State of the Blog

Blog Updates

uh… nothing is on fire… none of the Pokémon are dead… the horrors of the space between the stars are quiet… I need to buy milk tomorrow but I can probably remember to do that… things are good! I think!

Y’know, there is something weirdly addictive about the WordPress stats page. Day by day, hour by hour, the figures go up, and some number of people are paying attention to my deranged claptrap, fuelling my long, slow and inevitable descent into crippling narcissism.

Numbers are down from March, but March was sort of an anomaly because it started with the announcement of generation VIII and simultaneously I got a bunch of extra visitors because of that ridiculous cake I made (now that was a hell of a week), and we’re definitely up from February by… like… some amount. I tried to estimate the size of my regular audience, which is a hard thing to do because my understanding of statistics basically extends to knowing what a factorial is, how to make graphs in Excel, and something about the distribution of fish. I reckon, though, that my numbers are… let’s say consistent with a core audience of 200-300 people. That’s not big time internet celebrity numbers, I admit, but honestly it’s like 190 more people than it would take for me to think this is worth doing. There’s this line of Seneca that I think is apropos (or Seneca quoting a lost work of Epicurus, so I’m quoting a quotation of a literal lost ancient scroll of forgotten wisdom here), haec ego non multis sed tibi, satis enim magnum alter alteri theatrum sumus, which is Latin for “fµ¢£ your subscriber count; my readers are the best.”

The other thing that’s cool is I can see where in the world everyone is from. The US is about 60%, which is not terribly surprising because the US is about 60% of the internet, and Canada, the UK and Australia make up most of the rest, which is not really a shock because I write in English (FOR NOW; 日本語も勉強します). New Zealand… look, New Zealand, fair’s fair; I know I was exiled for a good reason but it’s been over five years and those astrologers would probably have been dead by now anyway, so you could give me a little more support. Who else is going to represent us on the world stage, if not a slightly unhinged and terminally gay classicist/video game haruspex?

(…don’t answer that)

The other countries that consistently show up in the stats are the Netherlands, Germany, Brazil and Czechia (this is the most surprising one; I definitely have a handful of really dedicated Czech readers, and I’m certain they’re wonderful, but I have no idea who they are or how they found me). Post where you’re from in the comments! (And if you’re from the US, tell me which state, because WordPress doesn’t record that and I’m curious)

This month I look forward to knocking out the last few Ultra Beasts and finally entering the home stretch of generation VII Pokémon reviews! Upcoming question topics include a design for a hypothetical Togedemaru evolution, Nuzlockes and other challenge playthroughs, the hypothetical culture shock of moving from the Pokémon world to the real world, and the Battle Bond ability.

Special thanks, as always, to my wonderful Patreon supporters (five of them now!) Bradley, James Crooks, hugh_donnetono, Esserise and Hamish Fyfe. Their support covers the cost of living here on WordPress, and I’m getting enough now that I think I can justify moving to WordPress Premium in the near future, unlocking some actual meaningful customisation for the site that isn’t just picking from a list of predefined themes. Slowly but surely, this will become the most powerful blog in the world, and togETHER WE SHALL CONQUER THE INTERWEBS

Published by pokemaniacchris

Published

28 thoughts on “State of the Blog”

  3. Y’all’re lookin’ at a natural-grown Georgia peach over he’ya. I… don’t actually have a southern accent though. I’m disappointed too.

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  4. I’ve been pretty obsessed with the hit counter.. especially the lag. 15 views from 3 unique visitors, but 14 from the US, 5 from the UK and 5 from Germany? I think not, WordPress! ‘Dat maths just don’t add up!

    Ooh, thanks for addressing my question, I look forward to it 🙂

    I’m from the UK. You didn’t ask for UK specifics, but near Manchester. I found your blog by looking in the wordpress reader on a search for Pokemon-related stuff that looked like an interesting read. A couple of the ones on the search were more news/game hints etc, which are fine. But I wanted something with a little more discussion and bite.

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    1. Well, “more discussion and bite” *is* what I aim for; I’m glad there are people out there who actually set out to look for it! Just out of curiosity, did you find anything else particularly interesting on that search?

