Monday 10 June 2013

All Around the Globe - Yes, I Mean You


A couple of weekends ago, unnoticed by me, the figures for views of My Tonight From Shrewsbury passed the 20,000 mark.  Then in the course of just a couple more days, they hit the 20,500 mark and since then they have been steadily rising.  Last time I looked they stand at 21,815.

I am truly gobsmacked by these figures. By the time you read this, who knows where they’ll be. That’s upwards of twenty thousand page views for sixty-one blog posts - and it’s not just the hits I’m amazed by here.  It’s the sixty-one blog posts too.  That’s a lot of writing about Shrewsbury, believe me.  And yet there’s still so much more to be written about.

When I started My Tonight From Shrewsbury back on January 1st, I had no idea that I’d find so many subjects to include in this blog, nor that it would garner such a following.  The original high figures I put down to curiosity, and I waited for the numbers to drop.  Instead of that they’ve grown. Particularly thrilling is that when I check my stats I find that a staggering number of readers are coming from across the globe. 

Since January 1st, 2,663 Americans have read My Tonight From Shrewsbury, 485 Germans and 331 French.  It’s being read right across Europe from the Netherlands to Russia, across the Middle East, including Iraq, in Asia, including India, China, Thailand and the Philippines and across the Americas, from Canada down to Brazil.  Just today, it’s been read by ninety-nine people in the UK, thirty in the US, and in France, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Canada, Brazil, Lebanon, the Philippines, Poland, Spain, Slovenia, Indonesia and India.   And the day's hardly got going yet.  I'm writing this at 11.00am.   

Isn’t that fantastic?  My Tonight From Shrewsbury has had nothing to promote itself except for Facebook and Twitter. There are no promoters or sponsors. It has no agenda except to present a picture of a contemporary English country town during one year of its life.  This is most definitely a one-woman show.  Sometimes, as the one woman in question, I feel fairly run ragged keeping up with what I’ve set out to achieve, but I’m just loving what I’m doing - and I’m loving having you along. 

If you’re one of those people in one of those countries that I’ve just listed [or indeed if yours is one of the many countries that I haven’t listed], thanks for being here and reading this. Do keep coming back. And leave a few words in the comment section to tell me who you are [though no advertising please – My Tonight From Shrewsbury is an advertisement free site].  Numbers are exciting, but behind every number is a person - and that’s more exciting still. It would be great to hear from you.

If you’re from Shrewsbury, or surrounding Shropshire, it would be great to hear from you too. What are the things that matter in our county town?  What else should I be writing about?  I can’t promise to get round to everything in my year. I’ve nearly reached the half way mark, and have some great things still lined up and am beginning to panic about how I’ll fit them all in. But I’ll do what I can.   

8 comments:

  1. Here you go https://plus.google.com/u/0/100146646232137568790/posts/7dGPKVVpFYY
    Always an entertaining read.

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  2. Her over the road in Shrewsbury is still reading - and enjoying very much. Coming from science-fiction fanzine fandom, where people comment frequently and intelligently, I was surprised and very disappointed to discover how few comments came in on posts, despite large numbers of hits. And those comments were usually from the same few people, most of whom I already knew from other sites. You are getting far more 'hits' than I do. (Not surprising as this is a great blog with lots of variety and good writing.) Don't let the apparent silence put you off - t'Internet is like that!

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    1. Hello Sue,

      Given how close you are we ought to get in touch some time. So glad you're still reading and enjoying. Yes, I was surprised not to have more comments because I write for a number of author sites which, similarly to the ones you mention, attract a lot of comments. However, my stats tell me that I'm being read, and I AM meeting a lot of people who comment personally on posts, so I don't feel discouraged at all. In fact I'm loving doing this.

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  3. I've visited Shrewsbury a few times, and when I found your blog I thought this would be a good chance to find out more about the place - and it's fascinating! Thank you!
    I do something similar, but on a smaller scale, in Hay-on-Wye, with Life In Hay.

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    1. Thanks for getting in touch. Sorry for not replying sooner but have been away, out of internet connection. Will look with interest at Life in Hay. Good to see what other people are doing. Sorry to hear about the Herefordshire Museum situation - will reply to the comment you left on my museum post back in May.

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  4. Hello from Spain!
    We talked briefly on twitter once but I'm a shropshire lass abroad, although am returning in just two weeks!
    I really think you should feature The Hive and the wonderful team there! :)
    (I may be slightly bias as I used to work there but still - it's one of the best things in the town!)
    Keep up the good work
    Nikki
    (blogging every day of this year over at http://www.nicolaruth.blogspot.com)

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  5. Hello Nicola, Yes we have, haven't we? Good to hear from you again. You're right about the Hive, and I fully intend to. It's all a matter of pacing myself - I don't want to have all the interesting things in the first half of the year! I'll look up your blog. Every day is a big achievement. Thanks for getting in touch, and thanks for reading my posts.

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