Blog Archives
November byte counting – blog stats
November has been a busy month for me. With the end of the year fast upon my I had reports, OTJs and just to add to the madness I also made my sister’s wedding cake which would be difficult at the best of times but she lives in on a different island than me. Thus blogging has been extremely light this month with not much time for posting and thus less people reading.
I was surprised to see a sudden spike for a post I wrote back in May, however given the topic was on the dire shortage of teaching jobs and this being hiring season I suppose the two go together.
Right on to the stats.
Posts: 7 (doh!)
Comments: 25
Page Loads: 5350 (178 hits a day)
Biggest day: October 14 (178 hits)
Most commented on post: Has twitter killed the art of blog commenting?
Top five posts:
- Too many teachers, not enough jobs547
- Should students call teachers by their first names?351
- Are teachers born or made?161
- New Zealand Registered Teacher Criteria – E portfolio130
- Weekly Reflection: What is 21st century assessment?119
Top five referrers
- Search engines
- Reflective Teacher
- Gathering the evidence
Coming up in December
Holidays!
Edutourism
Previous byte counting:
October
September
August
July
June
April
March
February
January
November
October
September
August
July
Mid-January through to end of June
Has twitter killed the art of blog commenting?
Image used under creative commons licence.
As a blogger there’s nothing I love blog comments. Short comments saying ‘right on,’ long rambly comments tearing apart my arguments, thoughtful comments, comments with links, comments from friends, comments from people I’ve never met.
The comments section is what makes blogging so addictive.
Through commenting I’ve struck up friendships and often use the comment section on other people’s blogs for inspirations for my own posts. Commenting takes your thoughts and ideas to whole new level.
Yet these days, my posts don’t seem to gather as many comments. To be fair my writing is a bit flat these days, yet I’ll often have people retweet or respond to a post on twitter which leads me to wonder.
Has twitter killed the art of blog commenting?
Could social media channels like twitter and facebook be killing blogging?
Certainly there’s a lot more outlets competing for my online attention since I first took up blogging in 2003.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who can spend hours clicking through wikipedia entries, I literally wake up in the morning and check my Twitter feed. Facebook, although not as addictive as it was in the early days, has its uses and I’m getting mildly obsessed with pinterest. All these social media channels for content leaves less time to respond thoughtfully to content.
A lazy retweet here, a like, a repin.
While content may be the catalyst, it’s the conversations by the community that often make the content. Maybe it’s just me, but Twitter seems to be taking more of the conversations from the initial blog and making them 140-character bites.
I’ve seen some amazing posts be tweeted, and the conversation remain on Twitter. Points and questions raised in the post start the conversation rolling, but instead of via the comments section on a blog, they take place in the little blue bird’s nest.
There’s nothing wrong with this. After all, Twitter is the king of instant feedback and interaction.
Nevertheless I can’t help but wonder if the limitations of 140-characters are leading to less thoughtful reactions to blogging. Imagine how opposing views could be better fleshed out without the word limit. Comments serve as inspiration for other posts, a way to build community which make blogging so engaging.
Of course, you could say that it’s down to the blogger to make the content as open as possible, to encourage discussion – and this is true. Yet at the same time, maybe we as reader need to take part more as well? Maybe we need to encourage bloggers by being part of their community, as opposed to lazily sharing content on our social media channels.
There are a myriad of ways for conversations to take place. Sometimes little snapshots like Twitter and Pintrest are ideal, if you’re pressed for time.
But isn’t it nice to give proper feedback beyond a pin, a like, a retweet?
October Byte counting – blog stats
Huge month for traffic on the blog this month – the biggest ever. I wrote a bit more this month but am still struggling to find time to write content. Hopefully this will get better in the future (yes I know I’ve said that a lot this year). Interestingly I’m starting to get a lot of traffic from people looking for requirements for being a registered teacher in New Zealand which I think is very interesting given the recent debates in the public media.
Anyway.
On to the stats.
