Comments on: 500!!! http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/ Battling Imaginary Windmills Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:59:32 +0900 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Jason http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/comment-page-1/#comment-1009 Jason Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:01:48 +0000 http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/#comment-1009 Thanks, Michael. I'm glad that you can get something out of my random thoughts :) I wouldn't worry about being "behind", as blogging isn't really a contest. While some people can treat it as such, the art of writing tends to suffer when we worry about how many articles or visitors we have on our sites. If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll build some solid readership and reach post 500, too :) Thanks, Michael. I’m glad that you can get something out of my random thoughts :)

I wouldn’t worry about being “behind”, as blogging isn’t really a contest. While some people can treat it as such, the art of writing tends to suffer when we worry about how many articles or visitors we have on our sites. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll build some solid readership and reach post 500, too :)

]]> By: SpaceElevatorGuy (Michael Laine) http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/comment-page-1/#comment-1008 SpaceElevatorGuy (Michael Laine) Fri, 01 Feb 2008 19:43:27 +0000 http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/#comment-1008 Well, I've only been reading for a couple weeks, but I've been impressed enough to continue. You post things that are (mostly) outside of the scope of things i typically think about. I like that. Serendipity has value, and you never know where your next idea is going to come from. Congrats on 500... as you know, I am far, far, far behind. But i have recently discovered that i LIKE writing this stuff, so i will continue. Take care. mjl Well, I’ve only been reading for a couple weeks, but I’ve been impressed enough to continue. You post things that are (mostly) outside of the scope of things i typically think about. I like that. Serendipity has value, and you never know where your next idea is going to come from.

Congrats on 500… as you know, I am far, far, far behind. But i have recently discovered that i LIKE writing this stuff, so i will continue.

Take care. mjl

]]> By: Nick Ramsay http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/comment-page-1/#comment-1007 Nick Ramsay Sun, 27 Jan 2008 05:52:35 +0000 http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/#comment-1007 I just had a read of "An Open Letter of Apology" and loved it. Thanks for the nudge Thomas. I just had a read of “An Open Letter of Apology” and loved it. Thanks for the nudge Thomas.

]]> By: Jason http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/comment-page-1/#comment-1006 Jason Sun, 27 Jan 2008 04:35:34 +0000 http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/#comment-1006 Yeah, the short story was seeing about 1900 hits per day for three days straight, which was just crazy. It's had a few hits here and there over the last few months, but nothing quite that pronounced. Yeah, the short story was seeing about 1900 hits per day for three days straight, which was just crazy. It’s had a few hits here and there over the last few months, but nothing quite that pronounced.

]]> By: Thomas (nihonhacks.com) http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/comment-page-1/#comment-1005 Thomas (nihonhacks.com) Sun, 27 Jan 2008 04:29:31 +0000 http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/#comment-1005 Wow. 500 posts! Your short story must have gotten a lot of traffic, because it was only submitted to StumbleUpon 6 days ago. I read your blog everyday, so keep it up! Wow. 500 posts! Your short story must have gotten a lot of traffic, because it was only submitted to StumbleUpon 6 days ago. I read your blog everyday, so keep it up!

]]> By: Nick Ramsay http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/comment-page-1/#comment-1004 Nick Ramsay Sat, 26 Jan 2008 16:24:20 +0000 http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/#comment-1004 Great stuff! Glad to hear it :-D Great stuff! Glad to hear it :-D

]]> By: Jason http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/comment-page-1/#comment-1003 Jason Sat, 26 Jan 2008 16:07:26 +0000 http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/#comment-1003 Hmm ... 1. The Google competition is still open, with no clear winners as of yet. 2. The sprinter with the carbon fibre legs will not be permitted to run at Beijing's 2008 Summer Olympics, but he's welcome to run in the Paralympics :roll: 3. Fingerprinting is here to stay and I'm hearing about some rumblings about a little bit more to come in 2010 ... once I get some confirmation I'll be sure to put up a pretty long gripe about this next scheme, which goes beyond keeping terrorists and illegal immigrants out. 4. Bicycles laws have their uses, but the bells have even more. 5. Controversial blogging is sometimes the best, as it demands people leave comments 6. With all the politics going on, there's lots for me to say. The nice think about Japanese politicians is that they "seem" to do quite a bit, unlike their Canadian counterparts. This makes my job so much easier :) Thanks for the feedback, Nick. With any luck, I can put my RSS subscriber count back up on the site in no time. Oh, and guess what? I'm up to 50 readers for the first time ever! :P Hmm …
1. The Google competition is still open, with no clear winners as of yet.
2. The sprinter with the carbon fibre legs will not be permitted to run at Beijing’s 2008 Summer Olympics, but he’s welcome to run in the Paralympics :roll:
3. Fingerprinting is here to stay and I’m hearing about some rumblings about a little bit more to come in 2010 … once I get some confirmation I’ll be sure to put up a pretty long gripe about this next scheme, which goes beyond keeping terrorists and illegal immigrants out.
4. Bicycles laws have their uses, but the bells have even more.
5. Controversial blogging is sometimes the best, as it demands people leave comments
6. With all the politics going on, there’s lots for me to say. The nice think about Japanese politicians is that they “seem” to do quite a bit, unlike their Canadian counterparts. This makes my job so much easier :)

Thanks for the feedback, Nick. With any luck, I can put my RSS subscriber count back up on the site in no time.

