This post is brought to you by the number 65,582.
In 2011 65,582 different people visited my blog.
I share this number not to brag. I know that compared to some it’s a very small amount of traffic. To me that number is humbling. I would have never thought that thousands of people would have visited my little site.
I share this number because it represents U. 65,582 is made up of people that…
- Stopped by one time for less than one second. According to my stats that happens often. I don’t know how you stop by for less than a second but I’m glad that we could share that nano second together.
- Stop by once a week to catch up on posts.
- Stop by and don’t judge me for my poor grammar. I promise my mistakes are not on purpose. I’m working on my grammar. Thanks for being patient.
- Stop by often and are just as much a part of this blog as I am. Your comments and encouragement blow me away.
- Stopped by after Jon Accuff re-Tweeted me. In fact I think that 64,582 stopped by one time after I got tweeted by Jon. I kid, I kid.
- Stopped by and hit the like button to share it on Facebook. I’ve never asked you to do that and yet you did it anyway. Thanks!
- Stopped by and talked crap.
- Stopped by because you were Google searching for porn, Psalty images, and things that make you want to cuss. Wow. For being a pastor I sure do get a lot of traffic for un-pastorly stuff.
- Stopped by and Tweeted to share a post with your friends.
No matter why or how long you stopped by U matter to me. This is my blog. I share it with the world wide web because I hope that somehow some of the 65,582 people will fall in love with Jesus by checking out robshep.com.
U matter to me. That’s why I do my best to respond to every comment. That’s why I do my best to post content that will make you laugh and think. That’s why I do my best to be consistent and post five days a week. That’s why I do my best to make sure you know that you are not just a number.
I don’t blog for numbers. I don’t check my yearly stats often. I was curious to know if my blog had grown from last year. When I saw that it grew by over 40% I was blown away. Well…first I had to ask someone to help me figure out the math. Fact: The Bible says that God is not a God of confusion. Fact: Math is confusing. Fact: The Devil invented all Math that you learn past the fourth grade.
I hope that you know that I’m not posting this to brag in any way. Like I said compared to many blogs my traffic is really small. I check my numbers because numbers do matter. In fact the Bible named a whole book after them…Numbers. Numbers matter to me because they represent people. Not just faceless people that don’t matter. They represent people that God has brought to my site. You better believe that whether you stopped by on accident, occasionally, or daily you matter to me because you matter to God.
What is your favorite number? If you blog do you track stats?
Rob, I do check my stats. Mainly because I just wonder if I’m connecting with people. Of course, my most read post was the Sister Wives, Mandrakes and Sex and Sex and Sex and Sex post. I guess I had a lot of folks interested in Mormonism or sex checking that one out. I hope to someday achieve RobShepian proportions over at http://deuceology.wordpress.com. If any of you other 65,482 folks want to come over and hang out, there’s room.
Rob, I appreciate you being consistent and persistent. And for making me laugh. And for being my brother in Christ.
Larry, I hope lots of people check out your site. You are one of the good guys. Keep up the blogging!
Hmmm favorite number? I am gonna have to go with 32. That is how old I will be on Wednesday! I do have a humble blog and I love checking the stats. I enjoy seeing all the different places that people r from that check out my blog. I am extremely thankful for the followers I have so far.
Joseph, happy early birthday! I love 32 as well because that’s Magic Johnson’s number.
This is cool. Congratulations for sticking with it and connecting with people with a passion. On my site, over 95% of my hits are self-inflicted, namely me working on my own page and loading stuff on. But, that’s O.K..
Daniel, the self inflicted line was a good one. Your site though is a big leader to people coming to my site. Maybe that’s from you as well but I get a lot of hits from your blog.
I’m proud to be one of your 65,582. Your blog makes me think and laugh and inspires some great conversations with my family. Thanks for writing.
Oh, and my favorite number is 42…after all, it is the answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything.
Randal, I’m glad that you are a part of the blog. I don’t know if you saw it but I thanked you for the Christmas gift in the comments. You guys are a blessing to us!
Ditto!
Nice Hitchhiker reference. Don’t forget your towel.
Numbers, I love numbers, especially the number 17. 🙂 I check my stats because I’m fascinated by the data. Yep, I’m one of those folks. It’s awesome that you get hits for your website for unpastorly stuff.
Kim, I think that if you have a blog you become one of those folks. I don’t check the yearly numbers often but I check my stats daily. It’s so fascinating to see when someone checks out your work.
So…you’re saying that since I’m a 7th grade math teacher, I’m basically working for the devil. Good to know. =)
I like checking the stats for my blog, even if I don’t understand it all. I like numbers, too.
My favorite number is 7 because that’s my birthdate next month, and I like 12 because that’s my high school basketball number. I think God likes those numbers, too; they show up in the Bible a lot. Can’t go wrong with God’s numbers. =)
TJ, unfortunately for you…yes. Unless of course you are teaching future accountants, architects, or math teachers. As a pastor I think I get by on all the math that I learned from the 4th grade and below.
I check my stats looking for searchbombs. And blogging material.
I don’t really have a favourite number. But 21 and 12 were my basketball numbers.
And I like math. Especially mental math.
Leanne, is mental math the kind of math that you can do in your head? Like 2 + 2 = 4?
My favorite number is 8!
I do keep track of my stats – I’m an engineer, but I am not even in the same ball park as you. Congrats on great stats and more importantly a great blog. Keep it up!
I don’t look at the numbers very often – it really doesn’t matter to me. I love it when people are interested in what I’m writing about – but it doesn’t affect what I write about – or how often. I write because I’m compelled to do so – I’ve never run out of things to say yet! I’m humbled and surprised like you that people actually stop by, read and comment. Love it.
Hey Rob
We love your blog!! It is always encouraging to us:) My daughter loves the show “Numbers.” Have you ever seen it? She LOVES math, grammar, oh and science; not sure where she comes from :)anyway she says that she loves the number 7 because she believes that is God’s favorite number. However, the number 13 is like our family number. My husband and I were married on November 13, 1992 which was a Friday by the way 🙂 Morgan was born on August 13th, 1995 and she will graduate in June of 2013 so there are lot’s of speicial 13’s for us. Happy to be one of your 65,582! Keep up the GREAT blog.
Proud to be part of the 65,000+! You run an awesome blog, and I look fwd to seeing the great things to come out of robshep.com in 2012.
Rob, I’m not a frequent commenter, but I always enjoy your blog, and it’s one of the few places on the web that I try to hit on a daily basis. Now that I get it emailed to me, I usually catch it that way, so I may be unintentionally hurting your stats – my bad! Many of us non-bloggers probably underestimate the amount of time you put into this, but we do really appreciate it! Keep up the great work!
Sorry for being one of the jerkfaces who picked on you for your grammar.
Congrats on the numbers. Though I know it’s not why you do it, it’s still cool. You’re doing good work.
Kevin, it’s cool. I hate making mistakes and I appreciate when they are caught and I can correct them.
Nice post, I can appreciate the numbers. My favorite number is 6, probably because the last one is taking a break. But to be serious i don’t know quite why it’s my favorite. My opinion on math is that it becomes useless around Algebra 2 and Trigonometry when you begin using “imaginary” numbers. At that point math should be optional because the fields for “imaginary” numbers I believe are severely limited, but I digress.
Sean, I agree!
Stats? We have Stats? What are Stats?
Just kidding. Actually I haven’t checked those out ever since I created my website. I should, but then again, why take the chance on being dissapointed?
Here’s a stat for you though:
We are all “One” in Christ!
Thanks Rob. You entertain me whether you want to or not.
Ed, I like how you think.