Six Months!
Six months ago, I started up Focused Totality. For 175 posts now, I have been doing what I set out to do: write a lot, and with the constant spectre of someone else reading it. After working and writing at Operation Sports, I wanted: a place to write more regularly, a topic that was a bit more expansive, and a feeling of ownership. On all those marks, this has been a wonderful and successful six months.
What I didn't expect when starting this blog was the community. I figured I'd write away in a more-or-less vacuum, with little discussion or interaction. That's been far from the case, and that community has made this more than wonderful and successful. There are too many thanks to give, but here are a few:
- Johanna, for noticing me first and encouraging me in the early days of this blog. And encouraging me many times since.
- Kurt and Zilla, as the three of us all returned to comics and started blogging at the same time. There was instant camaraderie.
- Jim and Jog and Ian, for constantly raising the bar and reminding me how insightful comics blogging can be.
- Bryan Lee O'Malley, Warren Ellis, the Elk's Run crew, Grant Morrison, Kiyohiko Azuma, Natsuki Takaya, Brian Wood, Steve Lieber and Sara Ryan, and many others for making the books that make comics fun to write about.
Now, in order to stop the maudlin ... some stats from the first six months of Focused Totality:
- Biggest Referrer:This Japanese site mentioned my Yotsuba&! review and generated about four thousand hits over the course of two or three days. After that, it's the Comic Weblog-A-Tron 3000, Comics Worth Reading, Comics Should Be Good, and the Brill Building.
- Search Terms: "Superbabes" is by far the word that leads searchers here (along with "sexy superbabes", "victorias secret layouts", "superbabes naked", "men with huge bulges", "naked superbabes", "hero porn", "hereosexual sex images"). On a more innocent note, "Yotsuba&!" and "Yotsuba" combine for almost as much as "superbabes". I imagine, however, that the person who came here looking for "totality of universe" left deeply disappointed.
- Location: Unsurprisingly, most hits come from the U.S. Following in the next pack are Canada, the U.K., and Germany. I have also had visitors from Yemen, Estonia, and El Salvador.
It's been a fun six months, and I thank you all for reading. I hope Focused Totality half as fun to read as it is to make.
10 comments:
Mark, thank you for posting, because when you do, it tends to be good.
Ditto! Looking forward to another strong six months...and maybe a little something extra elsewhere? Ahem. ;-)
Congratz on making the six month mark, Mark. ;)
They say the first six are the toughest, as you are still trying to find a voice. They supposedly get easier after that (although, I'm still waiting for that, myself).
Here's to your continued success and hitting the one year mark. After having done that myself very recently, I can tell you there;s nothing that feels so good as achieiving such a goal.
Thank you for the kind words and the good blogging. You remind me why it's important for fans to get their voices out. I honestly think blogs like this one improve comics.
Time does fly when you're having fun.
Congrats Mark.
Congrats, of course, I've been digging this site for some time.
I'll throw my congrats in as well. I've enjoyed the blog a ton over the past six months.
If what Guy is hinting at is true, I'll be watching Buzzscope like a hawk as well as it seems like it's going to be the place to be in 2006.
Thanks for the kind wishes, all. Thr writing is fun, but the community is what keeps me active.
If what Guy is hinting at is true, I'll be watching Buzzscope like a hawk as well as it seems like it's going to be the place to be in 2006.
I'll be watching Buzzscope, too. I think something Guy's got something special in the works there.
As far as his hints ... well, the thing I like best about buzzscope is that it isn't filled with 30-something whiteboys like myself. :)
Hey Mark, let me throw my congrats your way too! In six months, you've made your site indispensible. Not only have you been posting some of the sharpest reviews, essays, and commentary out there, you've been doing it with a regularity that makes me positively green with envy. :) Looking forward to more great punditry and comics criticism in 2006!
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