Posts: 9
Comments: 25
Page Loads: 6,180 (199 hits a day)
Biggest day: October 14 (374 hits)
Most commented on post: Proud to be a part of Teachers & Social Media
Top five posts
- New Zealand Registered Teacher Criteria E-portfolio (570 hits)
- Should students call teachers by their first names? (368 hits)
- Too many teachers, not enough jobs (365 hits)
- Keeping the MAGIC of #ulearn12 going – 5 tips for newbies to twitter (202 hits)
- How ditching the desks turned my classroom into a 21st century learning space (163 hits)
Top Referrers
- Search Engines
- Reflective Teacher
- WordPress
- Google Reader
Coming up in November
Another round of OTJs
Reports
Winding down for the year
Previous byte counting:
August
July
June
April
March
February
January
November
October
September
August
July
Mid-January through to end of June
How do I get people to visit to my blog? – SEO strategy for newbies
Top 5 Referrers to Teaching the Teacher
Starting a blog can be exciting. You’re brimming with all these fantastic ideas for posts, you are publishing regularly and then you look down out your visitor counter and realize that nobody is reading your work.
Ouch.
It seems like all those hours you’ve spent writing your posts and designing your site has gone to waste. After all what’s the point of publishing to the world if the world isn’t interested in what you’ve got to say?
Before you give up on blogging, there are some things you can do to increase your readership. The first is called Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
Most of my traffic comes from search engines directing people to my blog. If you want to know about say requirements for being a Professional Teacher in New Zealand I’m the top result after New Zealand Teachers Council (which is both terrifying and awesome at the same time). Teachers going by first name there I am again popping up in the first few hits.
There’s an entire industry that’s built up around SEO marketing and consulting that sell products which they say will get you to the top of the search engine. 90% of it is utter rubbish.
Google’s algorithms are smart, and they reward sites that consistently produce original content.
There are a couple of other small things you can do to increase your blogs attractiveness to search engine.
- Use WordPress
- Write your title thinking about what people might type into search engine to find it e.g tips for twitter newbies
- Give descriptions for any picture posts/video linkages
But really attracting visitors from search engines is simple. Produce original content people can’t find elsewhere.
Byte counting – August Blog stats
Huge month for traffic on the blog this month – the biggest ever. I wrote a bit more this month but am still struggling to find time to write content. Hopefully this will get better in the future (yes I know I’ve said that a lot). Interestingly I’m starting to get a lot of traffic from people looking for requirements for being a registered teacher in New Zealand which I think is very interesting given the recent debates in the public media.
Anyway.
On to the stats.
Posts: 10 (whoop)
Comments: 31
Page Loads: 5,558 (185 hits)
Biggest day:September 23 (391 hits)
Most commented on post: Media school league tables neither National nor Standard
Top five posts
- Should students call teachers by their first names? (411 hits)
- Media school league tables neither National nor Standard (308 hits)
- Too many teachers, not enough jobs (307 hits)
- New Zealand Registered Teacher Criteria (202 hits)
- About (18
Top Referrers
- Search Engines
- Reflective Teacher
- StumbleUpon
Coming up in September
Actual school camp
Previous byte counting:
August
July
June
April
March
February
January
November
October
September
August
July
Mid-January through to end of June
Blog stats June
Is it that the time already? April marked two big blog monuments. This blog has surpassed 50,000 hits last saturday and I’ve now published my 200 post. The 200th post was the text to my ignition talk Aborted Landings, Airsick Bags and… Teaching? My post rate has definitely gone down in the last month or two. I’m hoping that I might be able to do more over the next few months as I find so much to rant about but just do not have the time.
Posts: 8
Comments: 30
Page Loads: 4,349 (169 hits per day)
Biggest day: April 12( 145 hits)
Most commented on post: Tips for surviving your first term of teaching*
Why #wordpress is better than blogspot 230
Are teachers born or made? 219
Should students call teachers by their first names? 201
Why we shouldn’t be celebrating a ‘return’ to the status quo 112
Let them use Crayons? #eduignite #welly 106
Top Referrers
- Search engines
- Google Reader
- Gathering the evidence
Coming up in May
Graduation, a few how to posts and perhaps some renewed blogging mojo.
