Last year at this time NewsOverCoffee hadn't been on line a full year, but there were plenty of local controversies (new borough building, potential teachers strike, new MS, and sunshine law violations to name a few). These fueled the growth of the site and brought many readers, but there were so many issues that I wished for a calmer 2007 than 2006 when I wrote last New Years day. For the most part we got it.
The site got a boost to start the year when Bill White of the Morning Call featured it in a column and later JD Malone did the same in the Express-Times. The support and encouragement from the print publications spread the word and helped people understand that a blog doesn't have to be about the person writing, but instead can be about a place and can include more than one voice.
This formula seems to have worked and NOC celebrated its first full calendar year in 2007. There were roughly 800 posts made on the site during the year and 15,247 people visited the site more than 200 times each. Another 18,781 visited between 51 and 200 times each. To say the least there are many loyal readers and I very much appreciate everyone who takes the time to visit, read, comment, and email.
80% of visitors returned again and 20% were new to the site. The average visit lasted 2 minutes and 20 seconds.
The single highest individual day was on February 13, when 446 visits were made to the site, most days saw between 250 and 350 visitors.
The most read post of 2007 was in regard to the Calandras who didn't want to sell their property and were threatened by the NASD to sell or face eminent domain. This post had over 1,000 pageviews with over 900 unique visitors mostly in January.
It is clear that people read for the local news and are not very interested in sports or activities. This continues to surprise me because it is a tremendous venue for those activities and sports that don't receive adequate coverage in the local media. And despite low readership, I'll continue the book club simply because I like it.
I hope everyone has had a good 2007 and will have an even better 2008. Professionally I had some big changes since Thanksgiving which resulted in my not being able to attend as many meetings as I'd have liked, but as things settle I'm sure I'll be right back at them. I'd be remiss if I didn't thank Brad Moulton for reporting on School Board meetings. These reports are invaluable as the press can't possibly provide the granular detail Brad does. Further, his ongoing coverage allows for an understanding and knowledge that is lost each time the print media changes reporters.
I'd also like to thank everyone who has sent emails and asked about issues or writing about certain topics. The content wouldn't be nearly as interesting without this input. While I may come across as the bad guy or pest in some circles, most times I'm asking the questions others have asked me about and aren't comfortable asking themselves. I don't mind this role and I think it is good to open up communications and share information as much as possible.
To that end, let's hope for less controversy and more sharing of information in the new year.
Best wishes!
No comments:
Post a Comment