Some people eat, sleep and chew gum, I do genealogy and write...

Friday, April 26, 2013

The Mystery Post -- what is the story here?

Back on February 28, 2011, I wrote a very brief post entitled "Quick Correction on last post on New FamilySearch." Remarkably, that one post has had over 26,000 visits over the years. The point raised in the post has long since become entirely irrelevant to anything going on today, so what is the huge draw of this post? Nothing else I have written has come close to the popularity of this short three paragraph post. If I could duplicate the draw of that one post, I might be rich and famous! But analyzing those three paragraphs has proved unproductive.

Wait a minute being both rich and famous has its definite drawbacks especially if you are a genealogical blogger where neither is particularly possible. I always say, being a famous genealogy blogger is sort-of like being the mayor of Nutrioso, Arizona (for those of you unacquainted with the Nutrioso Megaplex it has a recent population of 269). Oh, this is not to say that the mayor of Nutrioso isn't an important job (if there is one). I don't want to offend public officials (like I do everyone else).

I guess the vagaries of popularity have completely escaped me. I wake up thinking, what did I say in that one post to make it so popular? Should I start using the word "correction" in every blog post? It couldn't be the reference to either New.FamilySearch.org or FamilySearch since I seem to write about both regularly. Maybe it was my assumed humility in making a "quick correction." Perhaps I should start making intentional mistakes so that I can then quickly correct my way to popularity?

At this point it is probably entirely impossible to say anything remotely serious, but there is a real issue here. As I look at what I write, it seems that there is no rhyme or reason to why one blog post has a spectacular appeal and the next one barely scrapes up someone to click on it. I guess I could chalk it up to inconsistency, mine not yours.

OK, if you have been wondering, the old popular blog post referred to a link to find out what was new on New.FamilySearch.org. Well, since they stopped updating the program in December of 2010 the issue is and was moot, although I did not know it at the time.

2 comments:

  1. So by writing this post, and including the link,you were fishing for additional hits on the mystery post.

    Hooked me...I have a few like that, I don't know why the will of Solomon Keyes was so popular, or why the 1940 US census ED Finder post continues to be popular on Genea-Musings.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, it is my secret plan for riches and fame. :-)

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