Previous byte counting:
April
March
February
January
November
October
September
August
July
Mid-January through to end of June
Byte Counting April – My blog makes 50,000 hits
Is it that the time already? April marked two big blog monuments. This blog has surpassed 50,000 hits last saturday and I’ve now published my 200 post. The 200th post was the text to my ignition talk Aborted Landings, Airsick Bags and… Teaching? My post rate has definitely gone down in the last month or two. I’m hoping that I might be able to do more over the next few months as I find so much to rant about but just do not have the time.
Posts: 8
Comments: 30
Page Loads: 4,349 (169 hits per day)
Biggest day: April 12( 145 hits)
Most commented on post: Tips for surviving your first term of teaching*
Top Referrers
- Search engines
- Google Reader
- Gathering the evidence
Coming up in May
Graduation, a few how to posts and perhaps some renewed blogging mojo.
Previous byte counting:
March
February
January
November
October
September
August
July
Mid-January through to end of June
March Byte Counting – Blog stats
So it’s April and I’m waaaaaaaaaaaay behind on my blog stats not to mention actually posting actual content on my blog. I’ve had a few posts but feel that I’m kind of losing my blogging mojo. On the other hand, I’ve set up 28 individual blogs for my students, had my first set of learning conferences and wrote my first set of learning statements. So a quiet month blogging wise. On to the stats.
Posts: 8
Comments: 49
Page Loads: 5, 241 (169 hits per day)
Biggest day: March 22( 318 hits)
Most commented on post: Enough with the super teacher meme economists
Top 5 most popular posts (in order of popularity)
Enough with the superhero teacher meme economists!(475 hits)
Why #wordpress is better than blogspot (404 hits)
Are teachers born or made? (290 hits)
Should students call teachers by their first names? (250 hits)
Money, Motivation and Teachers! Oh my! (202 hits)
Top Referrers
- Search engines
- Google Reader
- Gathering the evidence
Coming up in April
Holidays! Ignition! Squee!
Previous byte counting:
February
January
November
October
September
August
July
Mid-January through to end of June
Advice to new edubloggers – both teacher and student
Blogging platforms (design by author)
It’s 2012 and you’ve decided you’ve decided that this is the year you are going to start writing a blog or even take an old blog out of hibernation. At this stage I’m writing based on my experience as a student teacher developing a social media presence but really I imagine a lot of this advice will be easily transferable to classroom blogs or teachers looking to develop a social media presence.
1. Decide on your purpose
Before you even start blogging think about why it is you want to start a blog. You might have several reasons for blogging both for yourself and for your students but ideally you should be able to articulate in 140 characters what your blog is about. The content on your blog largely needs to stick to the purpose and theme of your blog.
2. Decide on a platform
There’s lots of blogging platforms out there so have a look around and decide what you think might meet your needs. I’ve made no secret that I am an avid wordpress user however for my class blog I ended up back at blogger as my school uses google apps. Seeing as the kids already have google accounts it didn’t make much sense for me to use wordpress as a platform for the classroom blog even though I loathe blogger with the fire of a thousand suns.
3. A good blog design
Above anything else the content on your blog should be easily readable for incoming visitors. Colours and fonts are important but you also need to think about what visuals you use, how you organize your content and how users can share your content. Background images can add to your blogs visual appeal but can also be distracting. Likewise a well-designed header will draw readers into your content while a poorly designed one will have readers wondering where your content is. Widgets can add personality to your blog but too many can be distracting for the reader.
3. Share your content
Finding a readership for your blog is just as important as writing good content. Start by posting blog updates to your facebook profile or tweeting new posts. In fact sign up to Twitterfeed which can publish blog updates to your facebook and twitter accounts the minute you hit publish (you can even configure the updates to include hashtags after your post title). Most blogging services these days have buttons for users to tweet, facebook, email and distribute your writing far and wide. You should also have links to your twitter profile and RSS feed for people to start following your work.
