Yesterday, May 31, was the two-year anniversary of Mark's World. I could not be prouder of this little pimple on the backside of the Internet. It's fun to be here and I am happy that so many visitors have stopped by – and even returned.
Speaking of all of you visitors, history, or at least my sitemeter counter, will record that May 2007 was the most successful month ever in terms of visits. We're on an upward trajectory here and visits seem to be growing by about 8-9 percent a month. We had more total page views in April, mostly because of our coverage of the Bears convention. Those posts saw a leap in interest, especially among those who Googled "Bears Convention." Just yesterday we were visited by someone who Googled "Jeff Joniak." Why do I think this might only have been done by Jeff Joniak?
Lately, we're getting hits from across the pond every time we reference the upcoming CDs by Paul McCartney and Nick Lowe (both of which have been pre-ordered).
Our page views in May were second only to April's, which is really outstanding. And in a week or so, we'll crown Mr. or Mrs. 7,000 to receive the fabled Mark's World stein.
Today is also the one-year anniversary of my arrival to Hometown News in Melbourne, Fla. It was just after Memorial Day 2006 that I fired up the Kia Sportage and headed 1,400 miles south from Illinois to the new life in Florida (Mary and Louie were to arrive six months later). The company was great enough keep me in a hotel for months while we weathered the housing market downturn to sell our Crystal Lake home. I even moved in with the parents for a while and commuted from Ormond Beach to Melbourne witnessing traffic horrors along I-95 that haunt me to this very day.
All's well that ends well, I guess they say, and we just renewed our lease on the condo. We're right where we want to be, doing what we want to do with people that we absolutely enjoy (most days).
Still, it's been a tough couple of weeks. Among the worst kinds of anguish that I can imagine is the helpless feeling of watching as people you love are hurt, perhaps beyond repair. You want to fix it. You want to protect them. You want to make it better. But you cannot, at least not in any real sense. It's the ugly reality of mortality that we are normally able to dodge each day. Until we can't. Then, it hurts.
Mary and I will continue to push ahead guided by the faith we have in each other and our determination to continue to be motivated by our convictions, personally and professionally.
Meanwhile, you can expect augmentations and innovations aplenty in Mark's World in the coming year. Thank you for stopping by and for supporting Mark's World as we embark on Year 3!
More later,
Mark
2 comments:
Congratulations! That's awesome. I can't believe it's been two years. Don't worry about the numbers. A very successful blogger friend of mine begged the question - "Would you still publish your blog if NO ONE read?" The answer was yes because it's an expression of creativity and I think you'd probably answer the same. Or not. Are you competitive????
Thanks, Suzanne. And, yes, as you know, I am kind of competitive. :) However, it is also true that I would still do this even if I was the only audience. It's all still so new to me that I get excited every time, say, someone from Great Britain shows up here because he/she Googled "Nick Lowe' or to play the Paul McCartney video I posted. It makes the world seem so much smaller; more intimate.
I'm pulling for you to be Mrs. (Ms.?) 7,000 this week. As the No. 1 poster, you deserve something for your dedication (other than my unending gratitude).
Mark
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