Well, that clock is ticking and 2013 is quickly drawing to a close. Waah! I am SO kidding. I’m excited to usher in 2014 in all its glory! Let’s talk about 2013 in review here on OOTOB.
So by a huge long shot, my most popular post in 2013 was How to Clean for Passover in One Day. I mean, that was viral (by my standards) with nearly 10,000 hits. 9332 for you dataheads. Is everyone really so intimidated by Passover???
Next in line, in the 3000 range, was my interview with my friend, the convert, Diplogeek. In the 2000 range were #3 and #4, Disillusioned and (surprisingly to me) Be Careful What You Name Your Kid. People are so into names for their kids! This post got almost the most comments too. 180!!
#5, #6, and #7, all in the 1700 range, were Christian Modesty, Jewish Modesty, A Skeptic Becomes a Convert, and Why I’m Not a Pluralist. #8, with 1400 hits, was my marriage tips post in honor of our 20th anniversary, and #9 (1392 hits) was The Bnei Mitzvah Blues. And #10 for most popular posts of 2013 was I Don’t Know What To Say, with 1299 hits.
Parenthetically, my most popular off-the-charts post of all time, with 12,675 hits, is my interview with my Chassidic friend, Libby. And nearly EVERY SINGLE DAY someone finds my blog by googling something about Chassidic people.
Least popular post! Tada! Prayer for Boston, after the bombing back in April. Even fewer hits than my “announcement posts” (like “I’m taking a blogging break”). I find that kind of weird. Isn’t that universal? Maybe the people who read my blog don’t pray all that much? Or maybe it’s not why they read my blog? It got only 323 hits.
Most comments? Why I’m Not a Pluralist, in June, with 191 comments, which, together with the Bnei Mitzvah Blues, in April (at 62 comments, some emotionally heated) were my scariest posts to moderate. Perhaps they contributed to my unprecedented two-month blogging break and subsequent reevaluation of the blog.
Now here’s a surprise: the post I wrote at least three times and never had the guts/stupidity (you pick) to publish, entitled “WOW Backstory: Israel’s Identity Crisis.” I’m grateful that one stayed in the drafts! But I didn’t actually delete it 🙂
Curious to hear your favorites, or what really stuck with you from OOTOB in 2013. Wishing all a happy new year in 2014 with lots more fun convos here!
Here's my theory about why the prayer for Boston didn't get a lot of hits: How do we know what your most interesting posts are? We read them. Hence, one hit per reader per post. Then we go back in repeatedly to read the comments. If there are a lot of comments, you'll get a lot of hits. So the controversial posts will get the most hits, not because more people are reading them but because more people are commenting. In other words, the same people (e.g., me) are reading them many times. With the Boston post, it's not that it wasn't popular; it simply said it all.
Well, I think you're being pretty generous 🙂 It might be a chicken/egg thing: the more comments, the more hits. The more hits, the more comments. But there are aberrations. Some of my most popular posts don't have that many comments. Which may mean they got more unique hits (according to people who care about stuff like this – I don't even track it – that counts most). Fresh people reading it, as opposed to the same people checking back for comments. On the other hand 🙂 invested readers are more precious than fly-by-night one-post readers. See, you can go in circles on this.
"How to clean for Pesach in just one day" is a great title, which is possible why it was so successful.
According to research on influence factors people are especially responsive to time factors. If you tell someone that you can teach them how to do something in just one day it makes them imagine the feeling they can experience by the next night when they have no more cleaning worries.
Interesting. I don't spend all that much time thinking up my titles. But yeah, if you're going to solve a problem for people, I guess that's always useful. Plus, it's a pretty large swath of Jews who clean for Pesach – it sweeps the spectrum. So it's got a certain universal appeal.
This was a great wrap up. I of course love all of your posts. As you know the Bnei Mitzvah one struck a chord with me. I also think Red Cow has a good point with the titles. They do make a difference.
Thanks, Nina! Love reading your stuff too. And on that note, happy birthday!
The Libby interview will stay with me for a long time. I think of it even now. I appreciated her honesty so much, your respectful questions and the glimpse into a world I don't ever see. I found some of it troubling but, truly, it was one of my first experiences reading your blog and it has stayed with me.
Hmmm, I posted a comment but the big bad web seems to have swallowed it, so I'll try again.
Thank you again for your blog, Ruchi! It's one of the few that I read religiously *ahem, I know it's a bad pun*, and probably the only one where I read the comments. I don't comment often, because usually I have nothing smart to add to the debate, and Should Be Working usually asks all the questions that come to me before I get to post them (possibly because of the time difference?) – so thanks to SBW too 🙂
My favorite posts in 2013 were the interview with Diplogeek, and 10 Tips for 20 Years of Marriage. I also liked Leaning In to Bat Mitzvah – it's the first time that the arguments presented didn't make me think "ah, it's just disguised sexism" but rather "However I choose to feel about it, it's a valid reasoning".
As for the stats, I agree with DG that when a debate ensues, we the regular readers come back to read the comments, which brings you viewings. And then there are posts that probably correspond to common google searches (how to quickly clean for Passover, for example), which brings you new readers, which also ups your stats. And when you go on hiatus, I for one come back regularly to see if you're back. All this can explain why your Prayers for Boston post didn't attract many views – it didn't provoke a lively debate, it probably didn't bring you new viewers (I wouldn't imagine it would be among top results in google for people typing "Boston" during the bombings), and a new post followed reasonably quickly afterwards.
Anyway, thank you again for intelligent and thought-provoking blogging, and happy 2014!
Thank you, W! I feel honored 🙂 I love hearing your views and questions. You add a really cool dimension here. Thanks for your take on the Bat Mitzvah debate. Happy 2014 to you too!
Most underappreciated post: "What are you afraid of ….?" I was sorry it didn't evoke more introspection. I like the controversies that come up in comments (when conducted politely) and missed that some this year. Pluralism was interesting and I also appreciated learning the rationale about bat mitzvahs.
So pretty much, my scariest posts to moderate are your favorite posts to read 🙂 I get it! Don't worry… there's more to come. Happy new year!
I agree. The scariest ones are the most interesting. Strong differences of opinion are interesting.
Question: Os don't celebrate secular holidays (I thought) but you do wish people happy new year according to the secular calendar? Are there Os who won't acknowledge the secular ("gregorian", so actually not secular in origin, I think–where is Larry, I bet he would know this) calendar?
Funny you should ask 🙂 Here's a piece I posted to my JFX blog on Friday: http://jfxramblings.blogspot.com/2014/01/happy-new-what.html?m=1