Monday, November 17, 2008

4


Yesterday was the blog's fourth anniversary, and that means it's time for the annual telling of the story of how we got to this point.

Dennis Fisher was our news director when the blog was born. Dennis was trolling for ideas on how to get more original content on to WNEP.com. I suggested a weekly column. Dennis asked for a sample. In the meantime, Webmaster Mark Sowers noticed the blog thing was beginning to take off around the country. The column idea morphed into the blog, and here we are.

I don't have an exact number, but I suspect we're around the 1,000 post mark. That amazes me in and of itself. The other astounding fact is I've never had a blog called back or censored by management. There was one warning. Miss New Jersey got into a little bit of trouble a couple years ago, and I blogged about it, complete with picture. She's a busty lass, and Dennis suggested less racy fare in the future.

The new powers that be made some changes earlier this year. The current blog system allows for more pictures, more graphics, more of an individual feel, and I really like that.

I added a "sitemeter" counter back in June. My blog averages about 225 hits a day, and while that's a small number, it's a lot higher than other blogs-- where the self inflated writers consider themselves experts in their field. No pomposity here. This is just a fun little diversion for you and I.

The sitemeter shows where you are. Of course, the vast majority of hits come from northeastern and central Pennsylvania. A scattering come from the rest of the state, and some far flung areas of the USA. I've noticed a few daily hits from the "state.pa.us" domain. I suspect some Harrisburg blog readers will be accessing the site from home in the days to come, because they'll have a lot more time on their hands in the new year.

Your likes and dislikes show up through the sitemeter. The "inside TV" stuff gets the most hits. A post about the MSNBC bias issues set the record for hits since I added the counter back in June.

What will year 5 bring? Who knows? Technology is evolving, and there could be even more changes I still don't know about.

Thanks for a good 4 years, and I appreciate you stopping by.