On September 21, 2008, I
typed in my first post for my blog, Shoreline Driftwood. So, I am approaching the
fifth anniversary for this blog, though I know I am about 6 weeks early in
putting this up. I felt this would be a good time.
In its first 49 months,
Shoreline Driftwood received 18,856 page views on its 221 posts. Since then,
the total number of page views has climbed to 28,108 viewings on 226 blog posts
(including this one). Visits to my blog come from readers all over the world.
I am extremely grateful
to all the readers who have stopped by my blog, either to give it an occasional
read or to become regular readers. I wanted to take this anniversary and use it
as an opportunity to share with readers not only my gratitude (which is deeper
and more heartfelt than I can state), but also some of the highlights as culled
from the stats on page viewings which reflect your interests in my writing.
Readers of my blog
emanate from nations all over the world. As of October 15, 2012, the top 10
nations in terms of numbers of page views was as follows:
1) United States – 8839
2) Germany – 1206
3) Russia –1156
4) United Kingdom – 781
5) Slovenia – 592
6) Netherlands – 348
7) France – 308
8) South Korea – 265
9) Canada – 244
10) Ukraine – 198
In addition to these nations, I know the blog had readers from Indonesia, Philippines, Lebanon, Iraq, and India, in addition to many other nations. As I write this today, the current top ten of nations is as follows:
1) United States – 12,930
2) Russia – 1856
3) Germany 1653
4) United Kingdom – 1191
5) France – 709
6) Slovenia – 592
7) Canada – 428
8) Latvia – 407
9) Netherlands – 360
10) Poland – 274
As you can see, recent interest from Latvia and Poland has moved them ahead of South Korea and Ukraine. The blog has also gained interest in China, Taiwan, Sweden and Australia.
1) United States – 8839
2) Germany – 1206
3) Russia –1156
4) United Kingdom – 781
5) Slovenia – 592
6) Netherlands – 348
7) France – 308
8) South Korea – 265
9) Canada – 244
10) Ukraine – 198
In addition to these nations, I know the blog had readers from Indonesia, Philippines, Lebanon, Iraq, and India, in addition to many other nations. As I write this today, the current top ten of nations is as follows:
1) United States – 12,930
2) Russia – 1856
3) Germany 1653
4) United Kingdom – 1191
5) France – 709
6) Slovenia – 592
7) Canada – 428
8) Latvia – 407
9) Netherlands – 360
10) Poland – 274
As you can see, recent interest from Latvia and Poland has moved them ahead of South Korea and Ukraine. The blog has also gained interest in China, Taiwan, Sweden and Australia.
For my writing to reach
such a broad and diverse readership is very humbling at the same time as it is
extremely gratifying. I am amazed and surprised by the reach of the blog given
it was such a small venture 5 years ago. I had no idea I could, or even any ambition
to, generate the large and diverse readership which I have garnered over the
past 5 years. As I say, I feel humbled by the response.
Indeed, at some point
in 2010, I realized my readership had grown to a point that I could reach more
people per month from my blog than I could from many, if not most, of the
online literary journals in operation. Consequently at that time, I ceased
submitting my writing to other sources for possible publication. For the entire
5 year period, I have averaged 469 viewings per month. However, over the past
16 to 18 months, I have been averaging more than 1000 viewings per month. Since
I liked how I was able to garner so many viewings without contributing to
advertising or feeling constrained by publishers and editors, I focused on
publishing my writing here, solely since the time in 2010 when I ceased
submitting my writing to publishers. I have experienced a great deal of freedom
by not being limited by subject matter, style, voice, or genre (poetry,
non-fiction, or fiction). As a consequence, I have grown as a writer, as a
thinker, and as a person. I have to thank all of you as readers of Shoreline
Driftwood for making this possible.
Next, I’d like to share
with you a list of my top most viewed blog posts with a minimum of at least 50
viewings. I’ll provide the title, a brief description of the blog entry, the
date it was posted (month/day/year), and the number of viewings. If readers
find they missed something and want to go back to view it, you can find the
link clicking on the title below which will take you to the post.
