Insights On Most Viewed Posts

I was looking at statistics for which posts to this blog have received the most hits and views "all time."

What I found was interesting in several ways...

The most viewed single post on this blog by a long shot is one that I wrote, ironically, on the topic of which photos from my Flikr Photostream were getting the most views. The title of this all-time eyeball getting post was "Naked, Gay, Vietnam, Taj...and Don't Tread On Me." The title is literally a descriptive list of the pictures getting the most looks on Flickr.

Not much of a post really as it just runs down the top 10 most viewed pictures and my quick thoughts on why these pictures might be getting views.

But oh that title. Turns out as you know...there are A SHIT LOAD of people online looking for either just naked pictures of people or naked gay people. And that headline was too much for them to pass up a look. I know...surprise, surprise.

So you know, "naked" referred to a picture I took of the naked bicycle riders in the annual Solstice Parade in Seattle. And the "gay" picture referred to was a shot of a person participating in the Seattle Gay Pride parade, not naked. And the other items were

The rest of the top five most viewed were mostly travel essays that I wrote or an album review. This restored some amount of hope in me for humanity and I was pleased to see some alignment between what I enjoy writing about and people's interests in viewing things on my blog...

• Indeed, clocking in at the second most viewed post was my post about Diane and my travel to Egypt - in particular our stay in Luxor and the Valley of the Kings.
• Next on the list was one of my pieces on our trip to Romania, focusing on Bucharest and Snagov.
• Then an album review. I wrote my thoughts the release called Euphoric Heartbreak by one of my favorite bands, Glasvegas. Good to know some people appreciate good, new music!
• And then rounding out the top five was a post I wrote about our stay in Savannah, GA back in 2009. In the post I talk about the sights and great food we experienced in the city.

All that said, to help generate more traffic, I'm considering adding "naked" or "gay" to every single title of the posts I write and put on this blog. You know, like...

• Naked, Gay Report on Travel to France
• Naked, Gay Album Review of Latest from U2

Blog Publishes My Charleston Pictures

A blog called 82K has published and credited several of the pictures I took of Charleston, SC when Diane and I visited there last year.

You can see the full blog post with my pictures by clicking HERE.

The blog appears to be for a guy who sells jewelry, but it also seems like he writes about other stuff too.

You can see a more full set of pictures of our trip to Charleston, Savannah and Williamsburg by clicking HERE.

Happy First Birthday To The Western Front Blog!

Ladies and gentlemen, The Western Front blog has just turned one year old.

Yep, one year of trying to entertain, share and have a good time online. I started the blog last April for a few reasons. Among them, I've spent the better part of 40 years soaking up information and experiences...helping form a lot of opinions and, hopefully, some useful knowledge to pass on. With that in mind, I just figured it's time to start putting something back out there instead of mostly just absorbing it.

Another reason was that in my job I am increasingly using online social media to communicate, and I figured that diving into blogging would help me better understand that world.

In any case, based on my experience so far, I'm going to keep going.

To celebrate this first anniversary, I've put together a "best of" set of articles from the 117 posts to The Western Front blog over the last 12 months. I've grouped these into the categories of Music, Politics, Travel/Food, Photography, Opinion/Observations and Movies. I hope you enjoy reading or re-visiting some of these posts...

MUSIC

• Bad Economy = Better Music?
• Glasvegas Concert Review
• 2008 Concert Reviews
• Five Albums You Should Get
• Three Songs You Should Check Out
• Creating A "Genesis-Neutral World"

POLITICS

• How I Know Obama's Plan Will Work
• Tea-Baggers: Hypocrites, Rubes or Both?
• Who Is To Blame For the Current Crisis?
• What You Can't See in Shanghai Is What You Can See at Wal-Mart and on Wall Street
• McCain Dusts Off "Socialist" Charge
• May the Best Perception Win
• Goodbye to the Worst U.S. President Ever

TRAVEL/FOOD

• The China Reports
• Party Time in Spain - April Fair
• Hot, Fresh NYC Restaurant Reviews

PHOTOGRAPHY

• A Link to My Flickr Photostream Sets
• The Seattle Times Runs One of My Photographs
• The Spookiest Picture We've Ever Seen
• Wine Pictures
• New Mexico Pictures
• Vietnam and Cambodia Pictures
• Educational Publisher to Use One of My Pictures

OPINION/OBSERVATIONS

• Of Football, Fans, the Flag and a Guy Named Tits
• It's Not A Sport If...
• Time for Pirate Radio Again?
• Is Pollution An Olympic Sport?
• There's An A-Hole In Every Crowd (Sometimes Two)
• 20 Things I Am Thankful For
• My Un-American Fourth of July
• The Passing of a Great Man
• Marc's 2008 Year In Review

MOVIES

• Get Milk
• Pre-Oscars Movie Reviews

100 Posts from The Western Front

This post is the 100th entry on The Western Front blog since I started it back in April 2008. (Picture at left from FreeFoto.com)

In that time, I've averaged about nine posts per month - focusing primarily on subjects such as politics, music, travel, photography, food, entertainment and a few other odds and ends.

I hope you've enjoyed what you've read or viewed here, even if you don't always agree with what I've said or like what I've posted.

The goal I have for this blog is to use my first hand experiences and time spent considering certain topics to create posts that deliver one or more of the following:

• Provoke thought
• Share knowledge and opinions
• Share photography
• Have a good time

So, if you read The Western Front regularly, my hope is that after 100 posts, you have checked out some new music that you would not normally have come across, that you are hearing some political ideas that maybe run differently than yours to at least ponder (or if you agree with me you're getting your fill of my preaching to your choir), that you've viewed some pictures from around the world that you've not seen before, that you've gotten tips on some good restaurants and movies, that you feel like you've read some entertaining essays or opinions on society that make you think, and that you've had a few laughs.

The one year anniversary of this blog is coming up in about six weeks. I'll be playing around with some new formats to see if I can update The Western Front with a new look for the next 12 months. And, I'll re-cap the "Best of The Western Front" around that time too.

In the meantime, let me know if you want to know if there's something you want to know more about.

Marc