still going strong at 90!  Thanks to all you readers for keeping me going!  Here's to another 3 years of blogging.

+ Atul

Comments

[chancelucky]

Happy Blogday! I look forward to reading and commenting as your blog and life progresses.

[Dave P]

Congrats on 3 years as a blogger, Atul. My class will be seeing your presentation and visiting your blog this week.

[UH2L]

Hey Guys,

Special thanks goes to you two for being my best customers.

CL, I will be less sporadic about visiting your blog.

Dave, Thanks for keeping the TIN thing going with your classes. I enjoy their comments and I'm glad they can learn from my site.

[Karen H]

Interesting concept these blogs are. However, Atul, whatever you wish to accomplish I hope you do so. Blogs are not for me. Have fun out there.

[Anthony B.]

Thanks Atul for enlighting me on how to write a blog. Im really interested in bloging and, hopefully whenever i have time you may see some of my post/comments.

[UH2L]

Karen,

Blogs aren't for everybody, I agree. But today, it seems like almost everybody has one. Are you sure you don't want to start one? :-)

Anthony,

Hopefully you learn a lot in your class and let me know if you ever have any questions in how to start one. In the meantime, feel free to keep coming back to comment here. I appreciate it.

[Mariel C.]

Congratulations on 3 successful years of blogging! It must be fun to have a platform to voice your opinions and thoughts and see how people react.

[ERalko]

Wow three years of blogging! That's a really cool achievement. Congrats! We watched the video of how to blog in our computer class and I'm thinking about starting my own. Thanks and stick with it!

[Tracie L]

Wow! 371 blogs-Congrats! That is a lot of typing. I do not know much about blogging except that I write one here and there on my myspace, but they are not anything close to what you have done! again, congrats and keep em going!

[Aleksandar M. Velkoski]

Congratulations Atul! I'm glad to see that TIN is alive and well. Excellent stats.

[UH2L]

Mariel, Eralko, Tracie, and Aleks,

Thanks a lot everybody. I appreciate the support and I hope you keep visiting and commenting. I enjoy doing this and like to entertain or make people think.