Getting Blog Traffic

On January 12, 2006, I launched this blog, with some apprehension because I knew nothing about the technology involved or about what it would be like to live in cyberspace. It’s taken until now to feel comfortable with the idea of posting diary entries about my experiences, all positive except for a few dings here and there.

I also feel safe. No one makes vicious comments. When I conduct Google searches on my name or on the name of this site, as I’ve mentioned, the results are professional and benign.

It’s as if I’d found a raft while swimming in the ocean and climbed aboard. Now, I’m warm, dry, and unscathed. But the seas are disturbingly calm. I’ve gotten only two comments, one from my tech trainer, and another that was auto-generated I think by a company whose ad appeared in my Adsense box.

The raft is anchored, and it will stay that way until I drag the anchor up, but I want to do more than just drift. Underneath I find oars and an outboard motor. After using the oars for a while, I graduate to the outboard. A month or so ago, I upgraded from dial-up to satellite Internet, which is wonderful because I am always “logged on”, in the ether, my signals instantaneously picked up and transmitted by a satellite orbiting the equator.

I’d like a navigational map, a chart to indicate the nearest landmass. A ship-to-shore two-way radio would help. Who else is out there? What do they do, and what would I do?

Conduct a Google search of “blog traffic” and you will find a lot of material about how to attract visitors and comments. Successful bloggers teach a popular subject (like how to attract visitors to your blog) or write controversial essays criticizing those in positions of authority. I have to ask, “Now that I’m here, what could I have to offer beyond my postings? Now that you are here reading my site, what would you like to take away that would enhance your life?”