      (Also, anyone else reading this, take a moment to look at Rebecca’s blog; she’s just started an interesting project doing deep-dives on individual Pokémon species from a primarily in-universe perspective)

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      1. =o thanks for the shoutout!

        Surprisingly not! Yours was the only one that came up that did discussion pieces. I found a few slightly different things that’re quite cool. There is a cute little pokemon poetry site (http://weeklypokemonsonnet.home.blog/), a ‘re-watching and reviewing the anime episodes’ type deal (rewatchingpokemonblog.wordpress.com), a youtuber that looks at pokemon products (davivoxyspokeblog.wordpress.com).. and the odd Pokemon Go related thing.

        I might have a good google search at some point in case the Reader’s search function is a bit off.

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  6. Canadian here. I honestly don’t remember how I found you in the first place, beyond the fact that I remember you jumping sites at least twice.

    Incidentally, one of the pages in my “Favorites” is your explanation of why trying to link the XYZ legendary Pokémon to Norse mythology is insane, for those times when I need to link such an explanation.

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  7. New York here! And I know you’re an educated, worldly individual who understands the difference between New York City and New York State, as, unlike much of the world seems to think, NYS is not all city nor is NYC an afternoon drive from the rest of the state (I can go to Canada, see some sights, and get back home in much less time than it takes just to get to NYC).

    Glad to see the numbers are so high!

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      1. I haven’t been to the Corning Museum if Glass in quite a few years but I remember my visit fondly, I even got a nice glass chess set from there (that I’ve rarely used but it’s pretty). NYS isn’t that great of a state imo but we have a few gems here and there, and the Native American history in this region is fascinating. Someday I do have to drive down to Corning again though!

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    2. To be fair to that “much of the world” America is infamous for being even worse at that kind of thing; the Molson’s “I am Canadian” rant was aimed at real people. My response to the “Jimmy, Sally or Susie” line would be pointing out that we have three times the population of NYC up here, spread out over more land than the entire United States. (Alternatively, an eighth of the population of the US as a whole, and it’s a little alarming that those two things are equivalent)

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      1. Yeah, I am aware most Americans are pretty bad at generalization people. I haven’t gotten to see much of Canada (I’ve always been interested in going up to Quebec), furthest I’ve traveled into the country is Toronto. I envy a lot about your country though!

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  8. Several years ago, I used to run a WordPress blog dedicated to unraveling a mystery surrounding a missing skull. I haven’t posted in a long time, but occasionally I’ll take a look at my statistics, and apparently a handful of people have been e-stopping by every few days. I wonder who they are. Someone a few months ago even left a comment on one of my posts.

    I, too, like to describe myself as “terminally gay.”

    I currently live in Arkansas, though in past chapters of my existence I have also resided in Georgia (ages 0 – 22) and New York (22 – 24).

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      1. It was the skull of the Union Civil War general Elisha Marshall. On the summer solstice of 2000, some people broke into Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY, dug up his coffin, and took off with his skull. It’s a strange mystery.

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  10. Hey there, this is your dedicated, fellow terminally gay reader from the Netherlands.

    I am primarily here for your Pokémon reviews (been around since your Gen. VI reviews), and I even take inspiration from your reviews sometimes because I have a blog on which I’m rating all Pokémon as well! I had absolutely no idea what I would get myself into, and I have only now started to realize. :’)

    Props to you for posting so consistently, because I don’t know how you do it.

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    1. Consistently!? Did you miss the year I spent in Greece, or…?

      Seriously though, I’m glad you like it, and it looks like you’re doing pretty decently yourself – 561 down, only… 248 to go… and counting… oh god… why doesn’t it ever stop…

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      1. It’s not like you didn’t post anything when you were in Greece, and I’m pretty sure you didn’t take a hiatus lasting for, like, three or four months, like I am doing right now. Granted, I just got a job and Eurovision season is at full blast right now, so I still have to find a new rhythm in which writing Pokémon reviews could squeeze its way in, but still… :’)

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  11. Chilean reader here. I found you searching random things about sigilyph and its inspiration from Nazca Lines, and keeping with you since early gen VI reviews. Love all your classical stuff too.

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