One month on
Please bear with me for a little naval gazing, posted here for everyone's benefit so we can learn a little and hopefully get some feedback.
30 days since the blog began. We have had 1,055 unique visitors totalling 2,756 hits between them. 284 of those visitors have returned, some every day. The busiest day was 6th May with 89 unique visitors. Attendance is now dropping off considerably.
There have been 83 posts thus far and a total of 77 comments, which is the bit I'm most proud of. There have also been some emails and miscellaneous pieces of gossip, for which I am grateful. The photos have been well received, there are 40 up and available for your perusal.
Google is hooking people up searching for all the candidates bar Jon Owen Jones, he of considerably more fame than the others. A lot of people are also searching for the blog name or something similar "Cardiff Central Blog" etc which makes me think the posters and leaflets must have been seen. Many visitors did not have a referring link which I assume means either they knew the address or had it with them, another score for the publicity.
Also, if anyone's interested, the total cost of this all was nil. Okay, so £3.50 for some cardboard for posters and a bit of blu-tak. Blogger is free, the blogspot address is free, Flickr (the photo place) is free. Publicity scans were hosted for free by a friend. Setting up and posting can take as little or as much time as you want it to. Get on the web. Get your area on the web. Get your worries or ideas on the web.
A critique: 'Cardiff Central' Watch is a bit of a misnomer as I don't think the blog really made it outside of Cathays and Roath in terms of photography, publicity and reportage. I appreciate that many visitors came from elsewhere in Cardiff Central and apologise.
Despite many emails to politics societies and groups and the occasional bits of furious networking on my part the blog was largely ignored as an opportunity of publicising events. Though perhaps this is because there were no events. The lack of public events in itself needs to be addressed.
Any thoughts from anyone?
posted by Frances @ 10:05
5 comments
5 Comments:
I don't think I've left a comment before, but I'm one of your regular readers (thanks to my bloglines.com list). I publicised this blog on a Welsh language message board (maes-e.com) which resulted in a few comments here I think. I think this blog was a really good idea and would have liked on for the constitiuency I live in (Cardiff West). I was asked by someone from Cardiff Uni Media course if I thought that blogs influenced this election, to which I said no as so few people know what blogs are at the moment and personally I'd already decided who I'd vote for before election was announced. Having said that, a blog like this can make a difference to floating voters as a valuable source of info on all parties in one (non-biased i hope!) place. It would be good if the blog could keep going even though the general election is over, and widen it's scope to 'Watch' councillors and Assebmly and Europrean Candidates.
Well I read it in Swansea and I approve of proxy-blogging though I am not sure what Jenny will think
I originally found this blog through another website, (but I can't remember which one). Then, a few days later when I wanted to have another look, I just couldn't find it. I searched on google every combinaton of "cardiff central blog" etc and in the end the only way I found it again was to go through my internet history. I then bookmarked it and read it every day.
Most of the blogs I read about the election were on livejournal, not blogger.
Well done btw, it certainly helped to put my thoughts in order about candidates, tactical voting etc etc.
Thanks for your comments, very helpful indeed. Maes-e.com was responsible for many visitors here so thanks again! The blog will definitely be continuing, hoping to find some sort of niche for itself.
Hi Frances,
I was just passing looking for Unique Visitors links on the blogger site and found your One month on blog. Your blog was not quite what I was looking for, but I enjoyed my visit all the same.
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