Oh, and guess what? I’m up to 50 readers for the first time ever! :P

]]> By: Nick Ramsay http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/comment-page-1/#comment-1002 Nick Ramsay Sat, 26 Jan 2008 15:58:16 +0000 http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/#comment-1002 Ah, you nearly tempted me to wade through those 500 posts to see which I remembered the most, but for now I'll say my favorite post was the one in which I won $25! :-P Seriously, though, I'm still waiting for an update on that Google competition to put something on the moon, and what happened to the sprinter who wasn't allowed to compete with able-bodied athletes because he only had one leg? I think we bashed heads over the fingerprinting issue and bicycle laws, and discussions about controversial blogging all come to mind, too. I've been enjoying your latest foray into Japanese news and politics very much, so perhaps all that gives you an idea of my favorite kind of posts. :) Ah, you nearly tempted me to wade through those 500 posts to see which I remembered the most, but for now I’ll say my favorite post was the one in which I won $25! :-P Seriously, though, I’m still waiting for an update on that Google competition to put something on the moon, and what happened to the sprinter who wasn’t allowed to compete with able-bodied athletes because he only had one leg? I think we bashed heads over the fingerprinting issue and bicycle laws, and discussions about controversial blogging all come to mind, too. I’ve been enjoying your latest foray into Japanese news and politics very much, so perhaps all that gives you an idea of my favorite kind of posts. :)

]]> By: Jason http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/comment-page-1/#comment-1001 Jason Sat, 26 Jan 2008 15:02:18 +0000 http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/#comment-1001 Truth be told, I give up sleep to make the time for blogging. One of the reasons I write the way I do on here is because I don't have the ability to adequately express myself during the day. It's quite difficult talking about these subjects with people who are having trouble making sentences with simple present progressive grammar structures. It's not that I can't do it, but I can't properly convey the depth of my passion or frustration with something. Of course, I also use my commute to some advantage, as that affords me quite a bit of time to make notes and proof-read before returning home to give up sleep and type it all out. I'll show you my PDA one day and you'll see. Not too many people have ever wore through three screens on a portable computer before, and I'm in desperate need of a fourth :P As for "measuring popularity", I am a SQL nut. So I often just connect to the MySQL server and run some custom queries from the database that measure how often I get uniques and repeat visitors to the same article. That said, I've noticed that StumbleUpon referrals often result in two or three hits from the same user in the span of 30 seconds, so I filter this kind of stuff out to ensure completeness in the data. While a high number of uniques is nice, it's the repeats that tell me if a post is popular. Here's the equation I used to determine popularity: <blockquote># of repeats + (# of uniques / age of post in days)</blockquote> It's one of those "creative metrics" I created to help solve a problem, and it worked out pretty well, I think. I didn't really take into account # of comments, though, as it would have been messed up by a few viral pages. What would your favourite articles be? I'd be interested to know your first or second pics :eek: Truth be told, I give up sleep to make the time for blogging. One of the reasons I write the way I do on here is because I don’t have the ability to adequately express myself during the day. It’s quite difficult talking about these subjects with people who are having trouble making sentences with simple present progressive grammar structures. It’s not that I can’t do it, but I can’t properly convey the depth of my passion or frustration with something.

Of course, I also use my commute to some advantage, as that affords me quite a bit of time to make notes and proof-read before returning home to give up sleep and type it all out. I’ll show you my PDA one day and you’ll see. Not too many people have ever wore through three screens on a portable computer before, and I’m in desperate need of a fourth :P

As for “measuring popularity”, I am a SQL nut. So I often just connect to the MySQL server and run some custom queries from the database that measure how often I get uniques and repeat visitors to the same article. That said, I’ve noticed that StumbleUpon referrals often result in two or three hits from the same user in the span of 30 seconds, so I filter this kind of stuff out to ensure completeness in the data. While a high number of uniques is nice, it’s the repeats that tell me if a post is popular. Here’s the equation I used to determine popularity:

# of repeats + (# of uniques / age of post in days)

It’s one of those “creative metrics” I created to help solve a problem, and it worked out pretty well, I think. I didn’t really take into account # of comments, though, as it would have been messed up by a few viral pages.

What would your favourite articles be? I’d be interested to know your first or second pics :eek:

]]> By: Nick Ramsay http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/comment-page-1/#comment-1000 Nick Ramsay Sat, 26 Jan 2008 14:48:56 +0000 http://www.j2fi.net/2008/01/26/500/#comment-1000 500 posts in less than two years right? It's amazing how you keep putting out such lengthy, well written articles so frequently. Mike and I were talking about how you find the time to do it, and I can only assume you do the bulk of it during your daily commute. How do you measure a popular article? Stumble Upon is awesome for sending traffic but those visitors don't know what they'll see until they get here. My favorite articles from j2fi would be different to the top 5 you've listed. I guess we all have our own favorites, and that's what makes blogging so personal! :) I look forward to the next 500 articles! 500 posts in less than two years right? It’s amazing how you keep putting out such lengthy, well written articles so frequently. Mike and I were talking about how you find the time to do it, and I can only assume you do the bulk of it during your daily commute.

How do you measure a popular article? Stumble Upon is awesome for sending traffic but those visitors don’t know what they’ll see until they get here. My favorite articles from j2fi would be different to the top 5 you’ve listed. I guess we all have our own favorites, and that’s what makes blogging so personal! :)

I look forward to the next 500 articles!

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