It Was One Year Ago This Week…

Last updated: January 31, 2013

It was one year ago this week when I started this writing adventure. I did it because I love new technology and feel knowledge should be shared with others. I had no idea at the time how popular this would become. Since 2012 has been a great year for this blog, I’d like to pause for a moment to give thanks, but first a little history.

Time flies when you’re having fun

Growing Slowly at First

As you can see from the chart below, the first eight months this blog was in existence I toiled in relative obscurity, getting around a thousand views a month. Then something big happened. In July I more than doubled my views from the previous month — thanks to strong traffic on articles about United, AT&T and the smartphone of the year. Traffic in September was twice that of July, thanks to an article about the new iPhone 5. In August traffic was over five times that of July, thanks to the articles on the new iPads. Traffic once again more than doubled in November and December. Every day for the past four months I expect the visits to this site to taper off, but so far there is no sign of that happening. In fact, last week was my biggest week ever in total views. My Nexus 10 Tips and Tricks article has already received over 250,000 views!

This blog has seen an incredible increase in traffic over the past four months

Quality Over Quantity

It’s nice to get some attention, but traffic in itself means little to me. Most of the popular blogs get more than 10 times the traffic I get. What matters to me is the quality and timeliness of my posts. Based on some of the comments I’ve been receiving lately, it appears I’m doing a decent job in this area.

As you can see from the updated chart, weekly traffic continues to hit new highs as well

What People Are Saying About Mostly-Tech

1. “Great tips! I’m new to your blog, but I’m really starting to like your writing style. No real fluff, just facts! Thanks for the info about the ‘PC’ keyboard setting, I just activated it for my Nexus 7, I would never had known it was there if it wasn’t for you! Keep up the good work!”
2. “As always, superbly organized and comprehensively researched, Rick! I’m looking forward to reading to your side-by-side comparison of the newly announced Nexus 4 and the iPhone 5…”
3. “Finally an excellent, well-researched, unbiased, well-written comparison piece which states *facts*. You could teach the guys over at Engadget a thing or two…”
4. “Rick, having seen and subscribed to dozens of blogs and having been involved in blogging myself, I can assert that it’s because you churn out some of the best articles in the arena of Android, iOS and Windows. Your blog is now in my list of RSS feeds!”
5. “Well researched article, Thank you very much for your hard work. You are pointing out right facts without fanboism…”
6. “Rick, this is a quick note to thank you for your fantastic blog! I discovered it yesterday and, frankly, can’t tell why I didn’t notice it earlier. Keep up the good work!”
7. “Excellent and comprehensive comparisons, Rick, especially after only having had used the Nexus 10 for just a day!”
8. “You’re awesome, Rick! Many people and I have been trying for months to get TalkBack developers on the Google-monitored Eyes-Free mailing list to tell us what’s changed between 4.1 and 4.2 and we got nothing. But you did it on a holiday!”
9. “I think the article is great at informing casual users about everything related to beaming. The only article about the topic I found, very useful and clear as well. Cheers”
10. “I am a new reader and found your blog very entertaining + informative.”
11. “Hi Rick, I just stumbled onto your blog, I think yours is one of the most informative, unbiased, and interesting blogs that I have come across…”
12. “GREAT article thanks! Without bias and highlights issues on the #nexus10 with constructive arguments.”
13. “Everybody should definitely check this out. It’s incredible article, I spent a long time reading it and did many things that it said!!! As others have noticed the keyboard option is awesome…” [Post appeared in Android forums about a Mostly-tech blog article]
14. Recently bought a Nexus 10, my 1st tab, and your 50 tips have been brilliant. Thanks for taking the time to help so many people. Cheers.
15. Your nexus-10-tips-and-tricks is a great forum [post] with very useful information. So many times forums are full of garbage that the user needs to wade thru, but yours is wonderful!

Of course I get my fair share of hate mail as well. You can read those in the comments sections.

What to Expect in 2013

I’m not sure what the future holds, but I plan to continue to write about mobile technology in 2013. I'm also planning to expand into some new areas including music technology, photography and video. Hopefully some of you will join me. Even if you don’t, I’m happy you stopped by. Here's to a great 2012, and an even better new year.

– Rick

Copyright 2013 Rick E. Schwartz. All rights reserved. Linking to this article is encouraged

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