Top 10 most visited blog posts for 2012

Jan 012013
 

Anthony in San FranciscoHappy 2013, all.

Here’s a list of the top 10 most-visited posts on the blog in 2012… or rather, starting with March, the earliest I have statistics available. March is when I moved from Piwik to Google Analytics, with the discovery that Piwik can’t export its own data. (Shades of the GnuCash incident…) Still, here’s the top posts for 2012:

  1. Anthony’s Xubuntu 12.04 post-installation guide: By far the most popular post on the blog, it’s usually the most visited post each day, barring a few random spikes.
  2. Tech thoughts: Xubuntu 11.10 post-installation guide: Less popular once 12.04 came out, but still gets some traffic (people with older installs?).
  3. The main blog/site URL.
  4. Linux Mint XFCE (201104) vs. Xubuntu 10.10: Battle of the XFCE-using distros: Despite this post being long outdated (written back in April 2011), and that there’s likely more thorough/updated comparisons between the two elsewhere online, there’s still a steady stream of traffic for this post. (These days, I’d probably suggest going with Mint Xfce over Xubuntu…)
  5. Catwoman, Starfire, and the DCNU reboot: Much of the traffic dropped once I resized the included graphic to a less gargantuan size, but it still draws some traffic. Of course it doesn’t help that DC’s issues with sexism still persist in the “New 52.”
  6. “Comixology” tag: I’ve devoted plenty of virtual ink to writing about Comixology.
  7. Nook Color and Nook Tablet now have CBZ file support: What the title says. I also still get a few hits on an older how-to-root-the-Nook post. These days, the Nook’s been given to my niece, as I’ve replaced it with the much more versatile and nicer Nexus 7.
  8. Anthony’s Linux Mint 13 Xfce post-installation guide: In late summer, I moved to Linux Mint from Xubuntu, and with it, wrote a post-installation guide to accompany the move. Not as popular as the Xubuntu guide, but given I just moved to Mint 14, I might consider updating this guide at some point.
  9. Anthony gets a new HP laptop and moves to Linux Mint: What the title says. I bought a newer HP laptop this summer, and installed Mint 14 on it. While I’ve moved to a Mac Mini for home computing, I still use the laptop on trips out of town, plus for a few things I don’t have on the Mini (a Usenet newsgroup reader that doesn’t cost $30 and a CD/DVD burner, particularly).
  10. More 2012 Olympics tech issues: NBC Olympics website streaming on Linux: My now-obsolete guide to getting NBC’s Olympics streaming coverage to work on Linux computers saw a big spike in site traffic when it was linked to on a Linux-related Reddit subreddit.

While a few of the above were in more than one category, the breakdown seems to be:

  • 64% Technology
  • 27% Comics
  • 9% Other (visits to the site’s main URL)

By far, technology’s the most popular category, with much of it related to the Linux-related posts above. Coming in second would be comics, followed by hits to the main site URL itself.

Thanks again, everyone, for reading my blog!

Merry Christmas, everyone (and new Nexus 7 owners)

Dec 252012
 

Google Nexus holidayHope anyone actually reading this is having a nice Christmas (if one celebrates said holiday) or a nice day off work (if one doesn’t celebrate said holiday). Thought I’d throw this post up to keep some new material coming while I’m celebrating the holiday with family…

To give those who might be receiving a new Nexus 7 today for a present, here’s a link to my initial reactions to the Nexus 7:

Anthony buys the Nexus 7 tablet

Also of interest might be a link to some holiday-themed Nexus wallpaper created by Google itself, posted to its Nexus Google+ group. (An example accompanies this post.) The wallpaper shows some of the same creativity behind their Google Doodles:

https://plus.google.com/+Nexus/posts/TdSWAiaPSTJ

 

Anthony’s Notes is one of November’s “Featured Five” sites on The Parrington Review!

Nov 082012
 

Anthony’s Notes now has its first actual online award under its belt—it’s one of the “Featured Five” sites by the website The Parrington Review!

The Parrington Review is a site that reviews film, literature, and other websites. The site’s run by Dan Parrington, who I met through a LinkedIn blogger forum, where he was accepting others’ websites for critiques. Out of a long list of sites he reviewed, Dan chose Anthony’s Notes plus four others as a “Featured Five” site for November.

Thanks for the honor, Dan!

