2009 Blog Stats for Tech Bottle & 2010 Goals

I decided to share some of our 2009 Google Analytics data with the readers of Tech Bottle. The data is not overly-impressive but show that this site has some potential to generate a following, especially considering it took to the blogosphere on November 10, 2009. I’ll also share with you why I write the blog and Tech Bottle’s 2010 goals (including that I’m seeking additional bloggers).

Google Analytics Data

2,304 visits (recent average of 89 visits per day) / 77 countries (70% U.S.) / 3,369 page views

Only 10% of visitors have visited the site more than once. (Yikes!)

Traffic Sources: 50% search engines, 32% referring sites (including Facebook and Twitter) and 18% direct traffic (recently search engine traffic surpassed referring traffic)

Top Browsers: 34% Firefox, 25% Internet Explorer, 16% Google Chrome, 15% Apple Safari and 10% other (including smartphones)

No post accounted for more than 15% of page views.

Why I Write the Blog

I recently renewed my interest in technology and I was talking people’s ears off about topics ranging from upcoming phones to linux variants. I decided it was easier to just post my babble online and people who want to read it can and others can tune it out. I’m also finding that many people I don’t know find some of what I write interesting (the mere 10% who have visited the site more than once, I suppose). I received some encouragement from friends who offered to contribute (and still haven’t *nudge, nudge*). It was relatively cheap to obtain the domain name (more on this later) and buy one year of hosting. Finally, I was always curious about WordPress, the software that powers most blogs and some significant publications like PC World.

I also started Tech Bottle to obtain access to beta apps and services like FourSquare and Google Wave. Lastly, and least important, one of the goals of entering the blogosphere was to generate revenue (through the advertisements on the site) to cover the cost of the domain name and hosting. Any additional revenue will be put towards a round of beers or whatnot. It’s not like anyone gets rich off a small blog like Tech Bottle.

Goals for 2010

I would like to find additional bloggers who are willing to contribute posts from time to time about any tech topics they find interesting. No prior blogging experience is required. I’m just looking for people who have unique ideas or opinions and want to share them. WordPress has a nice interface for typing and editing posts. It is easy to learn. If you have any interest, e-mail info@tbottle.com. Specifically, it would be nice to have an iPhone-wielding blogger.

I am trying to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. In the beginning I emphasized quantity over quality to generate a following. Presently, Tech Bottle has 267 followers on Twitter and 71 on Facebook. This is a relatively low number and I would like to generate more interest in the blog. I intend to do this by writing original content and aggregating only the best outside content, not by writing six bad posts a day.

The blog naming took place with only about 10 minutes of thought. Tech Bottle doesn’t mean anything in particular. I was looking for a short domain name and tbottle.com was available. I approached the people who own techbottle.com (which is dormant) and received no reply. So, for the time being, tbottle.com will be the domain name.

I also intend to write and edit posts better in 2010. I’m able to write much better than some of the posts demonstrate. I frequently find myself editing posts after I published them to clean up typos and other issues. In my opinion, blogs are more about ideas and information than style but I still want to improve the overall quality of the posts.

Generating comments on the blog isn’t a goal of mine. Some bloggers have contests that relate to picking comment posters to receive a prize or end every post with a question to the readers. Frankly, most comments, even on the major blogs, are simply flames or spam. It’s not that I don’t appreciate good comments; I simply don’t care that much one way or another.

I might reskin the site in 2010 with a different theme. The current aesthetics leave something to be desired.

Readers. If nobody read this site, I wouldn’t write. I’d use pencil and paper and call it a diary instead of a blog.

People who donated Google Wave invitations to help develop a following in mid-November. These all came from total strangers and were, accordingly, shared with total strangers who retweeted or otherwise provided me with feedback.

@TferThomas on Twitter, a social media and Blackberry guru, has generously retweeted many of my posts to his ~7,800 followers.

Finally

If you have ideas for Tech Bottle, please send them to me at info@tbottle.com.

Have a great year!

Jon Mallin

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