I have been running this website for 11 years. I will not go on forever. At some point in an unknown future, I will put the website to rest. I will go down with the ship. I don't have a grandiose personality, but I want to go down in the same magnificent way as the fictive Lord Cutler Beckett in "At World's End". In a dignified way that speaks powerfully and leaves a lasting imprint. Maybe this epic ending is a little bit over the top, after all. I launched the website on March 1, 2014. The first blog entry I posted had the dramatic title "So it begins...". Of course, there was nothing to report at that time. Since then I have posted an anniversary blog post every year. The second blog post (2015) had the expectantly title "So it continues...". Here, I discussed the past, present and future for the site. The third blog post (2016) had the prosaic title "And so it goes on and on and on and on and on...". Here, I did some merciless following up on ambitions and promises. The fourth blog post (2017) had the patronizing title "The necessity of content gardening". Here, I stated that a website, with proper content gardening, could live forever. The fifth blog post (2018) had the technical title "Ratchet effect through organic growth”. Here, I speculated how web indexing and algorithms drove traffic to unprecedented levels. The sixth blog post (2019) had the glorifying title "5 years and 100 000 hits". Here, I rattled off statistics lengthwise and crosswise. The seventh blog post (2020) had the dutiful title "The show must go on". Here, I concluded that the responsibilities I have towards society are too important to be calling it quits. The eight blog post (2021) had the explanatory title "7 is the number following 6 and preceding 8". Here, I complained about muddling through in the time of the pandemic. The ninth blog post (2022) had the cheerful title "Eight is great". Here, I made some random remarks. The tenth blog post (2023) had the rhyming title "Nine is fine". Here, I had nothing to say. The eleventh blog post (2024) had the self-aggrandizing title "Ten years of being insensitive to trends". Here, I ranted about this and that. Today, it's time to summarize the last year in a blog post. The visitor counter indicates 305 076.
Assessment
Executive summary: The website has operated successfully for the last eleven years. New content has been added with regularity and to a sufficient degree without any deterioration in quality. The website is in need of a minor review, primarly with the intent on updating information on existing pages. A plan for this has been developed and implemented. Minor disruptancies in the operation of the website have occured, but this haven't affected production or quality. The coming year we will see a strong focus on content and the management and development of the site.
Visitor statistics
To go from zero to 300 000 visitors took 3 975 days or 10,9 years. The website didn't have many visits in the beginning. Then the web indexing and Google algorithms began to kick in. The average number of days to reach another 10 000 visitors has decreased over time. Despite changes in Google algorithms the website continues to attract visitors The last year has been a record year. More than 43 000 visitors during the last year. All time high.
Department statistics
I wrote one new article last year (Foddershock). This says more about the state of the genre, than about me. As I have stated before, new articles have no intrisic value. I don't want to lower my standards. I have a list of 4-5 bands waiting to be included in my prestigious article series. My aim is to write at least one new article the upcoming year. Moreover, I listed zero new artists in the table. I created zero new lists. I wrote 52 blog entries, which is once a week. However, "blogging is not writing, it's graffiti with punctuation" as someone have pointed out.
Most visited pages
The five pages below are the most visited. The order has shifted over time. The start page (Home) is and have always been the most visited page. Not very surprising. The second page "Artists" is a simple list with links to Discogs and articles. Still, very popular. The third page is the list "10 essential gothic country albums", which comprises a canon of must-have gothic country albums. The "10 best version of Wayfaring Stranger" list has become quite popular in recent years and is placed as number four. Review of "Fossils" (Sons of Perdition collaborative album) is placed as number five. The Sons of Perdition article page belonged to the five most visited pages for many years. It's now placed as number nine.
Flaws
The website has been up and running twenty-four seven. Almost twenty-four seven. On January 7, 2025 my hosting provider closed the site down. Apparently, the website had been hacked and was used to send out spam. The website was down for a whole week. My hosting provider, with the ironic company name Loopia, believes in non-verbal, non-written and telepathic communication. My friend Mikael, site architect and web analysts had to step in and fix the problem, as always. Loopia got the nerve to send me a "Would you recommend the service to others?" e-mail. Provoking, to say the least. I have done some maintance, but still has a few things to fix. If you stumble over any obsolete or incorrect information or any dead links don't hesitate to contact me and I will fix it. I take some pride in that the website is updated.
Reflections
Nothing to report under this section.
Future
I will go on untiringly within the limits of family, work and other duties.