Reflecting on Postaday2011

Let’s blog on blogging. Day eighty of meeting the WordPress “write a post a day” challenge has so far left me unphased. Sure there are times I’ve had to scratch around a bit to find something to write about, but, even on the deadline, something has usually appeared, even if quite innocuous. Surprisingly, the stats show that these are the posts that receive the most hits. Ironically, the most carefully polished and well argued posts receive little attention. One of my biggest surprises is the daily number of hits continuously received by a reference to a news report on geothermal energy in Perth from December 2009. Some of my more self-indulgent posts, like my recent agonising over whether to get an e-reader are also rating comparatively well.

Blogging gurus have often advised to keep blog themes and subject matter confined to a narrow field of interest in order to gain a dedicated following. I have gone in the opposite direction. This blog is similar to aiming a shotgun at a shed and firing off, hoping that some pellets might hit something. It has been far ranging and diverse – probably inviting one-off readers according to whatever tags are searched. No matter – large audiences are not the only reward of blogging. For me the delight is engaging the act of casting one’s bread upon the waters and waiting for whatever returns.

This is a minor blog in the crowded blogosphere, and it has nevertheless led to some interesting connections and conversations from places in the world that would otherwise have remained rather obscure to me. Wisdom has come from unexpected quarters and this is reward enough in itself.

So will I make it through with a daily post to December 31, 2011?

Let’s see what happens tomorrow.