As for the review itself, here it is: http://parringtonreview.com/index.php/free-website-reviews-anthonys-notes/

RSS feed change for Anthony’s Notes

Sep 262012
 

As you may have heard, Google stated some time ago (but wasn’t publicized heavily until recently) that they’ll be deprecating the FeedBurner API on October 20. While the FeedBurner feeds should keep working as-is, the various widgets relying on such (including the one built into the theme for my site, Suffusion) are likely questionable or defunct. Still, in my opinion, this also casts doubt on the long-term future for FeedBurner itself.

Thus, I’ve decided to remove the FeedBurner feed for this site entirely, reverting back to the plain RSS feed. I’ve also swapped Suffusion’s sharing buttons widget for a different plugin (thus the change in the buttons’ appearance), since Suffusion’s widget doesn’t support a plain RSS feed. As usual, the RSS feeds for the site’s individual categories will also stay displayed. I’ll likely delete the FeedBurner feed at some point, as well.

I suppose it’s an indication that even as useful as Google is, there’s still room for alternative services (FeedBurner’s rivals are getting more attention lately), plus the downsides of relying on “the cloud” for everything. Case in point, of course, is Google’s previous announcement to shut down iGoogle, despite that service, as “dated” as a portal page is, still having a fair number of users (but not very profitable for Google, so…).

Giving the “Hire Me” page another go

Sep 182012
 

While I’ve had it up on the site off and on in the past, I thought I’d give having a “Hire Me” page another go, revised heavily from its previous incarnation. The purpose of the page, of course, is to advertise my services as a professional writer, either on a freelance or long-term basis. If interested, please give the new page a look.

Happy 10th anniversary, Anthony’s Notes

Sep 102012
 
Screenshot of the blog from 2004

The blog as it looked back in 2002.

Today marks a special milestone: my 10th year of blogging!

Back in 2002, blogging was heavily promoted as the “latest thing” by online and offline media, and I thought it’d be worth starting up a blog for myself. Over time, other online trends have developed (social media in particular), but blogging’s still a mainstay of the online world.

On a personal level, 10 years ago I was living in Indianapolis, owning an aged Power Mac 7500 running Mac OS 9, as well as other tech I’ve long since disposed of (a 13″ CRT TV set; a cassette Walkman I mainly used for the radio; a corded landline telephone; and the clock radio I had since high school). A decade, a move (with a few stops in between) to Milwaukee, advances in technology, and a newer (and better paying) job later, I’m now the owner of a flat-screen LCD TV, a smartphone, a modern laptop running Linux Mint 13 Xfce, and… a newer clock radio, the old one finally disposed of only recently. I also now have broadband (albeit anemic broadband). I’ve also increased my frequency of freelance writing (moreso in the 2010s), and gotten to travel a lot more, at least around North America.

Of course, my online presence has changed during this time too. In 2002, my blog was my one real outpost online, hosted on Blogspot (now owned by Google). I did frequent a few online forums, of course; one I still use frequently, another I almost never check in on anymore. Since 2002, I’ve moved the blog from Blogspot to a self-hosted WordPress installation with its own .com domain name (including briefly having two blogs, the second hosted on WordPress.com before I merged both), expanded it to include a website for my portfolio, and changed the name from the alliterative “Anthony’s Annotations” to today’s “Anthony’s Notes.” (Thanks to Heather Clitheroe for suggesting the current name, and Rik Ward, Heather (again), and others for their advice while setting up the current site.) I also may now be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr. The last one’s thanks to the rise of digital photography over the past decade, which represents yet another big change—in 2002, I was still using film cameras!

One high point for the blog was my being cited in an edition of the “Columbia Journalism Review” (for a post about changes to ABC’s “Nightline”). While I don’t blog as much about politics or my daily life minutiae as I once did (Twitter and Facebook have filled those roles for the most part), I still blog about cartoons, technology, and (when it happens) my latest freelance writing efforts.

Finally, I appreciate all the comments all of you have left here over the years; thanks for actually taking time to read my blog!

 

Blog revamp 2012

Aug 262012
 

As you can see, I’ve decided to give the blog a bit of a revamp. Or “quite a while of a revamp,” as doing this took longer than expected… not being satisfied with the various other WordPress themes I tried, for starters. Anyway, long-timers might recall I’ve used this “black and white” theme before; I wanted something a bit lighter than the old theme.

