... I posted my first blog article on Horse Listening (thanks to the encouragement of an ever-supportive close friend). It took me a whole year after signing on to WordPress to finally publish that first post and I haven't been able to stop since! A lot has happened over the year, so I thought I'd do a summary for you here.
Some Stats For Those of You Who Like Numbers
At the time of this post, 74 posts have been published and 230 comments written thanks to over 58,000 views, with 12,800 views on the best day (April 12, 2012). Over 266 people subscribed to the blog itself and 1,260 Twitter accounts followed @HorseListening. We are currently just short of 500 "likes" on Facebook - with a constant stream of interactions going on there in the form of likes and comments to the various status updates.
The most read article was Ten Habits of Competent Riders which has received almost 25,000 hits to date, and keeps getting more views every day. This article was picked up by the Facebook page of Chronicle of the Horse and received an incredible number of likes, shares and comments spanning the entire globe! Second place, with over 1,300 views, goes to Top Ten Annoying Riding Habits, likely thanks to its sarcastic tone!
Magazine Articles
I had the good luck of having my work published two times this past year - one in a local horse newspaper, and the other in a national horse magazine. Those successes were very much possible due to my development as a writer right here on the blog.
Feedback
The overall positive feedback has been beyond my wildest expectations, and the encouragement I've been receiving is motivating me to sets my sights higher and establish new goals.
I've always been a fan of all things "computer", and then happily adopted the "World Wide Web" when it first appeared. However, it wasn't until I started this blog that I could fully appreciate the true power of the Internet. People are reading from over 100 countries across the world. This little blog is reaching all the continents and even some of the most remote places on Earth. I am humbled that my words are reaching people from such diverse backgrounds, and can only begin to understand the place of the horse in humanity's consciousness.
To You - The Whole Point
When I first started this blog, my interest wasn't necessarily in just writing my thoughts out. Although all writing endeavours have an undeniable need to be heard, my intention was to get beyond just my "self", and open the floor to discussion and deliberation. The idea was to use the platform of the Internet to provide a ("virtual") space for us to connect. The topics of the post were just starters and I've been delighted to read your thoughtful comments and additions, providing us all with a variety of perspectives about the world of horses.
And THAT is the whole point.
I know this sounds cliché and matter-of-fact, but I do sincerely thank you for your readership. If you've also commented,"shared", "liked", "retweeted", or "favourited" the articles on WordPress, Facebook or Twitter, I thank you for that too.
Here's to one whole year passed, and many more ahead, as we travel along our own personal Horse Listening journeys!