Monday 22 April 2013

All growed up? When Blogging Reality Bites

So, this blog's Tots 100 stats have plummeted this month.  I mean, seriously dropped.  We're talking Cyprus style bank account levels of a hair cut on my numbers.

A bit of background; for reasons I could never understand, since October last year until last month, The Potty Diaries was bouncing around in the high numbers between, #9 and #14 on the Tots 100.  Pretty cool, huh?  Not bad, if I do say so myself.

This month, though? The Potty Diaries is on at #65. That's a drop of 55 places. Fifty five.  Places.  (I'm wondering if this may qualify me as this month's biggest loser but am too embarrassed to check that fact*.)  Hmmm.   I thought I would be more upset.  Obviously, when I first saw it, I did experience a pang of disappointment.  It may even have resulted in the temporary removal of the Tots 100 ranking badge from my blog, if I'm honest. 

But then my sense of humour / proportion / perspective picked itself up from where it had tripped over a crack in the pavement, brushed the grit from it's knees, straightened it's jacket and got real (and in the process put the badge back on the site).  I mean, I knew that once the numbers of hits per site were included in the metrics there was no way this blog could compete with the heavy hitters back in the UK.  I wasn't delighted by the prospect of a fall, but I knew it was coming, and now that it's happened I find that actually I don't mind (too much).  

Certainly, it's been great over the last few months to get interesting approaches from pr agencies etc on the back of good performances in the ranking tables but let's be honest; how many of them can I actually take up, living in Moscow?  On top of which it's not as if I don't have enough to do besides blogging - and not spending time fretting about maintaining my ranking through frequency of posting etc will only help to free me up for other projects, like getting the second half of that book written.

So actually, this fall is - amazingly - fine with me.  Well - better than fine; it doesn't bother me.  It is what it is.

Could it be that I am - finally - growing up?


*Please; do not take it upon yourself to check that fact and report back in the comments box.  I may be growing up - but not that much...

8 comments:

  1. Pah!

    I spit upon your 55 places.

    Me? I've dropped 425!

    Quite proud of that - but very pleased it didn't happen before I told Citroen I was the 75th best blogger in the country...

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  2. OK Harriet - you win, I retire from the ring... (As for telling people my stats I find it helps enormously to use the disclaimer 'stats can go down as well as up'...) x

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  3. Well, take heart, I'm not even in there! I haven't looked for a few months, but I'm sure I used to linger around the low 60s....But we long-term bloggers know that blogs come, and blogs go....don't we?

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  4. Darn - I thought I was going to win. I went from in the 20's to something like 148! I have to say though, I have no linkys, links, follow-things or anything attached to by blog. I don't even know what they're talking about half the time, so it's no surprise to me, and I daresay I'll live!
    I am SO grown up!
    (And anyway, I've been nominated for a Brilliance in Blogging award which means a bit more to me.)

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  5. The most baffling thing for me though, is that my numbers have increased significantly in recent months. Oh well.....

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  6. I didn't even know that the 'Tots 100' existed, so you can rest assured that I hadn't noticed. Besides, I just ran across your name on the BiBs shortlist which seems like it would be a bigger deal than your rank - which, as you accurately noted - can rise and fall based on God only knows what. Nominations strike me as being a much more reliable indicator of people who respect your writing.

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  7. Ah, being sanguine. That does sound very grownup. Now tell me, have you figured out how to stop feeling guilty because I'm not blogging as much as I'd like?

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  8. I've fallen right off the end. No idea where I've ended up. Possibly as part of the Tots1 billion. I think I'll need counselling. Or possibly an ice cream (sunny here, sorry!)

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