The biggest change, of course, is that the blog now is on the main page of the site, instead of under the “/blog” subheading. Given the blog gets most of the site’s traffic, plus my desire to emphasize that aspect of my writing, I figure it makes sense to move it. The old front page is now an “About Me” page, which I’ve also revised and updated.

There’s a new header image, as well, which I hope is better looking than the old one. The navigation bar’s formerly separately-listed categories are now under a “categories” drop-down menu. Finally, I’ve split the sidebar’s links into categories for convenience. The RSS feeds for the separate categories are still offered in the sidebar, however, if you only wish to follow the technology-related posts, for instance.

Let me know what you make of the revised site…

I’m now on Google+…exciting, I know

Jul 222012
 

As the subject line says, I’ve decided to sign up for Google+, Google’s social network rival to Facebook. I wanted to see what it’s actually like for myself, as well as try to get a bit more publicity for the blog/improve my networking with others.

In the brief time I’ve used it so far, my immediate impression is “a nicer-looking version of Facebook, but with way fewer people.” I’m also surprised to find some pages I follow (mostly comics-related sites) that’re prolific on Facebook haven’t posted a new post on Google+ in months.

I suppose I’ll see how Google+ goes; in the meantime, here’s the Google+ Page I created for the blog:

https://plus.google.com/118132439380667288485

(Apparently Google+ doesn’t offer vanity URLs…thus the long string of numbers.)

 

Anthony’s Notes once more has a Facebook page

Jun 052012
 

Once upon a time (or a year or so ago), you might recall I finally caved in and against better judgment, signed up for Facebook, albeit just for a Facebook fan page for the blog. I eventually deleted it (not thinking it was doing much good), but recently have changed my mind. Thus, it’s now back! I thought it might be an easy way for others to keep up with the blog, assuming they aren’t already following the blog through Twitter or RSS. I’ll also try to share interesting on-topic material from elsewhere, as well. If interested, feel free to “like” the blog.

Considering another possible blog revamp

May 012012
 

On the heels of previous blog revisions, I’m considering another major blog change: starting a second blog (again). Yes, I did it once before, but it didn’t work out as well as I’d hoped at the time, and I soon consolidated the two.

This time, however, I’m thinking of two blogs, one dedicated to technology (including Linux and smartphones), the other devoted to media (comics, animation, my writing efforts, etc.). Looking over the categories, about a fifth of the blog posts to date are tech-related; while I admit the tech side isn’t as frequently updated, I do like writing about tech. I’m just not sure if it’s as well served mixing it with posts about Superman or Easter cartoon specials.

Reading over how to set up Multisite in WordPress, I see it’s not just a one-click process, though shouldn’t be too hard to set up. The main issue would be the old blog’s permalinks—having “/blog/” stuck in the URL (as some articles about Multisite set up suggests it’ll do) isn’t something I’m keen on, though there might be a way to fix such. Nor big on seeing site links for existing articles broken yet again, like when the original “Anthony’s Annotations” blog got moved from Blogger to WordPress.com, then folded into this site. (I’m looking for subdirectories, not subdomains, if wondering.)

Thus, I figure I have one of several options:

  1. Create two new blogs, one for tech, one for media, and stop posting to the original blog. A fresh start, though would link back to the original blog’s old posts as needed. It’d also avoid breaking any existing permalinks. Might be awkward keeping the “old” blog up indefinitely though.
  2. Similar to #1, but move all the old blog’s posts to the new blogs and delete the old blog. Would give the new blogs “history” more naturally and require only keeping up two blogs, but would break all the existing permalinks.
  3. Create one new blog (for technology likely) while turning the original blog into the other category (probably media). Again, it’d keep me down to only two blogs kept up, though it’d mean breaking half the existing permalinks (moving the old tech posts to the new blog).
  4. Keep the status quo… everything as-is, mixed on just one blog.

Anyone with any input on this? Would you like to see two blogs here, or are you OK with the mix of topics?

Update (5/2/12): Instead of such a big overhaul undertaking, I’ve decided instead to revise the site’s navigation menubar, putting the categories as direct links instead of as a drop-down menu. I’ve also consolidated/pared down the number of categories from a dozen(!) to five. Will probably make a few other minor revisions (such as a new header graphic) later, as well. Let me know how it works!

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