4. Managing content
Writing content is just one part of the blogging equation managing it is just as important. Think about your post titles are they something that someone would type into a search engine? You also need to think about when and how frequently you publish posts. Decide your posting schedule and stick to it. The whole point of blogs is that they need to be regularly updated in order to engage readership. A lot of newbie bloggers think that you need to post content the minute you’ve finished the post and pound out several post in quick succession and then nothing for months. Unless you are posting on something time-sensitive then you can keep content up your sleeve for when you are busy in real life (in fact I’m currently writing this post on boxing day because I’m bored of watching cricket).
5. Keep writing
I’m not going to lie after the inital euphoria of ‘ZOMG I have a blog!’ passes you get into the dull drudgery of actually writing content on a semi regular basis. For the first few months it can be disheartening when you feel like you are writing awesome stuff but nobody seems to be reading or commenting or your work. The green-eyed monster can also rear its head when see other more established blogs getting lots of comments and plenty of retweets while you are quietly toiling away and nobody is noticing. But blogging is a bit like keeping fit, you’ve got to do a little bit of exercise each day over a long time rather than spending 3 hours at the gym sporadically to see results. At this table demonstrates that it took almost six months to build up an engaged audience for this blog.
| Month | Posts | Hits | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| January (from 19) | 8 | 389 | 12 |
| February | 17 | 1,049 | 34 |
| March | 11 | 696 | 27 |
| April | 12 | 881 | 38 |
| May | 13 | 1,154 | 38 |
| June | 15 | 1,769 | 76 |
| July | 21 | 3,534 | 115 |
| August | 20 | 3,633 | 78 |
| September | 18 | 4,434 | 77 |
| October | 15 | 4,433 | 38 |
| November | 15 | 4,491 | 76 |
| December | 4 | 5,446 | 50 |
Find time to blog – aka content management
Clocks in Praha by magro_kr used under creative commons licence
I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I can possibly find time to write lengthy posts at such a crazy time of year for teachersespecially those new to the profession.
I’m going to let you on a little secret.
I’m not finding that much time to blog at this time of the year. A lot of my content at the moment is stuff I wrote months earlier.
That post I wrote on Accountability was actually one I had written about National Standards way back in November. The Six Weeks Teacher Training post? I started writing that back in August last year as a result of a news story but I wasn’t happy with the post as it was so reworked it and waited until another news story come up on the scheme.
And sure enough it did.
The reason I do this is that I’m the sort of person who writes in spurts.
I’ve got 70 or so posts languishing about in draft form. Those posts may be anything from a few words or sentences through to a more substantive piece. Unless a specific event has really got me fired up, most of my posts start of as little snippets of ideas or paragraphs that get worked and re-worked until they are something that I am happy publishing. I may sit on posts for a few months and only hit publish when I see a news story of relevance to the content of the post. This is perhaps quite devious but I’ve long been of the opinion that just because you can hit publish doesn’t always mean you should.
I find it far easier to write a little bit about a whole variety of topics rather than force myself to write on story from start to finish in a few hours. Even my Weekly Reflection is often the result of me thinking and re-working through ideas over the course of the week. On Sunday I will publish my reflection and schedule 1-2 posts that appear through the week and then unless I see a news story of relevance, I’ve got my content sorted for the week.
This is why I enjoy blogging so much.
I control what I write about, when and what I decide to share with the world. I always feel a bit sad when I hit publish on a post I’ve been working on for a few months. Because while I am working on it, the content has a life and a soul but once it’s out in the world its like I know longer own it. The post might get a bit of further life through comments for the next few days but after that, all those hours of work disappear into the the ether.
Oh dear how pretentious I must be sounding. A frustrated creative type. But I’ve just given you a snippet of what goes on under the hood of my blog. Suffice to say, there’s a lot of tinkering.
So for those of you who stand in awe of the amount of content I seem to generate even when I’m busy with teaching rest assured most of it is more geekiness than me sitting down to write lengthy rants a few times a a week.