1) Ekphrasis Exercise – three poems I wrote which interpret four pieces of art (one by
Kandinsky, one by Picasso, and two by Chagall), 2/7/10, 2012 viewings
2) An Interpretation and Discussion of Charles Olson’s Poem “Maximus to himself” – an
analysis of the poem, 1/21/10, 1823 viewings
3) A Critical Mass – my epic creation tale poem and poetic magnum opus, 12/15/08, 1014
viewings
4) Metternich, Bismarck and Franco Reveal Reactionary - Conservatism’s Political Struggle with the Rise of Populist, Liberal-Republican Equality – an historical overview with
critical commentary, 5/26/10, 660 viewings
5) On the Rise and Fall of America’s Counterculture (1967-1972) – an historical
overview with commentary, 12/10/08, 638 viewings
6) On Reliving the 60s: The Conflict between the Old Entrenched Power Structure and the Youth Movement – an historical overview with commentary and analysis,
4/1/09, 517 viewings
7) An Analytical Introduction to the Poetry of Jim Morrison – a brief introduction to
the poetry of Jim Morrison, 5/13/10, 500 viewings
8) The French in Indochina and the Beginning of Decolonization and the End of Domination by Western Empires in the Third World – an historical analysis with
commentary, 5/24/10, 436 viewings
9) R. D. Laing’s Radical Psychology and My Arguments with Contemporary Psychiatric Diagnosis and Treatment – an overview and analysis with commentary, 8/3/09, 336
viewings
10) Seductively Satirizing Hollywood’s Seduction: Woody Allen’s Anti-Genre Films – an overview
and analysis with commentary, 11/12/09, 231 viewings
11) On the Organization of an Enlightened and Ecologically Sound Community – a philosophical
look at two possible futures depending on humanity’s approach to Climate Change
which includes detailed scientific factual findings, 2/14/09, 193 viewings
12) On the Nature of Consciousness: Consciousness’ Relationship to Living a Life with Meaning – a detailed analysis which includes the latest neuroscientific
research and findings and a philosophical interpretation of the information,
12/6/08, 193 viewings
13) Understanding Classical Greek Mythology and Its Avenues for Enlightenment – an historical
overview with interpretive analysis and commentary, 11/10/09, 192 viewings
14) The Next Beatles’ Movie – A Band on the Run – my presentation of a project proposal
and story synopsis for a Beatle movie which could be made and if one had been
made in the mid-70s, it’s a farcical romp in the style of “Help!”, 10/13/12, 175 viewings
15) On Reviewing the Realities of Reagonomics’ Supply Side Strategies and their Effects on the Current American Recession – an historical overview with critical
analysis, 3/23/09, 171 viewings
16) the firestorm of raging opulence – one of my poems (a short one), 6/8/09, 165
viewings
17) On Death, Dying and Reintegration – The Transition from Life through Death into Reintegration with the All – a philosophical and spiritual view of the
after-death experience, 7/28/12, 153 viewings
18) On the Relativity of Reality: Perception-Analysis, Language, Knowledge, and Time – a philosophical overview of the trends in philosophy from the 1800s on with a
critical analysis and author commentary on each of the topics, 12/9/08, 151
viewings
19) Jung and Mythopoetic Thought – a brief overview with commentary, 12/7/09, 144
viewings
20) On Choices, Actions and Responsibilities: Freedom, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness – a philosophical treatise which includes an historical overview and
critical analysis, 12/12/08, 140 viewings
21) On How George W. Bush Confounded the Wisdom of the Ages – an historical overview
with critical analysis of Bush’s leadership and neocon’s ineffective strategies
with regard to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, 12/7/08, 125 viewings
22) The Fifth Revolution in Poetics: On a Brief Overview of the History of Poetry withCommentary and Analysis – an historical overview with a contemporary analysis
and urging for a 5th revolution, 3/23/10, 124 viewings
23) Significant Word Exercise: Peace – a commentary from the personal point of view, 1/28/10,
107 viewings
24) A Poetry Exercise and Prompt: From “Meeting the Mountains” to Amniotic Steps” – a
poetry exercise which reveals the writing of my poem “Amniotic Steps” (a short
poem), 9/7/10, 103 viewings
25) On Taking Responsibility for One’s Emotional States – a psychological and
spiritual study of the road to experiencing greater happiness more often, using
the principles of Transactional Analysis, 4/8/13, 103 viewings
26) Solaced Wistless Sighs – one short poem, 12/21/10, 92 viewings
27) On Rejecting Arguments Supporting the Existence of God – a philosophical
investigation into rejecting notions of a thinking creator who created with a
plan, 12/20/08, 78 viewings
28) On Seeking Balance in the Contemporary World – a philosophical and spiritual
commentary, 7/10/12, 67 viewings
29) On Suggestions for Reforming America’s Political System – a critical look at how
the Constitution’s Framer’s intentions have been subverted with suggestions for
repair utilizing historical references from various past Presidents including
Jefferson, Lincoln, Wilson, and many more, 12/12/08, 64 viewings
30) On Spirituality and Inspiration from the Higher Self – a spiritual discussion
leading to an innovative view of our place in the universe and a spiritual
value as beings, 12/24/08, 62 viewings
31) She Sang in the Morning – a short poem, 10/30/10, 56 viewings
32) By a Stream – a short poem, 7/12/12, 55 viewings
34) The Approaching Age of Equality – an historical overview with contemporary analysis
and commentary, 11/3/11, 50 viewings.
In addition to these
blog posts, my advertisements/synopses for my recent book releases have
garnered a number of viewings as well: 1) the post (4/18/2013) for the link to purchase my first book of essays has received 504 viewings, 2) the post
(1/12/2013) for the link to purchase my collected poetry has received 264
viewings, 3) the post (6/6/2013) for the link to purchase my second book of essays has received 82 viewings, and 4) the post (8/5/2013) for the link to purchase my novel, “Sitting in an English Garden,” has received 12 viewings.
Thank you to everyone
who has stopped by for a visit and to all of you who will do the same in the
future. I am grateful for all of you. The purpose of my writing is to share my
deepest thoughts, my most urgent feelings, my hopes and fears, and my unique
perspective on our world. That sharing and communication has been accomplished
is reflected by the viewing numbers I have posted. You give my life meaning and
value by reading what I have written. I can never overstate how much that means
to me.
Finally, if any of my readers enjoy reading books through Goodreads, you can find my first three books all available there at the following link - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6909913.Don_Coorough
Finally, if any of my readers enjoy reading books through Goodreads, you can find my first three books all available there at the following link - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6909913.Don_Coorough
My wish for all of you
is for peace, happiness, good health, warm relationships, and a fulfilling life
for all my readers.
Warmly, Don
